A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
I have read probably thousands of books in my lifetime. Fairy Tales; Romances; lots of Murder Mysteries; Biographies; Comic Books; and every kind of Fiction you can imagine. And among them all, “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” remains my favorite. And has since I was 10 years old.
Betty Smith turns poverty-stricken Brooklyn in the early 1900’s into a magical kingdom by seeing it through the eyes of Francie, our 11 year old main character. Although her perception changes as she grows up, as it does for each of us, Francie still manages to hold on to some of the magic throughout the book. The child dreamer becomes a young adult optimist – a bit more of a realist, but happily looking towards what is to come.

This is, simply stated, the story of a family. A mother, a father, their children, and various interesting extended family members. But I’ve always felt it was more than that. Perhaps because I first read it at such a young age, in my eyes, there’s a dream-like, fairy-tale quality about the novel. Growing up in San Francisco, it became my goal to travel to New York for many years, finally doing so at the age of 30. I’m glad I didn’t visit Brooklyn. I have a feeling I would have been tragically disappointed!

Typically, I prefer dialogue in a work of fiction, but Ms. Smith’s descriptions of the neighborhood where Francie lives is so eloquent, you feel as though you can reach out and touch it. Reading about the butcher and the baker and the spice maker – it is as though you can smell the coffee and cinnamon as they grind onto the gleaming gold scales.

Like all good stories, this one has an antagonist. And it is the poverty the Nolan family lives in day after day. The struggles these characters tackle every day speaks volumes to their strength. Particularly the women. Every woman in this story is a hero. Katie, Francie’s mother, is the one who keeps her family together, fighting everyone and everything that gets in the way of those she loves; Francie’s grandmother, Mary, an uneducated immigrant, does the same for her children and the next generation as well; Evie, probably the least developed of the female characters, is a rock for her sisters; and eccentric, strong-willed “loose” Sissy – her independence at a time before Women’s Suffrage, makes me want to stand up and cheer!

But it is Francie, I think, who is the strongest of them all. She is able to look at the poverty and the crime and the drunkenness and the pain and hold her head high with dignity.
If you haven’t read it yet, read it now. You’ll be glad you did!


DIGRESSION ALERT DIGRESSION ALERT: If you like to read, and if you are reading this, you probably do, you should know that Tracy has its very own reading club for adults! Oh, yeah, it rocks! It meets every Thursday at 6:30pm until between 7:30 and 8, at the Tracy Branch of the Library. (Except for February 15, 2007.) It’s free to join, but you’ll probably need to get a library card if you don’t already have one, to borrow the books we’re reading. We’re very eclectic and like all different kinds of books. Everyone is welcome. Feel free to just drop by at meeting time (in the bookstore, to the right of the entrance) or call the library at (209)937-8221,