A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Betty Smith

Jan 2005 · Harper Collins

About this ebook

The American classic about a young girl's coming-of-age at the turn of the century.This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

Ratings and reviews

I think this book is dull and boring. Betty Smith takes too much time describing irrelevant things (e.g. 14 lines on the "never-tiring miracle" of an air shaft). It took me all summer to get through it, because the author takes time to explain things over and over again that the reader can deduce for themselves. I will say, however, that the book for the most part accurately depicts the hard life of a poor family in olden New York and does have some good messages sprinkled throughout it's many pages. It was selected as one of the Books of the Century by the New York Library, after all.

The most insightful passage (and there were many), occurred when they expressed sympathy for their little sister who was going to grow up wealthy, and thus miss the 'fun' they had experienced impoverished. We should all recognize 'simple abundance' for its clarity of life.

Drama in the Progressive Era. Drunken dads, promiscuous women, murderous pedophiles, and a passionate teenager, our hero, Francie, longing to sleep with a soldier before he goes off to war. Its no Shades of Grey, but jeeze, sometimes it's better to leave a little to the imagination....

About the author

Betty Smith (1896–1972) was a native of Brooklyn, New York. Her novels A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Tomorrow Will Be Better, Joy in the Morning, and Maggie-Now continue to capture the hearts and imaginations of millions of readers worldwide.