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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn | 
 enlarge | Author: Betty Smith
Publisher: Perennial Classics
Category: Book
List Price: $13.00
Buy Used: $4.55
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Avg. Customer Rating:  546 reviews
Sales Rank: 61428
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st Perennial Classics
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 496
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.3 x 1.3
ASIN: B00034EOKA
Publication Date: September 1, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com
Francie Nolan, avid reader, penny-candy connoisseur, and adroit observer of human nature, has much to ponder in colorful, turn-of-the-century Brooklyn. She grows up with a sweet, tragic father, a severely realistic mother, and an aunt who gives her love too freely--to men, and to a brother who will always be the favored child. Francie learns early the meaning of hunger and the value of a penny. She is her father's child--romantic and hungry for beauty. But she is her mother's child, too--deeply practical and in constant need of truth. Like the Tree of Heaven that grows out of cement or through cellar gratings, resourceful Francie struggles against all odds to survive and thrive. Betty Smith's poignant, honest novel created a big stir when it was first published over 50 years ago. Her frank writing about life's squalor was alarming to some of the more genteel society, but the book's humor and pathos ensured its place in the realm of classics--and in the hearts of readers, young and old. (Ages 10 and older) --Emilie Coulter
Book Description
A moving coming-of-age story set in the 1900's, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn follows the lives of 11-year-old Francie Nolan, her younger brother Neely, and their parents, Irish immigrants who have settled in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. Johnny Nolan is as loving and fanciful as they come, but he is also often drunk and out of work, unable to find his place in the land of opportunity. His wife Katie scrubs floors to put food on the table and clothes on her childrens' backs, instilling in them the values of being practical and planning ahead. When Johnny dies, leaving Katie pregnant, Francie, smart, pensive and hoping for something better, cannot believe that life can carry on as before. But with her own determination, and that of her mother behind her, Francie is able to move toward the future of her dreams, completing her education and heading oft to college, always carrying the beloved Brooklyn of her childhood in her heart.
Download Description
E-Book Extra: Self-Reliance: A Reading Group GuideNamed by the New York Public Library as "one of the books of the century," A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is the story of young, sensitive, and idealistic Francie Nolan -- and her erratic, eccentric family -- in the turn-of-the-century Williamsburg slums of Brooklyn. Originally published in 1943, this true American classic has sold millions of copies worldwide, and includes a foreword by Anna Quindlen.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 541 more reviews...
 A Tree Grows In Brooklyn August 18, 2008
As a senior citizen and former New Yorker, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book after all these years
Although it takes place in the 1910-1920 era, there were many things that came to my memory ( or what's left of it! )
I did a lot of reminiscing.
I highly recomend it.
especially if your an old timer and a New Yorker
A Wowing Historical Fiction Classic August 10, 2008
59 out of 59 found this review helpful
I am in total awe after reading this book. In the beginning I thought it was going to be a boring and long novel. But throughout my reading I became to grow more attached to the story. The main character Francie was an intriguing and delightful creation that anyone would want as their best friend, should she not be a fictional person. I enjoyed reading how the poor family made ends meet and continued surviving when it seemed they couldn't hang on much longer. It seems that you shouldn't find it entertaining to read of suffering, but the author writes it in such a ingenious way as to that you're really reading about the magnificence of life, living, and death. As the family encounters dilemma after dilemma you find yourself encased in the wonder of how they do it. Throughout all the sadness and suffering the Nolans are still kind and considerate, loving and caring, fair and just; overall good people! Don't get me wrong, this is not a sad story, although some parts are on the sadder side. This is a marvelous writing about why people live and how. It shows a young girl growing up and changing into a woman. I was so in tune with the story I found myself laughing, crying, cheering, and feeling scared! The Nolans are resourceful and caring people, although they do have their faults. You learn about them from birth to middle aged and curiously watch them change, grow, and develop their ways. You see where each person gets their character traits from and why they do certain things. The setting is early twentieth century Brooklyn, NY. The Nolans live in a neighborhood of old flats. Electricity has not yet been invented and the value of the dollar is way higher than the present. Its interesting reading about how their insurance was twenty-five cents and that four people could eat on ten cents a day! The author provides you with outstanding descriptions of looks, feelings, and mood as to that you feel you are really there. You feel as if you have known the characters forever and are close friends with all of them. This is because you learn more about them throughout the story as if you really were their friends, and they were alive and you got to know them better as time goes on. While you read this book, you will discover how lucky we are, and what some people went through to cope with the daily mandatory needs of humans. I am completely convinced anyone who reads this book will fall in love with the gentle rhythym of the flowing sentences. When I finished I didn't want it to end, the author could've kept writing until Francie died and you would've ever get bored. Yet all books have to end. With a touch of history, I am positive anyone who reads this will be more than satisfied. This novel definitely deserves more than five stars!
Great read August 6, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
My grandmother, who I adore/admire in words I am not able to convey, passed this book onto me years ago. It still remains in my top 10.
It is intensely emotional and affirmative for a woman of any age... and, for those who want to be around them.
I can't imagine anyone being disappointed.
My favorite book of all time July 13, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
ATGIB is a great classic novel full of memorable characters and touching emotion. I have and will continure to reread this book often.
 Too Close to Reality to be Powerful June 24, 2008
1 out of 6 found this review helpful
I just finished reading this book a few minutes ago. I am not trying to be against the grain here at all but I don't understand how this book is so reputably powerful and a classic. It's not terrible reading because this story was by far very well written and my vocabulary has increased by atleast 13 new words. Overall though, this book felt like a auto biography, too close to reality to really wow me. As the reader, I was experiencing poverty, hunger, bulleying, chronic rejection and loss of innocence through Francie's eyes and yet, she progressed beautifully by independently finding ways to be educated and learning about the world and the people in it. I did find myself physically reacting to certain parts like when this young woman whom had a baby but was unwed was bedeviled by the neighbors and having rocks thrown at her and her child. Also, an important character in my mind passed on which changed my mood from then on. For the record, I feel the need to defend Francies Father Johnny. Yes, he did drink but I don't feel like he deserved to be treated like an acute alcoholic. He was never biligerent or hurtful to his family. Johnny wasn't the type to pour whiskey in his morning cereal and he was always singing and being chipper. But because every night when he performed he had gotten inebriated this is how he was remembered. Luckily, Francie saw past it because he was the only one that truely understood her and supported her ideas and dreams. Katie, Francie's mother lacked a sense of humor, obviously favored Francie's younger brother Neely, and could not let go of her control issues. It was her way or the highway. I don't want to give away the entire story but I must say that although I did enjoy reading this book, it did not satisfy my hunger from what I expected based on all the reviews I read about it. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is an adventure and will more than likely relate to you in some way, this book just illustrated what we all must go through... Life.
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