A Tree Grows in Brooklyn [Hardcover]

A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick

The beloved American classic about a young girl's coming-of-age at the turn of the twentieth century.

From the moment she entered the world, Francie Nolan needed to be made of stern stuff, for the often harsh life of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, demanded fortitude, precocity, and strength of spirit. Often scorned by neighbors for her familys erratic and eccentric behaviorsuch as her father Johnnys taste for alcohol and Aunt Sissys habit of marrying serially without the formality of divorceno one, least of all Francie, could say that the Nolans life lacked drama. By turns overwhelming, sublime, heartbreaking, and uplifting, the Nolans daily experiences in this classic novel are tenderly threaded with family connectedness and raw with honesty. Betty Smith has, in the pages ofA Tree Grows in Brooklyn, captured the joys of humble Williamsburg life-from junk day on Saturdays, when the children of Francies neighborhood traded their weekly take for pennies, to the special excitement of holidays, bringing cause for celebration and revelry. Betty Smith has artfully caught this sense of exciting life in a poignant work of historical fiction, a novel of childhood replete with incredibly rich moments of universal experiencesa truly remarkable achievement for any writer.

This enduring portrait of a bygone Brooklyn is a story of survival, resilience, and the quiet moments that define a life.

A profoundly moving novel, and an honest and true one. It cuts right to the heart of life...If you missA Tree Grows in Brooklynyou will deny yourself a rich experience...It is a poignant and deeply understanding story of childhood and family relationships. The Nolans lived in the Williamsburg slums of Brooklyn from 1902 until 1919...Their daughter Francie and their son Neely knew mol#j