Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

The prose is beautiful and warm, but pretty dense at times. The plot is slow because it focuses on the growth and everyday life of the main character and her family.

Content Warnings

sjanke2's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Content Warnings

dunollie's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

Content Warnings

kierscrivener's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"Everything struggles to live. Look at that tree growing out of the grate. It gets no sun and water only when it rains. It's growing out of sour earth and its strong because it's hard struggle to live has made it strong. My children will be strong that way."

Sn absolute favourite. I adore the way Betty Smith tells stories and characters, not only Francie but her family and those around her are fleshed out. Especially her parents Katie and Johnny and her aunt Cissy. They are full characters with flaws and abounding personality but despite all their mistakes they are akways given a compassionate lense. This isn't a nice story, she tells a story of Francie at fourteen (based on herself) being told by a teacher to burn her work for it being ugly and sordid as she wrote what was true. Of her experience with poverty and alcoholism. But despite the grim subject matter, there is so much humanity. She writes with care, always believing good intentions that she imbued compassion for every character.

She never shies away from reality, writing honestly about things that especially in 1943 would have been scandalous. Even eighty years later writing as honestly about sex, harassment and assault as she did is not common.

I have over a thousand words of notes, and ordered a copy so that I can comb through, highlight and annotate and will return with full thoughts. But for now, know I recommend.

And that firstly, I think the opening chapters aren't the best hook, I understand why she wanted to start with Francie but once we move on to 'book two' and see the Nolan and Romley families and Katie and Johnny's life, romance and dynamic. I cared inenormently more. I had context and I had grounding in the story.

Second this is one of the funniest books I've ever read. Her delivery of humour and poignancy is flawless

"The tree hadn't died. It hadn't died. A new tree had grown from it's stump and it's stump had grown along the ground until it reached a place where there were no washlines above it then it had started to grow toward the sky again."

"This tree in the yard. This tree that men had chopped down. This tree they had built a bonfire around trying to burn up its stump. This tree lived. It lived. And nothing could destroy it.

Content Warnings

More...