Book Review - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

4.5 / 5.0

I feel 'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn' endures because of its honesty about periods, and lovemaking, and sorrow and childbearing and parenting and everything in-between. But what really makes the novel a lasting work? The characters.

The sister/aunt, Sissy, is quirky and hilarious and fabulous and oh-so-very human. The whole scene with the tricycle? So. Funny. And then with the teacher? The grandmother, Mary, is wise and interesting. The father, Johnny, the mother, Katie, Neeley, really just everyone, you just can't help but love, foibles, warts, and all.

There are a couple places where I feel the book falls apart. One, the book is overly long and there are a few side characters and frame stories that I feel could be trimmed. The other is that with all the wondrous characters, Francie isn't really all that interesting, mostly because she's a young child. As the book goes on, she gets more interesting, but that delayed my investment. By the end, she was far more interesting. Some of the teacher interactions and how Francie dealt with them were awesome. Still, I mostly stuck around because of the other characters.

There are also a lot of little side stories about living in Brooklyn in the early 1900's that are fabulous. Details about bored cigar rollers and old Christmas trees and noodle making and barber shop cups really bring the book to life.

In short, a bit overly long, but worth it for the characters, honesty, and humanity.