There's a tree growing outside the tenement
window. But not just any tree. It's a tree
that grows through concrete, in the poorest
areas of the city. A tree that's resilient
and full of life. A tree that manages to be
beautiful, in spite of the poverty and squalor
that surround it.
Kind of like the protagonist in this week's
pick.
Francie Nolan has a hard life. It's the turn
of the century in Brooklyn, New York, and
Francie lives with her mother, brother, and
alcoholic father in a neighborhood rife with
crime and dirt and hungry children.
But Francie is her father's daughter—romantic,
and with an eye for beauty—and Brooklyn
seems wonderful to her. There's the library
and the penny candy store and the marvelous
organ grinder, whom she follows from street
to street. Life is cold and hard for Francie,
but it's also golden.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn follows Francie from
her wide-eyed childhood into the stark realities
of her adolescence and then into her late
teens as she earns her way in the world. This
is a coming-of-age story to be sure, and a
long one. It also may be my very favorite
book ever (although that's a tough call).
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn certainly has its
share of ugliness—the author doesn't spare
many details about the harsh realities of
Francie's growing-up years—but it's also
exquisitely beautiful, with a cast of characters
so real that you'll feel like you know them.
And in my opinion, everyone should know them.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a gem—and a
book you absolutely shouldn't miss.
