Why did I wait so many years to read this novel first published nearly sixty years ago? I checked it out from my local library a week ago and have been enamored with its style and its story for the past seven days. Although I don't often have large blocks of time to read, the 400+ pages in this volume read quickly
The pages recount the fictional life of the Nolan family at the turn-of-the-last century (as in the early 1900s), situated in Brooklyn, NY (and more specifically in Williamsburg, an economically challenged area of the borough). The author is expert at conveying meaning in a pithy, focused fashion, although there is an elegance to her work that regularly catches the reader by surprise. Smith has the ability to convey the grittiness of her story's context without the taint of cynicism or the undelivered promise of false hope.
Part of the beauty of her work is her ability to convey the internal transformations of her main character, first-born daughter Francie. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn traces the first seventeen years of Francie's life, experience after experience, until she reaches a place of significant transition in her late adolescence.
The book is part fictional history of an era now long gone, part biography (though related as fiction, it has insight too deep not to be at least partly autobiographical), and part a work that explores themes of morality. The moral themes include topics ranging from prostitution to classism to the value of hard work and, always, communication processes. The moral themes are dealt not in a heavy-handed way, but with enough "real-life" detail that the reader must reflect on several levels before coming to any personal conclusions.
Some books I endure, others I reference. There are few books that I laud, but A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is one that has "classic" status for me. Although set in a very clear historical context, the depth of relationship revealed and the dynamics explored make this a relevant read for any era.
Take a tip from this bibliophile. Don't wait as long as I did to read it!
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