A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Betty Smith
number of voters: 6
percentage of voters who finished the book: 83
highest rating: 9.5
lowest rating: 8.5
average rating: 9.17 (!)
percentage of readers who have lived in Williamsburg: 0
*****
The women of Williamsburg gathered to reminisce, and the stories flowed like wine. It was as though weeks had passed instead of years, though nearly a century had gone by. Brooklyn will never be the same as we remember it then... a generation frozen in our minds.
Oh, except that we weren’t there.
You can forgive us, can’t you, for forgetting that Francie’s story is not our very own? If you’ve read Betty Smith’s pseudo-autobiography, then you know...
These people stroll through the streets of Brooklyn and onto the pages and into our consciousness. Remember how Papa understood Francie’s need to attend the finer school and took matters into his own hands? Remember the way Mama made Francie and Neeley read from Shakespeare and the Bible every night? Remember Aunt Sissy? Remember the tin can?
Like visiting an old friend, we will return to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn again and again. Our feet walked the dirty ground, but our eyes saw the sky beyond. And our hearts were full of hope.
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