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What books should everyone read before they die?Add Book
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Betty Smith
Literature
James Mustich
Jul 31, 2018
An immediate popular success, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn sold 300,000 copies in its first six weeks; by the time of Smith’s death three decades later, more than six million copies had been sold, and the adventures of her protagonist, Francie Nolan, had been translated into more than a dozen languages. It is easy to understand readers’ identification with Francie’s experience, even if their own lives have no ostensible common ground with that of the young girl collecting rags and copper, buying penny candy, stretching toward adulthood from the shadow of urban poverty. For the alleys and avenues that the story leads us down are not specific to Smith’s Brooklyn; they are the streets of childhood, the sidewalks of loneliness and yearning, the passageways of sentiment that carry us toward and away from home and family. They make up the neighborhood where the imagination grows up, and Smith’s poignant book delivers it whole, whatever the details of time and place.
This was the first book where I saw myself in the heroine. Francie Nolan was, and is, me. I re-read this book every year or so, and find something new in it every time. MY FAVORITE BOOK - a must-read.
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A missed classic often. I first read it at age 18 and again in my 60s--still impressed me as a moving story of Americana.
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One of my all time favorites that cemented a love of reading in 5th grade.
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I have loved this book with my whole heart for many years. Quotes from this book come back to me like bible verses and I'm so grateful for that! A must-read for sure!!
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A triumph of psychological literature, and both heartwarming and heartwrenching, "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" is wistfulness between two covers -- exploring the inner world and coming of age of its irrepressible protagonist, Francie Nolan, at the turn of the 20th century. We watch Francie go from a naive and imaginative child to a confident and kind young woman with great expectations. What is unique about this bildungsroman is how it includes the perspectives of Francie's family members, including her cold and complex mother Katie, while still focusing on Francie's growth. This allows the audience to see both sides to every story and understand how the characters' complicated motivations impact their relationships with each other.
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"1,000 Books To Read Before You Die" is a registered trademark of Workman Publishing, Inc. Based on the book: 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die by James Mustich, (Workman Publishing Co., Inc.: © 2018 James Mustich)
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