Book Review: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn April 8, 2009

A coworker (she’s really good at issuing nicknames to those she mentions on her blog, I shall call her SicTransitGloria… although I may need to shorten that) lent me this book. It’s a coming-of-age story of Francie Nolan, an Irish/Austrian-American (although, she’s not first generation American) growing up in Brooklyn, NY (Williamsburg to be exact).

The story focuses around the lives of the Nolans, who live in a tiny apartment and are poor as sin, surviving off of reheated coffee and on special occasions, condensed milk! Francie’s Father, Johnny, works odd jobs here and there but he’s a drunk so he can’t hold a steady job. He’s normally found waiting tables at different restaurants and singing for the customers. He uses the tips he makes that night for booze later on. Her Mother, Katie, is a hard worker and cleans the apartments/halls of the other tenants for rent and some money. She’s determined to get her kids through high school and onto post secondary, the first in their entire family to finish both. Her younger brother, Neely, growing up he and Francie collect junk, paper, anything that can be sold for pennies.

I loved this book. Betty Smith’s writing is just fabulous and I can totally relate to Francie, although I’m not poor and I don’t like condensed milk. We both dislike reheated coffee, though. Francie, like I, is the eldest child in a family that is of European decent. We’re both raised to learn the how-to’s of running a household, European Wife Training as my friends and I joke. We’re expected to clean, cook, care for siblings, pretty much play 2nd mother (or nanny) to everyone. It’s a bit difficult at times because, as displayed in the book, younger brothers (and maybe even older ones, I don’t know) get away with murder. Any misbehaviour can be written off as, “boys will be boys”  and all is well again.

There was one specific scene in which Katie can only afford to have one of the two go back to school. Francie is dying to go back and complete high school whereas Neely wants nothing to do with it and to continue working. Katie decides to send Neely to school. She backs this decision up with, “If Neely isn’t forced back, he’ll never go back. I made a promise that my children will finish high school. You, Francie, love school and are determined to go back, once we’re back on our feet I know you’ll register because you want to.” It was just heartbreaking.

Thanks SicTransitGloria for passing this read along to me.