Reviewed by Monique Prince, Undergraduate Services Librarian
Betty Smith became an overnight celebrity when her first novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was published in 1943. Much of the novel surrounds Francie Nolan's childhood in Brooklyn, New York. Smith colorfully describes the various people Francie encounters, and portrays both the hardships and small joys of living in an impoverished family and community. Although she is a lonely child, Francie's greatest escape is found in books and from her perch on the fire escape outside her home, she reads and watches her neighbors interact through the branches of the tree growing around her. She thinks often of her lovable, alcoholic father, her hard-working mother, and her younger brother and best friend, Neely. The novel is somewhat autobiographical—both Smith and Francie Nolan grew up in the tenements of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, both loved theatre and reading, and both completed an eighth-grade education before working odd jobs and eventually enrolling as a special student at the University of Michigan. This classic coming-of-age story is compelling both for its literary merit and for its portrayal of city life in the early 1900's.
