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    A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
    A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
    A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
    Audiobook14 hours

    A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

    Written by Betty Smith

    Narrated by Kate Burton

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick

    The beloved American classic about a young girl's coming-of-age at the turn of the twentieth century.

    From the moment she entered the world, Francie Nolan needed to be made of stern stuff, for growing up in the Williamsburg slums of Brooklyn, New York demanded fortitude, precocity, and strength of spirit. Often scorned by neighbors for her family’s erratic and eccentric behavior—such as her father Johnny’s taste for alcohol and Aunt Sissy’s habit of marrying serially without the formality of divorce—no one, least of all Francie, could say that the Nolans’ life lacked drama.

    By turns heartbreaking and uplifting, the Nolans’ daily experiences are raw with honestly and tenderly threaded with family connectedness. Betty Smith has, in the pages of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, captured the joys of humble Williamsburg life—from “junk day” on Saturdays, when the children traded their weekly take for pennies, to the special excitement of holidays, bringing cause for celebration and revelry. Smith has created a work of literary art that brilliantly captures a unique time and place as well as deeply resonant moments of universal experience. Here is an American classic that ""cuts right to the heart of life,"" hails the New York Times. ""If you miss A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, you will deny yourself a rich experience.""

    Editor's Note

    Coming-of-age classic…

    This classic coming-of-age introduces the now-famous arboreal metaphor for socioeconomic diversity, generational differences, and personal development.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCaedmon
    Release dateJul 31, 2005
    ISBN9780060856083
    Author

    Betty Smith

    Betty Smith (1896–1972) was a native of Brooklyn, New York. Her novels A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Tomorrow Will Be Better, Joy in the Morning, and Maggie-Now continue to capture the hearts and imaginations of millions of readers worldwide.

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    Reviews for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

    4.5/5

    765 ratings252 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title to be a beautifully written, thought-provoking, and emotionally impactful book. The story, set in early 1900s Brooklyn, explores themes of poverty, education, and the struggles of growing up. The characters are well-developed and relatable, and the narration in the audiobook brings them to life. While some readers found the book depressing, it is still considered a timeless classic that leaves a lasting impression. Overall, this book is highly recommended for its powerful storytelling and modern perspective on life and humanity.

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Francie Nolan is one of the most complex and reverant portraits of a smart girl coming of age. I loved this book because of the characters and the encompassing sense of love that permeated the book. The kind of love that isn't touched by poverty, tragedy, or circumstance. I adored this book.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I will protect Francie Nolan with my life.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      My initial impression of this well-known classic of a girl coming of age up in the early decades of the twentieth century was somewhat tepid. A girl from a poor family lived in the tenements of Brooklyn with her charming drunken Irish father, hard-working mother and younger brother whose mother preferred over his sister. About a third of the way in in, though, I realized that this was less a novel than a thinly disguised memoir of a woman's battle to free herself and her family from the grip of poverty. Sure, the names weren't exactly the same and her real father was German, not Irish, but essentially Francie Nolan's story was Betty Smith's account of her own childhood. It became, in essence, the American Angela's Ashes. Once I realized that this was someone pouring out their heart onto the pages, my attitude changed and I became totally engaged in the story. After all, wasn't it Ernest Hemingway, another writer and contemporary of Smith's, who said "There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed."My thanks to the folks at the The Great American Read group at Goodreads for giving me the opportunity to read and discuss this and many other fine books.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I love this account. I loved Johnny as if he was my Dad. He was a good man with a drinking problem. But the family was so much better for the sacrifice they endured. They were stronger for the sacrifice they had. I loved Aunt Sissy.
    • 4/5
      Nice read Had never read before interesting interview at end
    • 5/5
      Absolutely stunning!! Really enjoyed this work of art. Beautifully written. A must for women to read!
    • 5/5
      Wonderful book!
      75 years later and its content is still relevant. I find this sad, we are still dealing with sexism, poverty, corruption and stupid social taboos.
      However, at the time when this was published, I can imagine the revolutionary social effect it must have had.
      It is full of insights, difficulties, sarcasm, and love.
      Wonderful.
    • 5/5
      This book has the magical power of making me want to live my life truly! It is my favorite book ever!!
    • 5/5
      I very rarely love books enough to read books twice. This is one of those. Betty Smith is a National Treasure
    • 5/5
      A timeless classic. Fantastic narration - I’d listen to anything by this narrator. My heart is full.
    • 5/5
      This is such a special, timeless book. The narrator was perfect.
    • 5/5
      It made me very appreciative of the life I’ve lived. I can’t believe I had never read it. I and lan on buying a copy for my granddaughters.
    • 5/5
      One of the best books that I've ever read.
    • 5/5
      The main character is Francie Nolan, who is eleven years old when the book starts. She lives in an impoverished area of Brooklyn. This is Francie’s coming of age story but it’s also a lot more than that. It’s about immigration, the American dream, resiliency, family and love. Francie’s mother works long, hard hours as an apartment building cleaner. Her father is an alcoholic who works as a singing waiter when he’s not drunk. There are other members of Francie’s family that are prominently featured as well, like her aunts and younger brother.A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a novel that you can completely immerse yourself in. Even though there are many characters, they all have great depth. Smith takes her time and the story is told with great attention to detail. It’s semi-autobiographical – Smith grew up in the same part of Brooklyn in the same time period – which I’m sure is why the novel feels so authentic. Highly, highly recommended.
    • 5/5
      Francie Nolan is the third person heroine of this wonderful story of growing up dirt poor but strong in Brooklyn in the early 1900sHer family consists of mother Katie, Papa Johnny and brother Neely and Katie’s sisters Sissy and Evy. The family subsists on money earned by Katie as a cleaner as Johnny has a drinking problem. He’s a wonderful man and father but can’t provide. Francie provides the emotions, descriptions, dialogue, nuances and atmosphere of this very loving family which provides a strong moral compass for her and Neely.We follow her life from early childhood to her departure for college and feel how she feels with every episode in her life. Brooklyn is a very important character as the streets and neighbourhoods come to life in Francie’s World.What a great story, I wish I had discovered it years ago.
    • 5/5
      Amazing story, very well written. I love the main characters!
    • 4/5
      This book is pretty good!! The last chapter was the best though.
    • 5/5
      Beautiful book and writing, with such a modern point of view about the world and people that I was surprised it was written in the 1940s.
    • 5/5
      Francie grows up in Brooklyn with her parents and brother in 1910. Most of the story is told through her eyes as she grows up. She has a level head and sees people and situations for what they are. I liked her. This book is a timely today as it was when written and during the time period it is set. The attitudes from then are, unfortunately, the attitudes of today. Francie and her family were poor. Her mother worked cleaning several buildings. Her dad found work as a singing waiter when he could. The kids contributed to the family coffers in small ways. Addiction and abuse are all around them. But good is around them also. Katie, the mother, realizes that her children will be more educated and live better lives than she and Johnny. She wants that for her children. They have a hard life but they rise above it. I loved Katie's sister, Sissy. She adds color to the story but loves her family. I found this a hard book to read but I am so glad I read it. The lyricism of the prose is beautiful. Each chapter is a vignette of their lives at a particular time--trivial things that make a life. It is a wonderful read.
    • 5/5
      Another of my favorite books of all time. You grow up right along with the main character and vividly picture the world she inhabits.
    • 5/5
      I loved this book. Learning about how people lived then, even though it is set in a large city that I have no experience of. I was particularly interested in the amount of physical romance the author depicted in this novel. I thought they didn't write about such things then,
    • 5/5
      This is a remarkable and poignant tale of young idealistic Francie Nolan. Not quite as cruelly told as Angela's Ashes, it nonetheless is a story of the cruelty and hardships of growing up poor.. The daily experiences of the Nolan family are raw and honest and it's characters are inspiring.
    • 5/5
      So many reviews were already written about this book. So I only thank want to thank a very good friend for recommending and lending me this gem. I had very special hours reading it. I laughed and cried with the characters and enjoyed reading about their lives in a country and a time far away from my own, but nevertheless finding similarities between my life and my feelings and theirs.
    • 5/5
      I'm so sad that this book had to end. It is a beautifully written, heart-warming story. I look forward to re-reading it some day.
    • 3/5
      This was a reading assignment in school when I was about 13. I read the book again years later and liked it much better than when I was forced to read it. In reading it the second time I realized that I had seen the movie made from the book. The story was, over all, excellent. The central character was so realistic; I expected to find her sitting in my living room.
    • 5/5
      This coming-of-age story follows Francie Nolan and her down and out family in Brooklyn. Beginning when Francie's 12 and ending when she's 17 we see how her loving, but alcoholic father, tough mother and other characters affect Francie and her view of the world. Unlike many novels, the supporting characters in this story are so complicated. Francie's mother Katie works so hard and truly loves her husband, but can't help resent him for his drinking and the position that puts their family in. Francie's father Johnny isn't your typical drunk either. You can't help but love him, even when he is hurting their family by spending their last pennies on booze. Francie's Aunt Sissy is a sweet woman, but maybe not the best influence on the kids. The characters feel more like your own family than good guy and bad guys in a book. You love them even though they hurt you or make bad decisions. The setting is also divine. The bustling streets of Brooklyn in the 1930s held so many different cultures, because of all the immigrants who settled in that area. Even Francie's own family is a mix of Irish and Austrian heritages, showing the true meaning of a melting pot society.I loved this book and completely fell for the character of Francie. I loved reading and school like she did, but it's the dreamy quality she has that got to my heart. She never gave up on her father and he needed someone like her that believed in him so badly. She has such love for the world and hope for her own future, despite her circumstances. I hope that I can keep a little bit of Francie in my heart, even in my most cynical moments.
    • 5/5
      Very well done story of a young girl growing up in Brooklyn during the early 1900s. She has a loving but poor family. She is very bright and thoughtful.
    • 5/5
      A lovely story with heartbreaking moments. Beautiful snapshot of the zeitgeist of inner-city Brooklyn in the 1910s.
    • 5/5
      I'm not sure what I expected when I started this book but it wasn't what I got. There is no goal or mission for Francie except for growing up and surviving in the slums of Brooklyn. Yet, the book was engrossing. It was like Betty Smith shot a film of life in Brooklyn during this time period and then translated it to a book. I felt what it was like to be Francie. She is strong, beautiful, smart and thoughtful. She might just be one of my favorite heroines in literature.

      On top of that, Betty Smith had some of the most beautiful writing I've seen anywhere. More than once, there were paragraphs that I had to reread just because they are so beautiful and that there is so much said that I was afraid I missing parts. If you're in the mood to read a classic, then pick this book up and give it a try.
    • 5/5
      I've literally read this book over 100 times. It is bittersweet story of the tragedy and triumph over poverty. Francie Nolan is a young girl in the turn of the century living in Brooklyn. With a drunk for a father and a hard, bitter mother who openly prefers her son, Francie hardly has an easy path in life. In a brutally honest fashion Smith follows the persistent young girl from birth to until early adulthood, when she rises above the curse of her family and poverty. Serene and somber.