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| 5th on my book '23 list. (internet) |
I never knew much about the book, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I'm not sure where I first heard of it, although I'm pretty sure a Bugs Bunny cartoon referenced it once upon a time.
In any case, I was aware it was a popular novel and one it was time for me to read it. Using my electronic library card, I placed a hold on the book in February and waited for it to become available.
In mid-May, earlier than I expected, I received a notification it was ready. It was downloaded to my Kindle May 23, 2023, I started reading a few days later. The first chapter didn't grab me but I knew from experience some books start slow before burrowing their way into your consciousness so you need to know what's happening, in this case, to Francie, Neeley, Johnny, and Katie.
If you haven't read it or don't remember the story, check it out, you will be glad you did.
The tree is central to Francie's story:
The one tree in Francie's yard was neither a pine nor a hemlock. It had pointed leaves which grew along green switches which radiated from the bough and made a tree which looked like a lot of opened green umbrellas. Some people called it the Tree of Heaven. No matter where its seed fell, it made a tree which struggled to reach the sky. (Chapter 1)
Francie Nolan's family didn't get breaks. Katie was a washerwoman and Johnny a singing waiter who frequently lost his job due to drink. From an early age, Francie and her brother sold junk for pennies that went into the family bank.
The way out, according to Francie's maternal grandmother was education. Katie read a page from the Bible and Shakespeare each night in a home-school situation long before it was conceived. Katie took piano lessons while the kids watched, Neeley became an accomplished pianist.
Confronted with harsh conditions, the barely-above-water Nolan family, found their level and a path to a better life for the children.
There is family drama and glimpses at life in the poor neighborhoods of Brooklyn before and during World War I. The family is moving again as the story closes. Francie is upstairs in their small house looking into the backyard.
(Francie) looked down into the yard. The tree whose leaf umbrellas had curled around, under and over her fire escape had been cut down because the housewives complained that wash on the lines got entangled in its branches. The landlord had sent two men and they chopped it down.
But the tree hadn't died...it hadn't died.
A new tree had grown from the stump and its trunk had grown along the ground until it reached a place where there were no wash lines above it. Then it had started to grow towards the sky again.
... this tree lived!
It lived! And nothing could destroy it.
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