A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
by Betty Smith · 1943
Literary Fiction · ranked #210 in category
Francie Nolan grows up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in the early 20th century — in a family defined by a charming, alcoholic father and a relentlessly practical mother, by poverty and by an extraordinary hunger for books and beauty. Smith's novel is one of the great American coming-of-age stories and a portrait of immigrant aspiration that never sentimentalises the struggle.
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The verdict
- Category
- Literary Fiction
- Author
- Betty Smith
- Standing
- Essential Read
About Literary Fiction
Literary fiction sits at the intersection of fine writing and serious storytelling — novels that reward attention and stay with you long after the last page. These are the books that alter your sense of what's possible in prose.
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