A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN: Too many insufferably punny headlines were spawned by this classic bildungsroman during Brooklyn's climb to hip, hip heights, but that's just a testament to the lasting impact Betty Smith's 1943 novel's had on our cultural lexicon. Francie Nolan navigates growing up mired in a very pre-rezoned Williamsburg where she contends with an alcoholic father, overworked mother and sordid school system, and later struggles through the working world pre-and-during World War I. There's a lot of history to unpack, starting with life in the Williamsburg tenements near the turn of the 20th century, and even a simple line expressing Francie's thrill at taking the elevated train into Manhattan highlights a still visible, yet long-gone world. Arm yourself with Kleenex for this one.
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