Book 18: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

Title: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Author: Betty Smith

Length: 493 pages

Year Written: 1943

Why I chose this book: Only knew of it in the sense that it’s an important, classic novel. And I love to tackle those.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn took an excessively long time for me to finish reading. The book is just shy of 500 pages, and more importantly, it covers nearly two decades of the life of a poor family in Brooklyn. I read about how Katie met Johnny, they got married, had Francie and Neeley a year apart—then I followed Francie through childhood, adolescence, and eventually adulthood. I am, at this point, thoroughly invested in Francie and her family. I’ve spent three weeks with them.

In the book’s introduction, Anna Quindlen writes that A Tree in Brooklyn is “not the sort of book that can be reduced to its plot line.” It is about the human experience. It is about family, failures, fortunes, friendships. It is about a little girl who is aware that her younger brother is favored, a little girl that reads no less than one book a day, a girl that pretends with her family that they are in the North Pole awaiting  rescue when there is no food in the house. It is about her alcoholic dad, her proud mom, her wise grandmother, her irreverent aunts. It is sometimes heartbreaking and most of the time intriguing, reading about this small slice of life during a time I can’t fathom living through. Times in this book were hard, but nothing that the human spirit won’t fight against with utter resilience.

All in all, the book was a bit long, but ripe with realness. It’s almost reminiscent of To Kill A Mockingbird, with Francie and Neeley giving a little bit of a Jem and Finch vibe at times. I see why it’s a classic, and is probably worth a closer re-read at some point in my life.

Rating: 8.6/10

Book 17: She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb

Title: She's Come Undone
Author: Wally Lamb
Length: 469 pages
Year written: 1992
Why I chose this book: I've wanted to read this book for a while, not having known much about the plot but knowing so many people have read and enjoyed it (including Oprah).

Dolores Price is an ordinary girl who is subjected to an extraordinary lifetime of unfortunate events, filling her with pain, confusion, and resentment. Tragedies occur in Dolores' life like they are set on a timer, and are outlined by her bitter sense of sarcasm and wit. She reaches a weight of 257 lbs. after being raped by a neighbor and spiraling into a depression of overeating. Her mother is confounded with guilt, her dad faces brutal emotional retaliation and alienation for having previously left Dolores and her mother, and her grandmother is uptight—not someone Dolores can exactly relate to. In her oversized body, Dolores feels more and more isolated from the world, a feeling that follows her to college and eventually to Cape Cod, where she decides to disappear from it all.

Dolores eventually begins healing, part of which includes a physical transformation. After shedding over one hundred pounds, she is able to start dating and eventually marry who she always considered to be her "dream guy." However, she soon realizes she has fallen back into her previous patterns of powerlessness. He is a perverted high school English teacher, a failed poet with a bad attitude—but handsome. Dolores struggles with repeated troubles which manifest themselves in her life in different ways. When she does have genuine breakthroughs, they are simply triumphant. Following the trajectory of her downfall and eventual climb back to the surface, we become attached to Dolores and regret having ever judged or ignored a person based on their physical appearance. It's true. I definitely thought about my casual use of the word "fat." It's not nice. It doesn't matter. People are people. And they are the people they are for good reason.

This was the first book for author Wally Lamb, and having read all 469 pages in under three days, I'd call it compulsively readable. It's one of those books you can't put down. Many books take a while for me to read because they are difficult, in either language or style. She's Come Undone is as easy as a soft-serve vanilla cone, so that nothing stops your absorption of the plot, of Dolores' life and thoughts.

Rating: 9.5/10