Sunday, February 26, 2012

A Tree Grows In Brooklyn

I'm reading  "Betty Smith: Life of the Author of A Tree Grows In Brooklyn" by Valerie Raleigh Yow,
and I've found out some things about that novel that really surprised me.
The original manuscript ended soon after Johnny Nolan's death, with Francie and Neely
cursing God.   Betty Smith had, indeed, written more, but she meant to use what came
after as a sequel.
The original manuscript was bawdier, and had several uses of the "F" word.
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn was the first modern adult (as opposed to juvenile) novel I
ever read; I was twelve at the time.  I've read the book many times since then.
Had the book been published as it was first written, I doubt that I would have read it
more than once.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I tried to read this book but couldn't get into it. Maybe I need to try again.

Barbara Schoeneberger said...

I believe a movie was made from this novel, which is how I first became acquainted with the title.

Rochelle said...

Kathleen, if you're talking about
"Betty Smith: Life of the Author of A Tree Grows In Brooklyn" by Valerie Raleigh Yow, I couldn't finish it, either.

Encouraging news about EWTN's Fr. Anthony

Fr. Anthony hopes to be back on the air in the near future.  Oh, HOW I'm praying for that to happen! https://franciscanmissionaries.c...