“People always think that happiness is a
faraway thing, something complicated and hard to get. Yet, what little things
can make it up; a place of shelter when it rains - a cup of strong hot coffee
when you're blue; for a man, a cigarette for contentment; a book to read when
you're alone - just to be with someone you love. Those things make happiness.”
And that is
what this quite-a-chunkster book
speaks about. The main idea is rather cliché; that happiness is a universal
feeling; that every human being can feel it if they choose to; that happiness
is about the way of viewing things around you; that happiness can be fight for.
Betty Smith teaches us to live a happy life through her own experiences, which
she wove into this book: A Tree Grows in
Brooklyn.
A tree—a
very strong tree indeed—grew alone in the building’s yard where the Nolans
lives in poverty in Brooklyn. However, despite of the lack of means with which
trees should have had to grow—it has even been felled once—it managed to
survive and kept growing, while the others died. So it is in life, there’s always
one kind of human race who could not easily be destroyed by hardship or
poverty; these rarely human beings kept growing amidst the very limited chance.
Francie Nolan is one of these kinds.
This book
actually tells the lives and struggles of three generations of the Rommely’s
women. It started from Mary Rommely—the grandmother—who immigrated to America
with her useless but abusive husband. She couldn’t read not write in English
but insisted that her children must be better than her. She also taught her
daughters to save every penny they can save, and to use it to buy their own
land. Mary practiced it herself, worked hard all her life, but she died poorly
still.
Now Katie
Rommely seemed to follow her mother’s step by marrying a useless but charming
man: Johnny Nolan. Although she could at least read in English, she was
nevertheless uneducated, again, because of the poverty. However, following her
mother’s advice, she and Johnny worked hard to give highest education possible
to their children: Neely and Francie Nolan. Now here is the resemblance of
Francie and the strong-built Tree of Heaven. Throughout the story, you would be
taken to witness how Francie strove from the poverty, the loneliness of being
unique, and the strong need of love.
In many
ordinary people, they would not make it better than the others, but Francie had
her own way of going through all the hard times. She knows how to see the
beauty of everything, and so she could always make herself happy. She could
adapt to whatever there is around her. For instance, she knew her mother loved
Neely more than her; it was a bitter fact for a child, yet she could endure it
and still, at least, gave her mother a proper love and respect. In a way, her ‘dreamy’
father had a contribution to Francie’s imagination quality, and fortunately,
she also inherited her mother’s toughness and practical way of living. With all
these, Francie became the first of the Rommelys who could go to college and had
a decent career.
In fact, there
is nothing very special in this book. The story is flat and slow, there is no
twist or complex conflict. It is just about uninteresting life of a family. But
from their struggles, their mistakes, and their imperfectness, we can learn a
lot of things. We can learn that being poor doesn’t mean we can’t have
dignity. And the most important lesson I got from this book is that happiness
is not about what we have, but how we see everything we have. With that, there
is no reason why we cannot all be happy, in the end it’s just about the way of
thinking, anyway. Be always grateful for whatever you have!
Four stars
for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, it’s a kind of book you must chew slowly to get
its best.
~~~~~~~~
*I read Indonesian translation edition from Gramedia Pustaka
Utama*
*This book is counted
as:*
9th book for Historical Fiction Challenge 2013 -2015
11th book for New Authors Reading Challenge 2013
7th book for Read Big! Reading Challenge
58th book for The Classics Club Project
I read this book a couple of years ago, and thought it really good. I enjoyed reading your perspective. As a mother, I admired the grit and persistence of Katie even more than the imagination of Francie. I wish I had read this book as a girl.
ReplyDeleteAgree. I love especially how Katie spends her last money for tip when they are partying in an ice cream store, and she says that sometimes, being poor, she also wants (or needs) to feel rich. I believe we ought to be proud of what we are, rich or poor. Katie is an awesome character, isn't she?
DeleteI love this book, even though now I don't really remember how the story ends or what the conflicts are ;p the only thing I remember is my feeling when I read this book - how I can relate so well with its characters. Gotta read it again someday :)
ReplyDeleteThe only conflict (if we can call it conflict) is how to get out of the poverty :D
DeleteI remember the part when Mary told Katie to read for her children even though they're not understand it yet and how it influences Francie. I remember that i plan to re-read this book when i already has children, so i could teach them as well as Katie did. I also remember my feeling when i read this book, i love this book.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious, would you read Shakespeare too to your children? Then, you'd better start reading it from now.. ;)
DeleteNo Fanda..I like the way Katie develop their reading habits..but it doesn't mean I should read Shakespeare for my children..moreover you know I am struggling to enjoy Shakespeare :D
DeleteFor me, what makes this book so special is its simplicity. The conflicts are more or less what we could experience in daily life, but reading it in Betty Smith's words... I don't know, it's just beautiful.
ReplyDeleteYep, it's simply enjoyable and comfortable book. Thanks for lending me this... ;)
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