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Tomorrow Will Be Better
A timeless classic is reborn! First published in 1948, and long out of print, Tomorrow Will Be Better is a heartwarming story of love and marriage from Betty Smith, the beloved author of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.
Set in the Williamsburg and Bushwick sections of Brooklyn in the 1920s, Tomorrow Will Be Better is the story of Margy Shannon—shy, eager, joyfully optimistic—and her search for something better from life than the hard misery of poverty in which she lives.
All Margy's parents have ever known is an unrewarding life of poverty, pain, and hard work—a life that has ultimately worn them down. But Margy, young and just out of school, still holds steadfast to an unshakable hopefulness and believes a better life is possible. Her goals are simple enough—to find a husband she loves, have children, and live in a nice home—one where her children will never know the terror of want, the need to hide from quarreling parents, and the dread of unjust punishment. And when she meets Frankie Malone, she thinks at last her dreams might be fulfilled.
Rich with the flavor of its Brooklyn background, and the joys and heartbreak of family life, Tomorrow Will Be Better is told with a simplicity, tenderness, and humor that only Betty Smith could write.
Set in the Williamsburg and Bushwick sections of Brooklyn in the 1920s, Tomorrow Will Be Better is the story of Margy Shannon—shy, eager, joyfully optimistic—and her search for something better from life than the hard misery of poverty in which she lives.
All Margy's parents have ever known is an unrewarding life of poverty, pain, and hard work—a life that has ultimately worn them down. But Margy, young and just out of school, still holds steadfast to an unshakable hopefulness and believes a better life is possible. Her goals are simple enough—to find a husband she loves, have children, and live in a nice home—one where her children will never know the terror of want, the need to hide from quarreling parents, and the dread of unjust punishment. And when she meets Frankie Malone, she thinks at last her dreams might be fulfilled.
Rich with the flavor of its Brooklyn background, and the joys and heartbreak of family life, Tomorrow Will Be Better is told with a simplicity, tenderness, and humor that only Betty Smith could write.
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1948
About the author
Betty Smith
59 books1,797 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Betty Smith (AKA Sophina Elisabeth Wehner): Born- December 15, 1896; Died- January 17, 1972
Born in Brooklyn, New York to German immigrants, she grew up poor in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. These experiences served as the framework to her first novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1943).
After marrying George H. E. Smith, a fellow Brooklynite, she moved with him to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he pursued a law degree at the University of Michigan. At this time, she gave birth to two girls and waited until they were in school so she could complete her higher education. Although Smith had not finished high school, the university allowed her to enroll in classes. There she honed her skills in journalism, literature, writing, and drama, winning a prestigious Hopwood Award. She was a student in the classes of Professor Kenneth Thorpe Rowe.
In 1938 she divorced her husband and moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. There she married Joseph Jones in 1943, the same year in which A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was published. She teamed with George Abbott to write the book for the 1951 musical adaptation of the same name. Throughout her life, Smith worked as a dramatist, receiving many awards and fellowships including the Rockefeller Fellowship and the Dramatists Guild Fellowship for her work in drama. Her other novels include Tomorrow Will Be Better (1947), Maggie-Now (1958) and Joy in the Morning (1963).
Betty Smith (AKA Sophina Elisabeth Wehner): Born- December 15, 1896; Died- January 17, 1972
Born in Brooklyn, New York to German immigrants, she grew up poor in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. These experiences served as the framework to her first novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1943).
After marrying George H. E. Smith, a fellow Brooklynite, she moved with him to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he pursued a law degree at the University of Michigan. At this time, she gave birth to two girls and waited until they were in school so she could complete her higher education. Although Smith had not finished high school, the university allowed her to enroll in classes. There she honed her skills in journalism, literature, writing, and drama, winning a prestigious Hopwood Award. She was a student in the classes of Professor Kenneth Thorpe Rowe.
In 1938 she divorced her husband and moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. There she married Joseph Jones in 1943, the same year in which A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was published. She teamed with George Abbott to write the book for the 1951 musical adaptation of the same name. Throughout her life, Smith worked as a dramatist, receiving many awards and fellowships including the Rockefeller Fellowship and the Dramatists Guild Fellowship for her work in drama. Her other novels include Tomorrow Will Be Better (1947), Maggie-Now (1958) and Joy in the Morning (1963).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 531 reviews
December 20, 2020
I was hoping to read about a time when things might have been less complicated than now, so I was drawn to this book originally published in 1948, taking place in the 1920’s in New York City. Stories taking place in New York City of the past always interest me. Having read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn many, many years ago with a memory of loving it, made it even harder to resist. While it was a time perhaps less complicated, it wasn’t really an easier time then in Brooklyn in a lot of ways. It’s a sad story about unfulfilled hopes and dreams, about complicated relationships, about families trying to make ends meet, about children wanting to do better than their parents had done, about parents wanting to hold on to their children.
Margy Shannon is seventeen when the story begins, leaving high school before she finishes, so she can bring a paycheck home. She lives with her mother, who is bitter most of the time, bemoaning her life, taking her bitterness out on Margy, and a father disappointed that the American dream never came true for him. This is not exactly a picture perfect family life. The only way out, to find a better life is for Margy to make her own life with a husband to love, children to raise, and a nicer home, the things I suspect that most girls her age wanted then. She quits a job she loves and a boss she dreams about to marry Frankie Malone, whose family life can be described as dysfunctional as Margy’s. Her hopes and dreams, it seems are dashed as the picture perfect life she wants isn’t easily attained. It’s a sad story and even though some of the characters are unlikeable, it’s hard not to feel for them as the loops that life throws at them are revealed. Margy, with her will to move forward and growing understanding of life, is a ray of hope. A wonderful coming of age story and a terrific depiction of time and place.
I received a copy of this book from HarperCollins through Edelweiss.
Margy Shannon is seventeen when the story begins, leaving high school before she finishes, so she can bring a paycheck home. She lives with her mother, who is bitter most of the time, bemoaning her life, taking her bitterness out on Margy, and a father disappointed that the American dream never came true for him. This is not exactly a picture perfect family life. The only way out, to find a better life is for Margy to make her own life with a husband to love, children to raise, and a nicer home, the things I suspect that most girls her age wanted then. She quits a job she loves and a boss she dreams about to marry Frankie Malone, whose family life can be described as dysfunctional as Margy’s. Her hopes and dreams, it seems are dashed as the picture perfect life she wants isn’t easily attained. It’s a sad story and even though some of the characters are unlikeable, it’s hard not to feel for them as the loops that life throws at them are revealed. Margy, with her will to move forward and growing understanding of life, is a ray of hope. A wonderful coming of age story and a terrific depiction of time and place.
I received a copy of this book from HarperCollins through Edelweiss.
January 15, 2021
Have you read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn? Sadly, I have not, though it’s waiting on my shelf, along with all of Betty Smith’s other books now. While reading Tomorrow Will Be Better, I picked up two newer editions of A Tree and bought the other two rediscovered classics, Maggie-Now and Joy in the Morning, released by Harper Perennial in November. I wish Betty Smith had written more novels, and I promise you, I would read them all.
I’ve read that Betty Smith was a born storyteller, and I would agree. I was invited in to this story and these complex characters’ lives. I knew their struggles and their fears, as well as their hearts. Brooklyn in the 1920s came to life in these pages- the families, businesses, and sense of community. In some ways this is a simple or quiet story, which happens to be what I love best because I have time and space to reflect even deeper on the meaning. I can’t wait to pick up the other books, and I hope it won’t take me too long.
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
I’ve read that Betty Smith was a born storyteller, and I would agree. I was invited in to this story and these complex characters’ lives. I knew their struggles and their fears, as well as their hearts. Brooklyn in the 1920s came to life in these pages- the families, businesses, and sense of community. In some ways this is a simple or quiet story, which happens to be what I love best because I have time and space to reflect even deeper on the meaning. I can’t wait to pick up the other books, and I hope it won’t take me too long.
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
June 9, 2023
If there's a God, she thought, and her fingers twitched with the instinct to make the sign of the cross to exorcise her blasphemous if, I can't believe He'd give a woman this great longing to give birth only to take the baby back. No! God must have more to do with His eternal time than to punish birth-torn mothers that way. Something went wrong and no use putting it off on God. (PG 277)
It reminded me of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn but I fell in love with the story and loved it from beginning to end. It's the 1920s in Brooklyn with many first generation immigrants living in survival mode; marriages made out of quick courting and then years of resentment and lack of emotions in partners.
I love that Margy has simple goals. She just wants to be loved and hopefully give her future children a nice secure home. But cracks in her marriage start appearing and she starts questioning what any of it really means. Seeing Margy transition from naive young person to a perceptive young woman was truly enjoyable.
This is a story that could really be boring about boring people but Betty Smith brings their lives to life and I was fixated on these people. I feel like she is the American version of Irish Maeve Binchy. These are stories that will last a lifetime, not some trend, but some honest classy storytelling.
It reminded me of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn but I fell in love with the story and loved it from beginning to end. It's the 1920s in Brooklyn with many first generation immigrants living in survival mode; marriages made out of quick courting and then years of resentment and lack of emotions in partners.
I love that Margy has simple goals. She just wants to be loved and hopefully give her future children a nice secure home. But cracks in her marriage start appearing and she starts questioning what any of it really means. Seeing Margy transition from naive young person to a perceptive young woman was truly enjoyable.
This is a story that could really be boring about boring people but Betty Smith brings their lives to life and I was fixated on these people. I feel like she is the American version of Irish Maeve Binchy. These are stories that will last a lifetime, not some trend, but some honest classy storytelling.
December 7, 2012
It's hard to believe this book was written over 60 years ago. The subject matter of interpersonal relationships in our lives and everything that can be at work to affect them, for success or failure, is timeless. The setting is Brooklyn in the 1920's, as it was in Betty Smith's highly-acclaimed and well-loved first book, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.
If you loved A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, then i think you'd love Tomorrow Will Be Better too!
If you loved A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, then i think you'd love Tomorrow Will Be Better too!
September 20, 2021
I liked the writing style, it's so colourful you can see perfectly what the author wants to portray! I also liked the main character Margy!
Her story is so very familiar to young people but also to those that have passed this stage of their lives and look back at their hopes and dreams!
Margy is young and with the optimism that her age gives her dreams about the future and all the things she is going to do differently so as not to follow the footsteps of her parents but can she though...? That's for the reader to find out...
There are many types of characters in this story...
From the parents and their choices and how those affected their children!
Friends of said children and how they manage to form their lives away or with the influence of their parents!
It's a story about constructing your character, friendship, love, dreams and hope but also about things lost! Beautifully written and my only complaint is about how the story ends even though it's fitting I wanted something more!
Her story is so very familiar to young people but also to those that have passed this stage of their lives and look back at their hopes and dreams!
Margy is young and with the optimism that her age gives her dreams about the future and all the things she is going to do differently so as not to follow the footsteps of her parents but can she though...? That's for the reader to find out...
There are many types of characters in this story...
From the parents and their choices and how those affected their children!
Friends of said children and how they manage to form their lives away or with the influence of their parents!
It's a story about constructing your character, friendship, love, dreams and hope but also about things lost! Beautifully written and my only complaint is about how the story ends even though it's fitting I wanted something more!
December 24, 2020
From the author of "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn", Betty Smith wrote another winner.
I believe most of us have heard the words tomorrow will be better -knowing what they infer. They are, however, words of hope.
This was required reading in high school. I still have the paperback, all marked up with doodling and smeared ink all over it.
Remembering how sad a story, I took the chance in not becoming disturbed again.
That didn't work out well, but the book is just so good it was worth it.
It is reality staring you right in the face.
I only wish I could save one person at a time.
I believe most of us have heard the words tomorrow will be better -knowing what they infer. They are, however, words of hope.
This was required reading in high school. I still have the paperback, all marked up with doodling and smeared ink all over it.
Remembering how sad a story, I took the chance in not becoming disturbed again.
That didn't work out well, but the book is just so good it was worth it.
It is reality staring you right in the face.
I only wish I could save one person at a time.
November 17, 2020
Margy and Frankie. They both grew up in Brooklyn. They both have hopes and dreams for the future. Their parents also have plans for them. Betty Smith tells their coming of age story, then their courtship, and marriage. The American Dream is out there. After watching their parents fall short of their hopes, can Margy and Frankie continue a forward trajectory? Is there hope for them in the future? This intimate portrait of life in 1920's Brooklyn will evoke memories of our own upbringings while firmly anchoring us in that time and place. Smith takes the time to invite us into the minds and hearts of multiple characters--brief interludes at times--making this a character-driven slice-of-life that is timeless.
Thank you to Harper Audio and NetGalley for providing a advance audio narration by Nicola Barber in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Harper Audio and NetGalley for providing a advance audio narration by Nicola Barber in exchange for an honest review.
August 24, 2023
Not as good as A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, but along the same lines. Brooklyn neighborhoods, grinding poverty, disappointed parents trying to do their best, which is never good enough, and young people with dreams of escaping. Seventeen year old Margy tries to stay positive, but life gets in the way. In 1922 there were no social programs to help, so present day readers have a hard time grasping that the only help you could expect was from family, and sometimes not much of that. The ending was hopeful, so maybe Margy would make it out after all.
April 25, 2011
I liked this very much--actually, more than I liked Joy in the Morning. I liked the shifting narrators--it was mostly about Margy, but it was great to be able to see inside everybody's heads, to know WHY Margy's mother was the way she was, to know what Reenie's fiancé Sal was thinking, et cetera. This book was a little franker about sex than Joy in the Morning or even A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and I thought Frankie's character was so fascinating to read. And such a hopeful ending. I hope Margy gets the love she deserves.
August 27, 2022
After re-reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, I wanted to read Betty Smith's other novels. While Tomorrow Will Be Better is not as good as A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (I wasn't expecting it to be), it's still a decent read, although not quite four stars for me -- 3.5 stars.
As with A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Tomorrow Will Be Better takes place in Brooklyn during the 1920s, with themes of poverty and hardship. (I suspect that Betty Smith is writing about what she has observed and experienced.) The protagonist is Margy Shannon who grows up in a loveless household with a bitch of a mother, who marries Frankie Malone, but the marriage is not what she expects (or deserves) it to be.
The synopsis on the back of the book says that a "devastating tragedy rattles [Margy's] unshakable hopefulness", but it is not until nearly the end that this "devastating tragedy" actually occurs.
MAJOR SPOILER:
If you are looking for a quick and easy read, I recommend Tomorrow Will Be Better .
As with A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Tomorrow Will Be Better takes place in Brooklyn during the 1920s, with themes of poverty and hardship. (I suspect that Betty Smith is writing about what she has observed and experienced.) The protagonist is Margy Shannon who grows up in a loveless household with a bitch of a mother, who marries Frankie Malone, but the marriage is not what she expects (or deserves) it to be.
The synopsis on the back of the book says that a "devastating tragedy rattles [Margy's] unshakable hopefulness", but it is not until nearly the end that this "devastating tragedy" actually occurs.
MAJOR SPOILER:
If you are looking for a quick and easy read, I recommend Tomorrow Will Be Better .
December 24, 2020
Betty Smith is the author of one of my favorite books, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. So when I saw this one available at my library, I had to snap it up.
I love the genuine characters in that one, and that same touch was also given to the characters in this book too. She tackles real relationship trials...I especially could feel sympathy when it came to the in-laws. I also liked the way the author made the setting feel like its own character. That type of world building I love because I not only see it, but I can feel it as it touches the characters. She integrates that in so well. So 4 stars for this one.
I love the genuine characters in that one, and that same touch was also given to the characters in this book too. She tackles real relationship trials...I especially could feel sympathy when it came to the in-laws. I also liked the way the author made the setting feel like its own character. That type of world building I love because I not only see it, but I can feel it as it touches the characters. She integrates that in so well. So 4 stars for this one.
March 20, 2020
I first read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith when I was just a kid but it quickly became one of my favourite books so when I saw Tomorrow Will Be Better by Smith on Edelweiss+, I was thrilled. I will admit I was also worried how I would react - it is often hard, at least for me, to read other books by an author when the only one I have read is as beloved as A Tree. I worried needlessly. Long out of print, Tomorrow Will Be Better is finally being brought back and, like A Tree, it is beautifully written and, in many way, timeless. Written in 1948 but set in the 1920s in an impoverished Irish American neighbourhood, it is a story of young love and the efforts to overcome the crushing poverty of their youth that has left their parents worn out and able to relate to their children only in mostly negative ways.
As I read the book, I found the date it was first published even more significant than the period in which it was set. WWII had ended just a few years previously, most western countries had enacted policies to prevent another Great Depression, and now new ones to help the general population move forward. It was a hopeful time as most looked towards the future, not sure what it would be like but sure that, as the title suggests, it had to be better. And like those times, after the young couple in the story has faced and overcome so many hardships, the ending is left open, leaving the reader to decide for themselves how their future will unfold - I, for one, am rooting for them.
Thanks to Edelweiss+ and Harper Perennial Classics for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review
As I read the book, I found the date it was first published even more significant than the period in which it was set. WWII had ended just a few years previously, most western countries had enacted policies to prevent another Great Depression, and now new ones to help the general population move forward. It was a hopeful time as most looked towards the future, not sure what it would be like but sure that, as the title suggests, it had to be better. And like those times, after the young couple in the story has faced and overcome so many hardships, the ending is left open, leaving the reader to decide for themselves how their future will unfold - I, for one, am rooting for them.
Thanks to Edelweiss+ and Harper Perennial Classics for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review
June 5, 2009
After rereading this book, I realized that I must have read it multiple times before, and am wondering what drew me to it when I was much younger. One of the reasons I like Smith is that she's not coy about sex, and in this book, her heroine has to come to terms with the fact that the man she marries is not attracted to her--or any woman. As an adult, I find Frankie so sad, and much more sympathetic than I remembered. In fact, I remembered the end as Margy telling him that some men weren't made to be married. But it's Frankie who explains what limits him and why he wanted to marry--to prove that he could be normal. This book exists powerfully in my imagination; as I reread, I pictured images and sentences that were coming my way.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 10, 2024
Tomorrow Will Be Better considers the cycle of poverty and (to use an anachronism) intergenerational trauma. I've never seen someone explain it so clearly without using the term. Smith's novels are heavily psychological, but she pulls a Nathaniel Hawthorne and over-explains her characters, leaving little room for readers' interpretation.
Though less depressing in some respects than A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and without the hopeful tone of Joy in the Morning, Tomorrow Will Be Better promises a future it doesn't deliver for its protagonist. Smith is so pessimistic for Margy the whole novel, until a few hints at the end. Yet, Smith's consideration of "better" is worth considering. Are material concerns the real "better" that Margy hopes to have, compared to her parents? Smith often brings in the American dream, interpreting it through her various characters, hinting that the wild promises of "every boy becoming president" are not as realistic as every generation having the chance to do better. A century after this story is set, the questions remain relevant. Smith's psychological studies of her characters read as if they have come from much introspection on the human condition and the effects we have on each other. They're worth it for that, even if they do lessen the quality of the narrative as a novel.
Interspersed in Margy's narrative are vignettes into other lives. I enjoyed these more than Margy's story sometimes; her story is so unutterably sad. Smith knows her characters better than they know themselves, which just makes them sad to read about. She can put their struggles and desires into words, but they can't, and therein lies the conflict. Except for a few scenes and moments, I can already feel Tomorrow Will Be Better slipping away. I might come back to this one at some point, but I would read Joy in the Morning or A Tree Grows in Brooklyn first.
I have now read three of Smith's four novels--I suppose I should pick up Maggie-Now at some point to complete the set! Recommended for Smith fans, and for anyone looking for a bildungsroman about 1920s Brooklyn that's not drunk on Prohibition-era antics.
Content warnings: death of a child
Though less depressing in some respects than A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and without the hopeful tone of Joy in the Morning, Tomorrow Will Be Better promises a future it doesn't deliver for its protagonist. Smith is so pessimistic for Margy the whole novel, until a few hints at the end. Yet, Smith's consideration of "better" is worth considering. Are material concerns the real "better" that Margy hopes to have, compared to her parents? Smith often brings in the American dream, interpreting it through her various characters, hinting that the wild promises of "every boy becoming president" are not as realistic as every generation having the chance to do better. A century after this story is set, the questions remain relevant. Smith's psychological studies of her characters read as if they have come from much introspection on the human condition and the effects we have on each other. They're worth it for that, even if they do lessen the quality of the narrative as a novel.
Interspersed in Margy's narrative are vignettes into other lives. I enjoyed these more than Margy's story sometimes; her story is so unutterably sad. Smith knows her characters better than they know themselves, which just makes them sad to read about. She can put their struggles and desires into words, but they can't, and therein lies the conflict. Except for a few scenes and moments, I can already feel Tomorrow Will Be Better slipping away. I might come back to this one at some point, but I would read Joy in the Morning or A Tree Grows in Brooklyn first.
I have now read three of Smith's four novels--I suppose I should pick up Maggie-Now at some point to complete the set! Recommended for Smith fans, and for anyone looking for a bildungsroman about 1920s Brooklyn that's not drunk on Prohibition-era antics.
Content warnings: death of a child
September 15, 2017
4,5 estrellas.
No quiero creer que la Francie de "un árbol crece en Brooklyn" pudiera llegar a convertirse en la Margy de este libro. Aunque, ¿quién sabe? Al parecer ambas novelas tienen ciertos tintes autobiográficos de su autora Betty Smith.
Lo que sí he llegado a ratificar con esta novela es que me gusta mucho como escribe Betty Smith y qie me gustan mucho las historias que se desarrollan en los EEUU de comienzos del siglo XX.
Esta historia es bastante agridulce, me Atrevería a decir que a veces es incluso agria y retrata muy bien aquello de "lo que pudo haber sido y no fue".
En cietos aspectos que no quiero desvelar aquí, me ha parecido una historia increíblemente moderna sí tenemos en cuenta que se escribió en los años 40.
Por supuesto, seguiré leyendo a Betty Smith
No quiero creer que la Francie de "un árbol crece en Brooklyn" pudiera llegar a convertirse en la Margy de este libro. Aunque, ¿quién sabe? Al parecer ambas novelas tienen ciertos tintes autobiográficos de su autora Betty Smith.
Lo que sí he llegado a ratificar con esta novela es que me gusta mucho como escribe Betty Smith y qie me gustan mucho las historias que se desarrollan en los EEUU de comienzos del siglo XX.
Esta historia es bastante agridulce, me Atrevería a decir que a veces es incluso agria y retrata muy bien aquello de "lo que pudo haber sido y no fue".
En cietos aspectos que no quiero desvelar aquí, me ha parecido una historia increíblemente moderna sí tenemos en cuenta que se escribió en los años 40.
Por supuesto, seguiré leyendo a Betty Smith
May 1, 2024
Μετά το εξαιρετικό Ένα δέντρο μεγαλώνει στο Μπρούκλιν, ήρθε η σειρά ενός ακόμη βιβλίου της Betty Smith. Κι αυτό τοποθετείται χρονικά την ίδια εποχή και ηρωίδα είναι η Μάρτζι, που μόλις έχει τελειώσει το σχολείο, ψάχνει για δουλειά και ελπίζει ότι θα καταφέρει να ξεφύγει από τη μοίρα που έχουν τα περισσότερα παιδιά της εποχής της. Θέλει να αγαπηθεί και να φτιάξει μια όμορφη οικογένεια και να ζήσει ευτυχισμένη. Άραγε θα καταφέρει ο Φράνκι να είναι ο άντρας που η Μάρτζι φαντάζεται?
Η συγγραφέας, μέσω της ηρωίδας της, μιλά για τα όνειρα των νεαρών κοριτσιών και πόσο εύκολα μπορούν να ανατραπούν. Μιλά για τους γονείς των κοριτσιών κατά βάση και το πόσο θυμωμένοι αισθάνονται απέναντι σε όλους για την μη πραγματοποίηση των δικών τους ονείρων. Μιλά για την ανέχεια, το ίδιο κακομαγειρεμένο φαγητό και τη συντροφικότητα που πολλές φορές χάνεται...Δυστυχώς, η Μάρτζι δεν κατάδερε να αγαπηθεί στο βαθμό που θα ήθελε και η πικρία τελικά είναι αυτό που της απομένει.
Κι όσο κι αν θέλεις να ελπίζεις ότι το αύριο θα είναι καλύτερο, μόνο η επιθυμία δεν είναι αρκετή.
"Τι πάει στραβά και οι άνθρωποι αισθάνονται ότι πρέπει να συμπεριφέρονται συνεχώς δήθεν με κακία, όπως η μαμά;
Η Μάρτζι έδωσε την απάντηση στο ίδιο της το ερώτημα. Μάλλον πέρασε δύσκολα στη ζωή της. Και ακόμα περνά δύσκολα."
3,5 αστέρια
Η συγγραφέας, μέσω της ηρωίδας της, μιλά για τα όνειρα των νεαρών κοριτσιών και πόσο εύκολα μπορούν να ανατραπούν. Μιλά για τους γονείς των κοριτσιών κατά βάση και το πόσο θυμωμένοι αισθάνονται απέναντι σε όλους για την μη πραγματοποίηση των δικών τους ονείρων. Μιλά για την ανέχεια, το ίδιο κακομαγειρεμένο φαγητό και τη συντροφικότητα που πολλές φορές χάνεται...Δυστυχώς, η Μάρτζι δεν κατάδερε να αγαπηθεί στο βαθμό που θα ήθελε και η πικρία τελικά είναι αυτό που της απομένει.
Κι όσο κι αν θέλεις να ελπίζεις ότι το αύριο θα είναι καλύτερο, μόνο η επιθυμία δεν είναι αρκετή.
"Τι πάει στραβά και οι άνθρωποι αισθάνονται ότι πρέπει να συμπεριφέρονται συνεχώς δήθεν με κακία, όπως η μαμά;
Η Μάρτζι έδωσε την απάντηση στο ίδιο της το ερώτημα. Μάλλον πέρασε δύσκολα στη ζωή της. Και ακόμα περνά δύσκολα."
3,5 αστέρια
September 8, 2022
An intensely sad story told candidly and unflinchingly by an author whose personal experiences taught her to understand the motivations of her characters.
The setting is a working class neighborhood in 1920's Brooklyn, New York. When the story opens Margy Shannon is seventeen, a girl "grateful for little concessions and [who] considered herself lucky when things went her way." Nevertheless, she has a heart full of hope and modest aspirations that center on having a home and family, raising children that know they are loved and giving them the chance to to realize their dreams. Margy's home life is full of poverty, fear and endless quarreling. Her mother is a bitter emotionally stunted woman who is unable to show tenderness or love. Her father has been "shoved around" all his life and spends every evening out to escape his wife's constant criticism. Betty Smith shows us it's not an unusual situation for families in that neighborhood. She rotates among the other characters in the story, showing us their thoughts and perspectives so we are able to understand why they are as they are. Out of that comprehensive picture, you see clearly the contributions of thwarted dreams and circumstances that maintain the same family dynamics generation after generation. "Tomorrow will be better" can be seen as something that inspires hope, but also something that can drive the younger generation to postpone or sacrifice their dreams to the older generation. When you have your "whole life in front of you" youth seems unending and waiting a few years to pursue your own happiness is not a big deal. But the years slip by quickly and pretty soon it's too late. Now your thoughts are "if only I were young again" and you are trapped in a destructive cycle that can't be broken unless ingrained habits and patterns of thought actually change. Acknowledging mistakes and hoping for a better outcome just isn't enough.
I appreciate that the story is sad and real, but not hopeless. If in the end
The setting is a working class neighborhood in 1920's Brooklyn, New York. When the story opens Margy Shannon is seventeen, a girl "grateful for little concessions and [who] considered herself lucky when things went her way." Nevertheless, she has a heart full of hope and modest aspirations that center on having a home and family, raising children that know they are loved and giving them the chance to to realize their dreams. Margy's home life is full of poverty, fear and endless quarreling. Her mother is a bitter emotionally stunted woman who is unable to show tenderness or love. Her father has been "shoved around" all his life and spends every evening out to escape his wife's constant criticism. Betty Smith shows us it's not an unusual situation for families in that neighborhood. She rotates among the other characters in the story, showing us their thoughts and perspectives so we are able to understand why they are as they are. Out of that comprehensive picture, you see clearly the contributions of thwarted dreams and circumstances that maintain the same family dynamics generation after generation. "Tomorrow will be better" can be seen as something that inspires hope, but also something that can drive the younger generation to postpone or sacrifice their dreams to the older generation. When you have your "whole life in front of you" youth seems unending and waiting a few years to pursue your own happiness is not a big deal. But the years slip by quickly and pretty soon it's too late. Now your thoughts are "if only I were young again" and you are trapped in a destructive cycle that can't be broken unless ingrained habits and patterns of thought actually change. Acknowledging mistakes and hoping for a better outcome just isn't enough.
I appreciate that the story is sad and real, but not hopeless. If in the end
December 28, 2017
a sad, sad book - but still fascinating
May 6, 2016
The book was an easy read and kept me entertained. My biggest thrill was reading a book not set in the 40s, but written in the 40s. It was an inside look at a fictional story of growing, life, work, love, parenting, and marriage of life set in the 20s. Things the author included back then because it seemed unusual, or could confuse the reader (a mother not nursing) to become the norm today.
I felt it lacked on the writing itself. Great detail was put into the small things and so much emphasis leading up to the big events. But suddenly the big events were past and no time, detail, or words given to them. The biggest shocker was revealed in a last couple words of a chapter and the following chapter would start after.
Still very well worth the read and I guess we'll just have to use our imagination for the rest. Loved the transition from young scared child, to assertive, mature woman.
I felt it lacked on the writing itself. Great detail was put into the small things and so much emphasis leading up to the big events. But suddenly the big events were past and no time, detail, or words given to them. The biggest shocker was revealed in a last couple words of a chapter and the following chapter would start after.
Still very well worth the read and I guess we'll just have to use our imagination for the rest. Loved the transition from young scared child, to assertive, mature woman.
January 2, 2024
Betty Smith is a fave for her atmospheric writing. Her books aren’t flashy in nature. But, I feel like they pack a punch in their quietness and way they depict everyday life for lower and working class characters.
June 5, 2024
Έχοντας διαβάσει το ένα δέντρο μεγαλώνει στο brooklyn το να ξαναβυθιστω σε άλλη μία ιστορία της Betty smith ήταν μονόδρομος...
Ίδιο σκηνικό, δεκαετία του 1920 στις φτωχογειτονιές του μπρούκλιν θα συναντήσουμε δύο οικογένειες που θα χαράξουν την πορεία τους με το πέρας των σελίδων.Οι οικογένειες Σάνον κ Μαλόουν θα μας βοηθήσουν να κατανοήσουμε το κοινωνικό πλαίσιο εκείνης της εποχής. Θα συνειδητοποιήσουμε πόσο χειριστικές συνήθιζαν να είναι οι οικογένειες,καθορίζοντας την πορεία των παιδιών τους. Οριζαν τον γάμο ως έναν βοηθητικό τρόπο οικονομικής και κοινωνικής ανέλιξης για να ξεφύγουν από το περιβάλλον που είχανε γεννηθεί και μεγαλώσει θεωρώντας τον ευκαιρία βελτίωσης για τη ζωή τους,έχοντας χάσει την πίστη τους στο αμερικάνικο όνειρο...
Με στοχαστική,ενδοσκοπική γραφή η συγγραφέας κάνει σκιαγράφηση των χαρακτήρων τονίζοντας την ασημαντότητα της ύπαρξης τους.
Οι ήρωες μας παλεύουν έχοντας στις πλάτες τους βιώματα που στιγμάτ��σαν την ψυχή κ τις πεποιθήσεις τους. Προσπαθούν για ένα καλύτερο μέλλον συνειδητοποιώντας ξαφνικά ότι το μέλλον έχει μεταφερθεί. Ήταν ένα σύντομο παρόν και σύντομα θα γινόταν ένα αξιομνημόνευτο παρελθόν...
Δεν ήταν λίγες οι στιγμές που βούρκωσα αν και εναντιώθηκα με τις επιλογές της ηρωίδας μας και θεώρησα πώς ,ενώ προσπάθησε, δεν μπόρεσε ποτέ να ξεφύγει από την θέση που τοποθετούσε η πατριαρχική κοινωνία τις γυναίκες της εποχής αλλά την δικαιολόγησα γιατί συνειδητοποίησα ότι ένα παιδί μπορεί να ξεχάσει την πείνα που ένιωσε κάποια στιγμή αλλά δεν θα ξεχάσει ποτέ τον πόνο της επιθυμίας κάποιων πραγμάτων.
"Έρχεται κάποια στιγμή στη ζωή ενός άνθρωπου να κάνει το μεγάλο βήμα μπροστά και βλέπει με άλλη ματιά τη σοφία, τη ταπεινότητα και συνειδητοποιεί την πραγματικότητα. Για ένα κλάσμα του δευτερολέπτου κατανοεί πώς λειτουργεί το σύμπαν και του δίνεται για λίγο το χάρισμα να δει τον εαυτό του όπως τον βλέπουν οι άλλοι..."
Έχει όμως σημασία να ασχολούμαστε με το πώς μας βλέπουν οι άλλοι και τη γνώμη σχηματίζουν αυτοί για μας?
Μήπως αυτό μας καθορίζει στην πορεία της ζωής μας?
Έτσι κ οι ήρωες μας παγιδεύονται σε αυτές τις σκέψεις και βουλιάζουν γνωρίζοντας τον αληθινό πόνο της απώλειας στις ζωές τους...
Ίδιο σκηνικό, δεκαετία του 1920 στις φτωχογειτονιές του μπρούκλιν θα συναντήσουμε δύο οικογένειες που θα χαράξουν την πορεία τους με το πέρας των σελίδων.Οι οικογένειες Σάνον κ Μαλόουν θα μας βοηθήσουν να κατανοήσουμε το κοινωνικό πλαίσιο εκείνης της εποχής. Θα συνειδητοποιήσουμε πόσο χειριστικές συνήθιζαν να είναι οι οικογένειες,καθορίζοντας την πορεία των παιδιών τους. Οριζαν τον γάμο ως έναν βοηθητικό τρόπο οικονομικής και κοινωνικής ανέλιξης για να ξεφύγουν από το περιβάλλον που είχανε γεννηθεί και μεγαλώσει θεωρώντας τον ευκαιρία βελτίωσης για τη ζωή τους,έχοντας χάσει την πίστη τους στο αμερικάνικο όνειρο...
Με στοχαστική,ενδοσκοπική γραφή η συγγραφέας κάνει σκιαγράφηση των χαρακτήρων τονίζοντας την ασημαντότητα της ύπαρξης τους.
Οι ήρωες μας παλεύουν έχοντας στις πλάτες τους βιώματα που στιγμάτ��σαν την ψυχή κ τις πεποιθήσεις τους. Προσπαθούν για ένα καλύτερο μέλλον συνειδητοποιώντας ξαφνικά ότι το μέλλον έχει μεταφερθεί. Ήταν ένα σύντομο παρόν και σύντομα θα γινόταν ένα αξιομνημόνευτο παρελθόν...
Δεν ήταν λίγες οι στιγμές που βούρκωσα αν και εναντιώθηκα με τις επιλογές της ηρωίδας μας και θεώρησα πώς ,ενώ προσπάθησε, δεν μπόρεσε ποτέ να ξεφύγει από την θέση που τοποθετούσε η πατριαρχική κοινωνία τις γυναίκες της εποχής αλλά την δικαιολόγησα γιατί συνειδητοποίησα ότι ένα παιδί μπορεί να ξεχάσει την πείνα που ένιωσε κάποια στιγμή αλλά δεν θα ξεχάσει ποτέ τον πόνο της επιθυμίας κάποιων πραγμάτων.
"Έρχεται κάποια στιγμή στη ζωή ενός άνθρωπου να κάνει το μεγάλο βήμα μπροστά και βλέπει με άλλη ματιά τη σοφία, τη ταπεινότητα και συνειδητοποιεί την πραγματικότητα. Για ένα κλάσμα του δευτερολέπτου κατανοεί πώς λειτουργεί το σύμπαν και του δίνεται για λίγο το χάρισμα να δει τον εαυτό του όπως τον βλέπουν οι άλλοι..."
Έχει όμως σημασία να ασχολούμαστε με το πώς μας βλέπουν οι άλλοι και τη γνώμη σχηματίζουν αυτοί για μας?
Μήπως αυτό μας καθορίζει στην πορεία της ζωής μας?
Έτσι κ οι ήρωες μας παγιδεύονται σε αυτές τις σκέψεις και βουλιάζουν γνωρίζοντας τον αληθινό πόνο της απώλειας στις ζωές τους...
June 18, 2024
Nije loša, ali ni blizu genijalnog uratka "Jedno drvo raste u Brooklynu".
December 17, 2020
Thanks #HarperPerennial @HarperPerennial for a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
Written 70 years ago and set in Brooklyn 100 years ago, Tomorrow Will Be Better is a timeless, coming-of-age story of love and a young marriage, of poverty and hardship, of hope and second chances. Margy Shannon hopes optimistically for a better life than her parents. Weary of living a life of hardship with her quarreling parents, she dreams about landing a well paying job, finding a loving husband, and establishing her own home.
Republished Classic: Some classics hold up across decades and Tomorrow Will Be Better is definitely timeless. If you’ve read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn or Joy in the Morning, you will enjoy Tomorrow Will Be Better. Even though this book seems like it would be shelved as historical fiction, I think that technically it fits in the Vintage Contemporary category. Here’s the explanation: to be histfic, the book’s story needs to be set (approximately) forty years before it was published. Since this has a 1920s setting and was published in the 1940s, it doesn’t neatly fit the histfic genre. So my understanding is that it is considered Vintage Contemporary because it was written a long time ago but the setting wasn’t over forty years from the time of the publishing date. Although….now since it’s currently republished maybe now it is considered Vintage histfic! Confused yet? I’m digging myself a deep hole! #BookNerdProblems
Margy Shannon is a memorable and relatable young adult character. She never gives up hope for a better tomorrow, dreams big, and works hard. When life gets difficult, she strives to make the best of it while demonstrating grit, loyalty, and compassion. Her parents are less than likable characters and may represent many of that generation who expressed love in negative ways and found themselves in similar circumstances.
Betty Smith immerses us into the setting of Brooklyn in the 1920s and we feel like we are experiencing life there alongside Margy.
The main point of voew in the story is Margy’s, but hearing the story briefly from various points of view creates a rich reading experience.
In life’s difficult circumstances, there is HOPE for a better tomorrow. Other thoughtful themes include family loyalty, parent-child relationships, poverty versus the American Dream, jumping into marriage to escape home, and coming of age.
I enthusiastically recommend the work of Betty Smith. Tomorrow Will Be Better is more sad than A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Francie is my favorite). If you are new to classics, Betty Smith might be a good place to start. Recommended for fans of classic literary fiction and for book clubs.
For more reviews visit my blog www.readingladies.com (where this review was first published).
Written 70 years ago and set in Brooklyn 100 years ago, Tomorrow Will Be Better is a timeless, coming-of-age story of love and a young marriage, of poverty and hardship, of hope and second chances. Margy Shannon hopes optimistically for a better life than her parents. Weary of living a life of hardship with her quarreling parents, she dreams about landing a well paying job, finding a loving husband, and establishing her own home.
Republished Classic: Some classics hold up across decades and Tomorrow Will Be Better is definitely timeless. If you’ve read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn or Joy in the Morning, you will enjoy Tomorrow Will Be Better. Even though this book seems like it would be shelved as historical fiction, I think that technically it fits in the Vintage Contemporary category. Here’s the explanation: to be histfic, the book’s story needs to be set (approximately) forty years before it was published. Since this has a 1920s setting and was published in the 1940s, it doesn’t neatly fit the histfic genre. So my understanding is that it is considered Vintage Contemporary because it was written a long time ago but the setting wasn’t over forty years from the time of the publishing date. Although….now since it’s currently republished maybe now it is considered Vintage histfic! Confused yet? I’m digging myself a deep hole! #BookNerdProblems
Margy Shannon is a memorable and relatable young adult character. She never gives up hope for a better tomorrow, dreams big, and works hard. When life gets difficult, she strives to make the best of it while demonstrating grit, loyalty, and compassion. Her parents are less than likable characters and may represent many of that generation who expressed love in negative ways and found themselves in similar circumstances.
Betty Smith immerses us into the setting of Brooklyn in the 1920s and we feel like we are experiencing life there alongside Margy.
The main point of voew in the story is Margy’s, but hearing the story briefly from various points of view creates a rich reading experience.
In life’s difficult circumstances, there is HOPE for a better tomorrow. Other thoughtful themes include family loyalty, parent-child relationships, poverty versus the American Dream, jumping into marriage to escape home, and coming of age.
I enthusiastically recommend the work of Betty Smith. Tomorrow Will Be Better is more sad than A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Francie is my favorite). If you are new to classics, Betty Smith might be a good place to start. Recommended for fans of classic literary fiction and for book clubs.
For more reviews visit my blog www.readingladies.com (where this review was first published).
February 8, 2021
I have a new favorite book of all time. It’s up there with A Tree Grows in Brooklyn for depicting life in 1920s Brooklyn lived by working class families struggling to make it even as they dream of something more. The title offers hope to people stuck in their working man grind, shoving each other as much as they feel shoved by their supervisors at the factory. Each generation imagines breaking out of the cycle to advance to the next class and the comforts they imagine upward mobility would bring. Imagine Willy Loman from the wife’s perspective. Or Maud Muller, a poem written by John Greenleaf Whittier in 1856. Smith quoted a few lines of this poem about a short acquaintance between people of different social classes who go on to marry within their own classes but spend their lives wondering, “what if?”. The characters here work hard to get nowhere and give up on their dreams when they are too young to settle. Add some sexual incompatibility to make it edgy for the 1947 in which it was written and it is a thought-provoking, emotional, engaging ride.
March 7, 2018
I enjoyed A Tree Grows in Brooklyn so much that I wanted more of Betty Smith. This book was long ago out of print, so I assumed it would be dated. I was wrong. It was, of course, a time piece. I truly understood what 1920’s Brooklyn must have been like. The struggling immigrant issues were no different than what is happening today (without Trump to make things worse) as well as women struggling in a man’s world. I think this book should be put back into print. So many of the chapters are thought provoking and as relevant today as they were in the day.
I read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn in high school and loved it as much at 17 as I did at 61.
I also read Joy in the Morning and did not think that it passed the test of time. I loved it when I was a teenager in the 70’s but today it just doesn’t fly.
Now I am going to read Maggie Now.
I read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn in high school and loved it as much at 17 as I did at 61.
I also read Joy in the Morning and did not think that it passed the test of time. I loved it when I was a teenager in the 70’s but today it just doesn’t fly.
Now I am going to read Maggie Now.
December 16, 2020
I read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn several years ago, and want to re-read it after this. I think it is superior to this one, but I did thoroughly enjoy this story of Margy's growing-up years into womanhood. The author was more frank than I expected about confronting personal issues, and seems rather ahead of her time in that way. Her writing is very smooth, making it an easy read, albeit an emotional one. She did a great job of letting us into the feelings of all the characters, making it seem true to life. There is also some interesting supplementary material on Betty Smith at the end.
Thanks very much to HarperCollins and GR for this giveaway copy.
Thanks very much to HarperCollins and GR for this giveaway copy.
June 10, 2021
If you want to read Betty Smith this is not the novel I would start with. It has classic Betty Smith features, the story of a poor girl in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in the early part of the twentieth century and her rise to independence in the face of adversity, but it lacked the steadiness and heart that makes A Tree Grows in Brooklyn such a masterpiece. This felt like a tentative novel. The plot was very understated, the entire novel feeling shy and like Smith was afraid to dive too deep.
Still, I found it worth reading as a study of the coming of age novel, and it may grow on me more with time.
Still, I found it worth reading as a study of the coming of age novel, and it may grow on me more with time.
January 18, 2023
3.5 stars. This engaged me mainly because after my grandfather died a few weeks ago, I was able to sit and listen to more of my grandmother’s stories of growing up very poor in Brooklyn in the 1930s and 40s. So many of her experiences as a child of Irish and Italian immigrants living in Brooklyn are reflected in Betty Smith’s stories. This particular story was sad but I think very accurately portrays the people of that time and place. I think I need to go back and reread A Tree Grows in Brooklyn sometime soon.
March 22, 2020
My edition large print, over 400 pp. Line drawing cover, making it look sort of literary.
Anyway. I think I should've just reread ATGiB instead (after all, I've only read it once, and that was almost 2 decades ago). Smith certainly does know how to bring her characters alive. Or, half-alive, which is all the luckiest of them ever achieve. An easy, yet also wise read... but not an enjoyable one.
Anyway. I think I should've just reread ATGiB instead (after all, I've only read it once, and that was almost 2 decades ago). Smith certainly does know how to bring her characters alive. Or, half-alive, which is all the luckiest of them ever achieve. An easy, yet also wise read... but not an enjoyable one.
June 3, 2021
Betty Smith was *such* a good writer, but this was a tough read. Though the setting was the same as A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, I found the characters darker and much more bitter (especially Margy's mother). It really made me think about how tough life was, for so long, for most of the western world's working class, and appreciate that I live in relative ease.
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