A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, one of the New York Public Library's Books of the Century, captures the time and place of Depression-era New York City like few other books do (well, technically the early 1900s...but either way, things are pretty grim). As a historical record, it's certainly intriguing. I've heard it described as "heartwarming," but I found it more depressing than uplifting. At times, the lengthy descriptions of food and its scarcity were just plain difficult to read.

I had just finished reading Julie Powell's Julie and Julia prior to reading "A Tree..." Talk about two different Brooklyns! In one book, there's barely enough food to scrape together a full meal more than once a week. In the other book, there's almost more food than the author has time to eat.

Reading both books back-to-back was a surreal reading experience, but definitely a reminder that although times may be tough, there's little comparison to the world our grandparents were born into. I could relate to one ("Julie...") and not so much to the other ("A Tree...")--and for that, I'm thankful.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was January's selection for Harper Perennial's "New Classics" book club. For more information on the "New Classics" club, visit The Roaring 20s.