Joy in the Morning
Ratings4
Average rating3
15
Ratings4
Average rating3
Annie and Carl are Brooklyn born and raised. When Carl moved west to attend law school, Annie soon followed. Nobody expected it to last, but together, they found Joy in the Morning.
The story of a young couple from Brooklyn who marry young, have little money, and face bitter parental opposition, but are determined to make something of their life together. "In Brooklyn, New York, in 1927, Carl Brown and Annie McGairy meet and fall in love. Though only eighteen, Annie travels alone to the Midwestern university where Carl is studying law to marry him. Little did they know how difficult their first year of marriage would be, in a faraway place with little money and few friends. But Carl and Annie come to realize that their greatest sources of strength, loyalty, and love, will help them make it through."--P. [4] of cover.--LibraryThing
Reviews with the most likes.
This is a simple, sweet story – pleasant to read with great insight into the beginning of a marriage. I particularly enjoyed the way Annie made friends in the town while she struggled with wanting to fit in with the coeds.
I read this because my holds at the library weren't ready. it was a lot better than I expected tbh
The reason why I'm reviewing this is not because I finished the book. The reason is, I accidentally misplaced my copy somewhere (trust me, I've looked for it), and none of the libraries around me carry it. I got sick of seeing this book on my Goodreads homepage and not being able to finish it, so I'm rating it based on my impression of the book so far. I'll probably find my copy right after I write this, because that's how the world works.
I picked this up because I really love A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, a book I have read many, many times since first reading it in high school. I'm pleased to say that the two are similar, but I feel that Joy in the Morning is not nearly as charming nor environmentally encompassing. It relies quite a bit on dialogue, which I'm normally fine with, but I think in this case it's to the detriment of the story because so much of the setting is lost to the reader through dialogue. The characters are enjoyable, but I didn't grow to love them the way I did with A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. However, that's probably due to the fact that I lost my book before finishing it.
It's worth checking out for the writing style, but it isn't Betty Smith's best work by any means. I initially picked it up from a used bookstore so I could have something to read on a car trip, and I think that's a great setting for a book like this.
I know this was written in a different time period, but the casual misogyny from Carl just isn't sitting right at this point.
