Sutra bit će bolje je poluautobiografski roman u kojem upoznajemo Margy Shannon – optimističnu mladu ženu u potrazi za boljim životom od trenutnog siromaštva i bijede Brooklyna. Betty Smith donosi nam priču o tužnom siromaštvu, o nadi u bolje sutra, o bračnim i obiteljskim odnosima, o djeci koja maštaju o budućnosti, o boljoj budućnosti. Sutra bit će bolje nekome je izraz nade, a nekome jedini razlog da se digne i nastavi dalje.

Volim New York 1920-ih. Nešto mi je posebno u tom razdoblju, život djeluje jednostavnije, a autorica je vrlo vješta u kreiranju ugođaja i prenošenju čitatelja u prošlost svojim opisima. Svidjeli su mi se i likovi koje je Smith stvorila, odnosi među njima koji su toliko realni da je nemoguće ne suosjećati, i sama radnja je vrlo zanimljiva, ali sve mi je bilo nekako mlako i rastegnuto i samim time nije uspjelo u meni izazvati dovoljno jake osjećaje da uživam u baš svakom retku.

Sutra bit će bolje drugi je roman ove autorice koji sam pročitala. I dok me roman Jedno drvo raste u Brooklynu u potpunosti osvojio, Sutra bit će bolje ostao je u njegovoj sjeni. Roman je dobar, ali ne onoliko koliko sam ja priželjkivala.

[english]

Tomorrow Will Be Better – Betty Smith

Tomorrow Will Be Better is a semi-autobiographical novel in which we meet Margy Shannon – an optimistic young woman in search of a better life than the current poverty and misery of Brooklyn. Betty Smith brings us a story about sad poverty, about hope for a better tomorrow, about marriage and family relationships, about children who dream about the future, about a better future. “Tomorrow will be better” for someone is an expression of hope, and for someone the only reason to get up and move on.

I love New York in the 1920s. There is something special about that period, life seems simpler, and the author is very skilled in creating an atmosphere and transporting the reader to the past with her descriptions. I also liked the characters that Smith created, the relationships between them that are so realistic that it is impossible not to sympathize, and the plot itself is very interesting, but everything was kind of tepid and stretched out for me and thus it didn’t manage to evoke strong enough emotions in me to make me enjoy every line.

Tomorrow Will Be Better is the second novel by this author that I have read. And while the novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn completely won me over, Tomorrow Will Be Better remained in its shadow. The novel is good, but not as good as I wished it would be.