Books: Corn Grows in Brooklyn

MAGGIE-NOW (437 pp.)—Betty Smith —Harper ($4).

Being born and raised in Brooklyn is not necessarily a fate to be deplored, but it can be dangerous for a writer who refuses to forget the fact. A case in point is Betty Smith, whose A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1943) was sold to even more people than there are in Brooklyn, was translated into 16 languages. Five years later Author Smith, who had long since deserted Brooklyn for Chapel Hill. N.C.. followed up with Tomorrow Will Be Better—Brooklyn again, but not better. Her latest, Maggie-Now, proves that Betty Smith has still not washed Brooklyn...