Rating: 
Summary: Here goes my top 500 rating...
Review: ... It is a chronicle of a tragic childhood with a good dose of the macabre - the scene with the dead baby made me shiver. Though, having known a number of people from Ireland, I am aware that the Celts do tend to have a rather morbid side to their religious beliefs, most are not in the situation where ... their parents were anything like this pair. Don't read this one for humour - it is appealing only for those who are relieved to find that they could have done worse than they did with their own dysfunctional families.
Rating: 
Summary: Wept
Review: This is a classic book. Having roots in Ireland, I was instantly interested in reading this book. It actually took me about 6 months to read it becuse I had to stop reading it every time I had a book assigned for school. It is very sad, but at the same time, very enlightning. It's amazing how Frank found happiness in the smallest things. This book made me cry, it made me laugh, and it made me proud of my heritage. Frank Mccourt, I commend you.
Rating: 
Summary: Sad, insightful, wonderful story
Review: ...Boy am I glad I got this book - it is a real treasure. This book tells a great story and is really interesting (though also very depressing). Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I've ever read
Review: WOW! That just about sums it up. This book was incredible, everyone should read it.
Rating:
Summary: Angela's Ashes
Review: This was one of the most powerful and heart touching novels that I have read. The experience he describes through his eyes shows a world that I could never image. A world of pain, sadness, and suffering but at the same time filled with love and joy. Frank and his younger brother Malachy were born in America during the Great Depression. Life in American was not at all wonderful for Frank's family but it was more than they could ever dream of having in Ireland. However, they wouldn't stay there for long. Frank's father lost his job while drunk at work. For some reason his father thought life would be better back in Ireland, so the family traveled back to Limerick where his mother was brought up. Living in Limerick wasn't easy for anyone however, it was even more difficult for Frank's father because he was from Northern Ireland. He was never liked by anyone on Frank's mother side of the family. His father never did much for the family but spend the family's money in the pubs. Frank grew up with the pain of losing his three baby brothers and sister as well as his first love. Later in Frank's life he plans to return to America. "I know I don't have to tell Mam anything, that soon when the pubs close he'll be home singing and offering us a penny to die for Ireland and it will be different now because its bad enough to drink the dole or the wages but a man that drinks the money for a new baby is gone beyond the beyonds as my mother would say." (McCourt, 186) This quote shows how miserable his childhood was like with his father around. Because his father left the family when he was at a young age, we see him develop into the man his father never was. He knew the importance of bring home the money to his family.
Rating:
Summary: miserably depressing with a twist
Review: While this book details the Ireland we are all familiar with...poverty, war, alcohol...Frank McCourt defines every humorous memory which brightens the scene. I admit I wasn't drawn to this book like some good stories. It began very slowly and every member of his family seemed to be dying left and right. However, once I got to the final 150 pages (Frank's teen years), I couldn't put it down. It is disturbing how much control religion has over one's mind; however, seen through the eyes of a child it is entertaining. Don't expect a close-knit family when you sit down to read this. This is not a family that sticks together. Aside from his father, McCourt's aunt and grandmother are "tight" even when they have a little to spare. However, those in the lane who have less always seem to come through for others in the town which is enlightening. I am still debating whether I want to read the sequel, 'Tis.
Rating:
Summary: A Work of Lasting Beauty
Review: Angela's Ashes is a well written memoir about the struggles of a young boy growing up in Ireland. Frank McCourt uses aching sadness and desperate humor to tell the true story of his life. The story is told in first person point of view, which is why this story has so much detail and is so heartwarming. This book has parts that are kind of disgusting, yet without them the story would loose it's them. The book would probably not suit everyone's taste but it is a book everyone should read to help them understand that no struggle is too hard to overcome. Frank McCourt tells the story in such a way that you feel as if you're there struggling with him and although the story has many struggles and sadnesses, it has humor to balance all this out.
Rating:
Summary: can't put it down
Review: From the minute I saw the cover of the book, I thought I wonder...what could this book be about. It was a must have book! I could not put the book down! The story of Frank's life is one that so many people could relate too in so many ways. The poverty, alcohol, death, and that one teacher who stood out in school. Even the fleas...not funny but if you have ever had them in your house, you know! As Frank gets older he helps take his family from rags to doing ok. It is such a heart warming book and I just could not put it down. I waited with little patience for "Tis" the second part of the book. Another wonderful book!
Rating:
Summary: not as good as everyone says
Review: I read this book for my book club and it was a difficult and slow book to get through. Several of us in the club were not impressed. His life was very difficult and I didn't enjoy reading about all the tragedy and obstacles he faced. I never felt like their was a light at the end of the tunnel for him or this book.
Rating:
Summary: Frank McCourt's Unique Blessings
Review: Frank McCourt retells his unfortunate past in Angela's Ashes. McCourt begins his unprivaleged life in New York, and after his father was fired from drinking on the job, many times, he moved to Ireland. The book Angela Ashes gives the reader a different point of veiw on a poor Irish Catholic family. This book introduced new writing styles to me. McCourt writes in long run-on sentances for example. It was easy for me to loose focus when sorting my thoughts through the endless commas. This could have been McCourt's way to emphasize stories. I am unsure. Another element McCourt uses in his book, which differs from most books I have read is his unique dialect the characters carried. Dialect helped the imagination create a face. All of these elements help to create the big picture in Angela's Ashes. McCourt shares with the reader a special personal story. The tones he sets are so unique and personal. The way he describes his crumy life makes the reader so depressed. Yet, the way McCourt shares joy with his family, and his self is amazeing. There are complications with his father, but love too. McCourt commonly uses the "show don't tell" method to demonstrate these feelings. Athought McCourt uses this method to describe situations he does not use this technique in describing the scenes. He leaves the details to your imagination. Even though he writes no vivid details you have this gut feeling you know what everthing looked like. This is a special book. It opened a door that helped me realize hardships in life make you who you are. They made Frank McCourt a successful writer. God works in special ways. I especially enjoy this quote from McCourt that describes Angela's Ashes, "When I look back on my chilhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, or course, a miserabke childhood: the happy childhhod is harldy worh your while. Worse that the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood". This quote gives a definate meaning from the author. Any reader can appreciate this book. I recommend it to all readers.
| 
