Rating: 
Summary: response to poor reviews
Review: You've got it all wrong. This is a great novel, perhaps superior to Angela simply because McCourt must deal with the unrealistic hype of his miraculous debut. He writes a book that is not Angela's Ashes, for it stands completely on its own. Frank is in NY in 'Tis, not Ireland, and his style belies this important fact. HE changes and grows, just as his novel shifts from empathy to rage to pity to ultimate love.
Rating: 
Summary: I Loved It
Review: Tis' was wonderful. Mr. McCourt says things without all the blah-blah-blah's and yada-yada-yada's. I appreciate that. He gets to the point in Tis' as he did in Angela's Ashes and I thank him for writing books that are worth my time.
Rating:
Summary: Not just for the casual reader
Review: I enjoyed the book. I thought it was amazing. I appreciate the way he mixed the seriousness of the subject matter with his wonderful wit. I am sure he had to keep his sense of humor to make it through the life he had. I am now starting Angela's Ashes and look forward to it. I hope it will be as fascinating as this one.
Rating:
Summary: A funny,but truely heart-warming life story.
Review: 'Tis was quite an interesting book. I looked forward to reading this after I read "Angela'Ashes". I was impressed with Mr. McCourt's observations of the American society and culture. Not only was he shocked at some things he saw and experienced in his early years "just off the boat", but he also had to deal with some self-esteem issues. He worked hard at overcoming some of his demons. I noticed he found it quite difficult to forgive or forget in many instances which one can attribute to the bitterness he felt towards the church, his father and sometimes his mother. There were many lessons I got from reading 'Tis such as sticking to ones dreams of a better education, a better life, family loyalty, love and commitment, just to name a few. I do believe Mr. McCourt is a survivor in all respects. His gift of story telling is superb and I commend him in all his endeavors. Overall, this was a great sequel and I thank you Mr. McCourt for hanging in there.
Rating: 
Summary: An unrelenting subject
Review: Although I loved Angela's Ashes and laughed and cried and marveled at Frank McCourt's way with words and mind pictures, I was sorely disappointed by the sequel, "Tis." It was so, well, unrelenting and, after a while, monotonous. I didn't want to hear the description of his sore, red eyes the 50th time he mentioned them... or for that matter, the 20th time! Where the first book's tragedies and sad stories were leavened by the truly hilarious bits, "Tis" had few humorous moments. The last chapters seemed to be "dashed off" and boring. I raced through them to the end of the book. I will approach his next book with a jaundiced eye, I'm sorry to say.
Rating:
Summary: Great!
Review: 'Tis is a great book and a wonderful sequel to Angela's Ashes. The book is also easy to read like Angela's Ashes. I was looking forward to reading this book since I was a little disappointed with the ending of Angela's Ashes. The content within the book was great. There were funny, serious, disheartening and uplifiting moments. I found myself wanting to keep reading to find out what else is going to happen in McCourts life in NYC. Now that I have finished reading 'Tis, I would like to see another book to continue where McCourt left off. I would like the book to end in the current year or close to today's time. Overall, I would recommend anyone read this book but only after they have read Angela's Ashes.
Rating:
Summary: Self-Indulgent
Review: This book seemed completely self-indulgent and self-serving and yet Frank McCourt doesn't make himself out to be a hero. Could it be that this book is his version of Catholic confession? He was endearing in Angela's Ashes: he didn't seem to dwell on his misfortunes, he merely worked to improve his situation and he wanted to make something of himself. He seemed optimistic that he could. Once in New York, however, he becomes a pessimistic alcoholic with little direction in his life, utterly fails in his chosen profession, teaching, and seems to have trouble connecting with women as anything more than sex objects. I think Frank McCourt has lost some of his credibility with 'Tis and I can't help but wonder if he just got lucky with Angela's Ashes.
Rating:
Summary: Tis No Angela's Ashes
Review: When I read ANGELA'S ASHES I was stunned by the humanity of the story. I hadn't even finished it and I was recommending it to friends and buying copies to give to people. Naturally I couldn't wait to read TIS. Well I finished TIS last night and what a let down. Mr. McCourt shares his fathers problem with alcohol and like his father he can't see it. His idea of Irish social drinking isn't funny and his antics and his friends antics under the influence are sad not humorous. After the success of ANGELA'S ASHES I saw and heard many interviews with Mr. McCourt and it was obvious he had an edge to him that I misstook for rightous indignation. I was wrong, Mr. McCourt is an angry alcoholic that never grew up.
Rating:
Summary: A grand companion for a commute!
Review: I listened to Tis being read by the author during my drive to work and back. It was as if Mr. McCourt were in the car with me, telling story after story. I think every American should read both Angela's Ashes and 'Tis, particularly our elected officials. AA describes how poverty affects innocent children. And 'Tis describes how people can pull themselves out of poverty with an education.
Rating: 
Summary: Definitely worth reading, but...
Review: Like everyone else, I loved Angela's Ashes. Thoroughly moving, it drew me into a culture that I had only vague knowledge about. While halfway through Tis I thought that I would end up liking it even more than Angela's but then something went wrong. It seemed as if McCourt was working against a deadline and rushed through the last section of the book. His beautiful prose and imagery dwindled. Instead of long, moving passages, chapters were filled with one to two sentence paragraphs. The first part of the book - his introduction to American/New York culture of post WWII was fascinating, the great "Irish" story of Angela's was now a great "American" story. As a high school English teacher, I was very interested in McCourt's early years as teacher and felt a certain degree of comfort (I'm not sure why,) reading about his frustrations and small victories. Things don't change. One of Tis's disappointments was that as a reader, I never got the sense whether McCourt ever liked teaching. His descriptions of teaching nursery rhymes to his Stuyvesant students was silly. These were some of the finest students in NY and it was unclear why McCourt had to resort to these tactics to "reach them." His battles with school administrators were never explained but I know that if I taught that caliber of student nursery rhymes, I'd have problems, too. Sadly, the book became an inventory of the last 20 years: job changes, problems with Alberta, parenting, divorce, his parents' deaths. None of this was really developed and the story, while still holding some interest, became a listing of events. The richness of his prose dissolved. I do feel, though, that reading sub-par McCourt is still better than the majority of new nonfiction on the market today. If you liked Angela's Ashes, (and you probably would not be reading this review if you didn't), it is certainly worth your while to read Tis. For those looking for something extraordinary, read When Pride Still Mattered, the autobiography of Vince Lombardi by David Maraniss. First rate, one does not have to be a sports fan to enjoy this. The best thing I've read in a long time.
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