Tis Unabridged : A Memoir

Rating:
Summary: A Fitting Sequel
Review: Although Angela's Ashes is a literary gem, (another five star) it was a bit of a downer. Tis is most definitely an upper. I laughed so hard I couldn't see the words for the tears. Bless Frank McCourt for uplifting me for a few hours. To paraphrase Descartes, I read, therefore I am.

Rating:
Summary: Engaging but not sleep-depriving
Review: Not having read Angela's Ashes, I ordered Tis with great anticipation using my Palm VII Amazon.com application. Frank McCourt's recounting of his college days was entertaining and brought back a few memories. The book also does an excellent job depicting the difficult times immigrants face as well as the doors that education opens. Maybe my expectations were set to high, but Tis didn't keep me up all night although it made for good reading.

Rating:
Summary: 'Tis a satisfying, if less essential, sequel
Review: Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes, a memoir about growing up under difficult circumstances in Brooklyn and Limerick, became an unexpected sensation a couple years ago, and deservedly so. McCourt, using delicate, direct prose, related the difficulty of an impoverished childhood troubled by a hard-drinking, irresponsible father. Angela's Ashes closes with McCourt's journey back to America, and its sequel, 'Tis, picks up almost precisely where its predecessor left off. If McCourt's patriotic closing sentiment in Ashes seemed a bit too simplistic, 'Tis makes it clear that America didn't immediately offer milk and honey to her prodigal son. Undereducated, unwashed, and plagued by eye troubles, McCourt struggles to carve out a life in New York, working as a busboy to the privileged in the '40s before joining the army and eventually returning to New York to resume his education. McCourt is fine prose stylist and a colorful storyteller, and 'Tis, for its first two thirds at least, proves a worthy successor to Angela's Ashes. As McCourt grows older on the page, however, the faux-naif narration that works so well in describing his life as a child and a young man begins to seem more like a device behind which to hide. Later chapters dealing with his marriage and teaching career prove less compelling and less cohesive: Some events (the dissolution of his marriage) seem out of the blue, while others (his own drinking) drop out of the narrative entirely. Closing chapters dealing with the death of McCourt's mother and father are quite moving, however, and readers of Ashes will no doubt find 'Tis a satisfying, if less essential, sequel. DWW

Rating:
Summary: I just like McCourt's style
Review: I am not a serious reader, but McCourt captures me. I hope he will continue to write more.

Rating:
Summary: It's irony, folks, not anger.
Review: Anyone who considers 'Tis an angry or depressing book doesn't understand irony, of which McCourt is a master. That's what makes him so lovable. 'Tis doesn't top Angela's Ashes, but what could? It's nonetheless a great book in its own right. It could have used more commas and some fleshing out toward the end, but I enjoyed every word. Perhaps he didn't dwell on his divorce or his remarriage out of respect for the privacy of those concerned. In any case, he certainly didn't shy away from revealing the ample grounds he gave "Mike" for divorcing him. In view of his background, it shouldn't surprise readers that he shared the family weakness for drink and irresponsibility, but he doesn't glorify it the way Malachy did in his wretched book. And Frank did overcome it. He went to work and school despite his hangovers, and he sent every spare penny home, so that his mother and brothers could escape Limerick, too. That Angela chose to cling to her misery was not his fault. It is only natural that he resented her rejection of his efforts to make her happy, and it is very honest of him to admit his less than charitable attitude toward her.

Rating:
Summary: A disappointing work after a good first novel.
Review: Perhaps my expectations were a bit high after Angela's Ashes but this novel did not go anywhere for me. Sure, there were some amusing stories but seemed like trudgery to get through 'Tis. When I can't look forward to picking up a book at the end of a day then I know it's a boring book. Reader beware.

Rating:
Summary: LOVED IT!
Review: After reading Angela's Ashes, I couldn't wait to read this book. I have to say that it is not as good as Angela's Ashes. Nevertheless, it still has become one of my all time favorites. Frank Mccourt, you have done it again. I wish there were more authors who could come close to writing such great novels! Thank you.

Rating:
Summary: A rambling, foul, vulgar discourse.
Review: This book was a great disappointment. I believe the author is living on the laurels of Angela's Ashes. The story is a rambling, foul, vulgar discourse on what appears to be many imagined stories. McCourt admits in interviews he did not keep any diaries or notes. I find it difficult that he remembered all this in such detail. The sad thing is that it appears he turned out no better than his drunken father. I had hoped his life would be more of a shining example to other immigrants who strive for the American dream. It seems his only intention in this book was to see how much garbage the reader would tolerate. I would not recommend this book to anyone. Save your money!

Rating:
Summary: Heartwarming sequel to Angela's Ashes.
Review: I lived every moment of Frank McCourt's life in New York from age 19 to the conclusion of his book. One should read this book with an Irish accent in one's mind. His experiences as a newcomer to New York, his various jobs and the people he met along the way are now part of me. Because he was an "ethnic" he was able to make the ethnics in his life real and heartwarming. If he drank too much and use somewhat foul language it did not detract from the book, because he true to his life. Thank you, Frank McCourt.

Rating:
Summary: I was very disapointed. I expected more .
Review: After reading Angela's Ashes, which was great, I wanted to like Frank McCort's second offering but I could not. I was not impressed by his simpering self loathing...I could not even conjure sympathy, merely pity. A pathetic attempt at best, sorry Frank.