Rating: Summary: Funny Review: Frank McCourt has written another humorous account of his life in his new novel "'Tis". It is not the novel that "Angela's Ashes" is in that it lacks the overwhelming sadness that pervades his earlier work. The reason is, of course, that is life is less desperate as his situation improves in the United States. Taken in this context Mr. McCourt has written a fine novel.
Rating: Summary: This is such a disappointment and most of it unnecessary. Review: Obviously, everyone enjoyed "Angela's Ashes", but "Tis" will put you to sleep. This and his brother's book "A Monk's Swimming" leave a bad taste in my mouth. Don't waste your money!
Rating: Summary: A Very Entertaining Book Review: I felt as though Frank McCourt's new book was very different from his first, but refreshingly so. Who can top Angela's Ashes? I am a teacher and I could readily identify with his teaching days. Although I must agree, the end of the book did seem somewhat rushed. But I still enjoyed Tis' very much.
Rating: Summary: 'Tis exactly what I was hoping for following Angela's Ashes Review: I absolutely loved Angela's Ashes and I loved 'Tis just as much. It's a mistake to get into the trap of debating which book is better than the other. They are really one story told in two volumes. I can see the publisher packaging them together in the future. Angela's Ashes is a journey from America to Limerick and back to America, young Frank's promised land. In 'Tis, America doesn't turn out to be a land of milk and honey after all. Frank then embarks on an internal journey to fulfilment through teaching and writing, and an accommodation of sorts with the towering figures in his life, his suffering mother and neglectful father. Some reviewers have commented that they did not like Frank McCourt as a person by the end of 'Tis, that they were put off by his womanizing, his sometimes unkind treatment of his wife, and his irritation with his mother. What impressed me was his astonishing honesty in dealing with his own conduct. All of us do or think things that would make us look like cads if they were exposed to the world. Frank McCourt does not sugar coat his life. He is heroic in exposing his own all-too human foibles. Frank McCourt's story, contained in both Angela's Ashes and 'Tis, is the story of the 20th century. It is a universal story. He has expanded the borders of the memoir. I simply could not get enough of both books. I ruined my sleep reading both books late into the night. I plan to put them aside and read them again soon. I laughed out loud as I read them and pestered my girl friend reading bits of them out loud to her, such as the scene in 'Tis when Frank is trying to eat his lemon meringue pie in the movie theatre. I hope Frank McCourt soon turns his hand to writing a novel. I can't wait.
Rating: Summary: Wonderful in its own way Review: This was not Angela's Ashes, but it wasn't supposed to be! It was an extremely evocative, painfully honest rendering of McCourt's American experience. Incidentally, it contained some astute observations about the racism in our society.
Rating: Summary: "Tis" the best I've read in quite awhile. Review: I love the McCourt style of writing and after reading several depressing Oprah books I found "Tis" to be a triumph of the human spirit. I will admit it was not as spellbinding as "Angela's Ashes", but as a teacher I loved the descriptions of Frank's early classrooms. A very worthwhile read.
Rating: Summary: McCourt's black clouds Review: Thank goodness Frank McCourt knows his way around the devices of nonfiction narrative. I can't imagine how he might have exorcised (some of)his many demons if not through the pen. A compelling storyteller, McCourt's perspective as a young immigrant viewing the haves and have-nots of Manhattan comprises the most interesting reading here. The rest of his story, though equipped with fluently reconstructed conversation, is uneven and repetitive. Insights into the inequity of class as it relates to America's school systems seem beyond the scope of his story. McCourt's sense of dialogue and character lead me to hope that his next effort will be a novel based a bit less immediately on his painful personal experiences.
Rating: Summary: Real...Honest...Pure...Brave...A Must Read. Review: Hi. Ignore the negative reviews....you can't stay a starry eyed kid forever...that's what they want Frank to be in Tis.He's grown up..he's had to deal with alot of ****. That's what makes this book so great...he doesn't sugarcoat anything...He doesn't hide his self-pity, his selfishness, his shame, his fears. People don't want to truth unfortunately. They want him to skip to work...to go through life whistling an Irish folk song. Hey he's human. Frankie don't play dat. Tis also has its touching, humorous moments...it's not all a brutal struggle. The best parts are when Frank teaches at a wild Vo-Tech school on Staten Island. Nice to read what teachers really go through in bad schools. Buy the book...Let Frank McCourt be true to himself and to you. God bless everyone!
Rating: Summary: Glad I read the book although it was depressing. Review: Frank McCourt has a way of drawing you into his world to the point at which I often felt as depressed as the author! However, there was enough humor in it to keep it balanced and not too self-pitying. I don't think I will ever cherish a book as much as I did Angela's Ashes, but Tis was still a great read and I highly recommend it.
Rating: Summary: What a disappointment after Angela's Ashes. Review: I loved Angela's Ashes and eagerly awaited Tis from Frank McCourt. What a disappointment. His second book was almost as bad as his brother's A Monk Swimming, and I threw that book away half way through it. I hope that the second book is just a fluke and he will hit his original stride in a third book.
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