Rating: 
Summary: Good - As Sequels Go
Review: I anxiously awaited this, having had such a good time reading Angela's Ashes. The first five-sixths of the book was about as I had hoped. I was eager to find out what happened to Frank, and his extreme poverty during his early years in New York was about as heart-breaking to read about as was his childhood in Limerick. I don't know if McCourt exaggerated to make his point.One almost hopes so. His descriptions of himself as a young man are fairly dreadful. Makes me wonder how he managed to land the fabulous WASP babe he married and later divorced.The last few chapters seemed rushed and not as well-thought-out as the rest of the book. And there were a few loose ends: what *was* with the eye infection? How did he meet his (2nd?) wife? How did he come to write Angela's Ashes and now 'Tis? I'm looking forward to his latest installment of his memoirs!
Rating: 
Summary: A modern-day tale of assimilation.
Review: Most of us Americans are at least a few generations removed from the difficulties of immigration. Frank McCourt reminds us that we are all essentially immigrants. All of our ancestors have endured similar taunts, jibes, feelings of insecurity and uncertainty in this dynamic culture. But Frank has endured it in recent years, and the way he tells his tale is what makes it so enjoyable. Don't start reading this book if you have things to do!
Rating:
Summary: intriguing
Review: I am only part way into the book, but I want to read on. I am disappointed in the lack of the Irish brogue in this novel. I find Frankie still honest and his words heartfelt. I am interested in how this novel ends.
Rating: 
Summary: 'Tis Good.
Review: This is not Angela's Ashes. It would be impossible to top that. It is, however, a good book that is easy to read and follow. You care about Frank because you feel as if you know him from AA. You feel sorry for him when he is awkward. Some people say he is unfairly critical of the church and of his family. Not the case. He simply recognizes that both are human and therefore not perfect. If you are looking for Angela II, don't bother, but if you want a good read, with laughs and tears,than pick it up. You won't be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: NYT REVIEW IS MISREPRESENTED ABOVE -- IT WAS A PAN
Review: This was a terribly disappointing book, with the child's voice from Angela's Ashes proving inappropriate for the adult telling this sequel. As in brother Malachy's book, this is a terribly angry and drunken narrator who is responsible for nothing. Hints of ugly violence throughout -- wanting to kill people and see blood is a common expression here. Stories regularly go unfinished, such as the mysterious story of Frank McCourt's eyes. McCourt also regularly contradicts himself, such as when he goes on and on about how terribly shy he is with women, then gleefully tells us about his time with whores in Europe while in the Army, then goes back to complaining about shyness when he returns to New York. Yes, the prose is still lovely, but it has to serve something like a coherent whole, doesn't it? Lyricism for the sake of lyricism is boring, and so is this book, which is what most of the major reviewers -- Kakutani in the NYT, as well as the Boston Globe and Washington Post -- have been saying.
Rating:
Summary: This is a wonderful book!
Review: It is easy to see why Frank McCourt's writing has won fame & I hope, fortune, for him! This is a wonderful book. Picks up where "Angela's Ashes" left off. You get insight into how he conquers his messy past and succeeds in doing something with himself...as a teacher. The story is honest and the people, odd jobs, schools and places are described brilliantly. You feel like you are there, following him around NYC. He includes all your senses: smell, taste, hunger pangs, hang-overs, lust, guilt, caring, and many more. You get to know his colorful view on things and the people who cross his path. Learn from his mistakes & triumphs in a way that makes you laugh & cry right along with Frankie. This is real life, folks. Not sugar-coated. I loved this book! Buy it, read it, learn a lot about the good old US of A in the process too. The first thing learned is that we take her for granted too much of the time. Bravo, McCourt! You've done it again! Write MORE!
Rating:
Summary: AMAZING STORY
Review: Sequel of "Angela's ashes", I was not disappointed a second. The book starts exactly when Angela's...finished. It's written with talent. We hear about what happen to the dad & mum afterwards(You can also learn more on Malachy's first book...Read it).
By the way you'll learn of anything happened to Frank in USA, his return to Europe (after war as a soldier) and in Ireland.
A life that could have finished in an Irish lane fortunately made it in USA successfully.
Rating: 
Summary: Can you ever leave where you came from?
Review: After reading "'Tis", I've come to the conclusion that "Angela's Ashes" was so wonderful because, psychologically, Frank McCourt never left the Limerick slums. He told the story of his childhood with a stunning urgency and directness, as if the events he described had happened yesterday and not enough time had passed for analysis and interpretation. In "'Tis" we learn that perhaps Frank never achieved the distance of maturity and contentment that would have allowed analysis or interpretation. He can't tell us what his wounds signify because they're still so fresh. And for a man who left Limerick over fifty years ago, that's rather sad. I wonder how Frank McCourt feels knowing that the childhood that shamed him was, in the end, his key to the literary fame and fortune he so keenly envied throughout his adult life. The final irony of "'Tis" is this: The only way Frank McCourt could overcome his childhood was to reveal it. It's a pity the book ends before McCourt realizes that he can, after all, achieve the American dream. Turn your soul inside out and watch the checks roll in.
Rating:
Summary: A Natural Progression
Review: Those of us who grew to cherish the irresitible McCourt children of "Angela's Ashes" waded through Malachy's memoirs until we could take up the Limerick jigs in brother Frank's sequel. Well here 'tis and though many readers have been dissappointed in the struggles in America, struggles so related to the prior Irish version of world view, I find the growing pains of the "re-patriated Frank" endearing. The view of the self as secretively fraudulent is not new, but rarely has the payche of the American Dream been so personally defined. We all are foreigners to this land, whether in our generation or ones past, and following Frank McCourt's voyage from being "uneducated" to becoming a warm and caring Teacher brings many moments of tender relating. Although the significant charm of "Angela's Ashes" was McCourt's uncanny ability to maintain the child's point of view, means of thinking, modes of expression that made his book so touching, "Tis" fleshes out all the characters seeded in that memoir and allows the passage of time and maturity of the original voice to win us over at last. Is it a perfect book? No. Is it worth your reading? 'Tis.
Rating:
Summary: More great stories, a different setting
Review: I've read some rather scathing reviews of "'Tis", and I don't think it deserves to be pounded. The narrative style is the same; and, it picks up precisely where "Angela's Ashes" left off. Anyone else notice that "Angela" hadn't gone to ashes at the end? I don't think this book was a rushed effort. Rather, it seems that the aspect that makes it mildly less satisfying is the fact that it doesn't challenge us to look at our own lives and compare, the way "Angela" did. The main differences: a change of venue (we're in NYC, now; not Ireland), the age of the narrator and the disappointment in his values and morals (or lack thereof). If you're looking for a book about growing up, a memoir in which the writer maintains his dignity and morals, read Paul Watkins' memoir: "Stand Before Your God". But, don't be afraid of "'Tis". Frank McCourt is still a wonderful storyteller, even if he doesn't horrify us and make us reflect on poverty vs. comfort in this second book.
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