Angelas Ashes Cd

Rating:
Summary: It is excellent.
Review: The book is really mesmerizing. It has told me a lot about an Irish's childhood, which is quite interesting. Frank McCourt is without doubt one of the best writers in the world.

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Summary: A riveting tale of 30's Ireland
Review: There has been alot of bally-hoo about this book i.e is it fact or fiction. Coming from an Irish family and being reared on similar tales of grinding poverty and the hypocricsy of the Catholic churh, frank McCourts version is undoubtedly true. This is a magnificent novel, it can be incredibly sad but is also extremely uplifting, one never ceases to wonder at the capacity of the Irish to find humour in even the most dire situation. This is the book I have ben begging my dad to write for years! Buy it now, and enjoy one of the best reads ever. Frank McCourt has captured the very essence of Ireland at that time and employs the the most charming narrative techniques (i.e as seen through the eyes of a child)

Rating:
Summary: Can't put it down.
Review: Makes me glad my ancestors got the hell out of Ireland. I couldn't put this book down. When I woke up in the morning, I had to find out more. Disappointing at the end. Whatever happened to his father, mother? After reading this book, I can't stand the thought of wasting food. It made me much more grateful for what I have.

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Summary: McCourt the Irish Alice Walker? :-)
Review: Never mind that you think you can identify with Frankie's devastatingly poor childhood. Never mind that the book will make you both chuckle and sniffle within the space of half an hour. Never mind that you think this is purely over exaggerated self pity. What this book is, and will be whether you believe the story or not is a very cleverly written narrative. No, there aren't any great stretches of perfect prose in this novel - McCourt isn't Dickens, and though his subject matter is similar, he clearly doesn't want to be. But sometimes, his descriptions are so exact, so vivid, that I was left thinking, he CAN write like the best of them, use the language the way we expect so called good prize winning writers to, so why doesn't he? Why did he risk people saying that this book was badly written? Because he wants us to live the story with him. At times I really forgot that this was an old man telling his story, and not a young, ignorant boy. McCourt has managed to pitch his prose at the exact level of the age of the period he is writing about. So we see the world as a 5 year old, 10 year old,14 year old, and 19 year old lad would see it, because he describes the events as we would expect a child to do at each of the stages in his life that he wrotes about. It's a skill that Alice Walker used in the same way and to great effect in "The Color Purple", which we now know is a great novel, deserving of the acclaim it had. I loved this book; it's a good, and involving story if nothing else. I think once all the hoo-haa and attention dies down, people will start reading it from a viewpoint unbiased by reviews and so forth, and see just how good McCourt's use of his narrative voice is.

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Summary: The harsh reality makes this book good
Review: I loved this book because of it's harsh reality of the time period in which it was written. I rooted for the characters and then cursed them if they let me down. It was truly an eye-opening look into the country of Ireland's history although it was a grim look. If you are looking for a happy bright novel this is not it. If you are looking for a true to it's time period no holds-barred novel, I highly recommend this book.

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Summary: Humour got him through it all
Review: When reading this book and its incredible tale of childhood poverty and suffering I couldn't believe anyone could survive such an awful upbringing but Mr. McCourt did. His incredible sense of humour and style must have helped him get through it all.

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Summary: Three cheers for McCourt's success in life!
Review: The author recalls his boyhood of poverty in New York and Ireland. Having suffered through an alcoholic father, frequent moves, siblings' deaths, illness, and near-starvation, McCourt conveys the waeriness that a family in such a desperate situation often feels. He tells his family's story with love, humor, and a child's sense of wonder. Even though the narrative is sad, it doesn't evoke pity or tears. It's an uplifting story told with great warmth. What does come through, however, is a pervasive sense of McCourt's shame and the insensitivity of more fortunate people to those less fortunate.

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Summary: An Irish Version of "The Grapes of Wrath"
Review: I was told this was a "must read, " but the more I read the more depressed I became. While I'm sure there was poverty in Ireland at that time, I felt that McCourt painted a picture that all men were alcoholic and unemployed. Although it was depressing, I couldn't put the book down. There was always a hope that "it's got to get better, how could it get any worse." I'd like to see what happened after he got back to America in a sequel.

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Summary: IF YOU ARE TRULY IRISH/WITH AN IRISH FATHER, GET THIS BOOK!
Review: YES, IF YOU ARE TRULY IRISH, NOT JUST "ST. PATRICK'S DAY IRISH" AND HAD A TRULY IRISH FATHER, "DROP OF THE DRINK" AN ALL...NOT TO MENTION THE TEMPER AND THE DISAPPOINTMENTS AND THE EXPERIENCES, GOOD AND BAD WITH RELIGION, YOU WILL FIND SOMETHING HERE THAT HITS HOME. NO, IT IS NOT AN UPLIFTING "HAPPY READ" BUT IT IS A GOOD, HONEST, HEART- FELT READ, AS RECALLED THROUGH THE EXCELLENT MEMORY/EYES OF A CHILD TURNED MAN. THIS SPANS THE GENERATIONS AND MAKES "WHEN IRISH EYES ARE SMILING" A LITTLE MORE REALISTIC...THERE ARE TEARS, IN THE ASHES TOO, WHICH MAKE THE SMILES ALL THE MORE CHERISHED. THANK YOU, FRANK McCOURT....NOW, WHERE IS THE SEQUEL??? HURRY!

Rating:
Summary: Leaves me hungry for more...
Review: i found reading this book and never wanting to put it down..i only find myself wanting to know what happen to him and his family after he came to America..And i hope there are more books to come to let us know more about those times. His writing and the way he had no bitterness or anger for his devasting childhood could be learned by all