Rating: 
Summary: Instantly engaging tale of experiences in Ireland of the 30s
Review: This book is an enjoyable record of the life and thoughts of the author as a little boy growing up in Ireland in the 30's and 40's. The account puts you inside a world long gone which has beauty and meaning given today's social and ecological upheaval. Frank McCourt recounts not only the events but also the often hilarious opinions of his younger self. Throughout, the tale is uplifting and amusing despite hardship and loss. A fascinating look inside another person's life
Rating: 
Summary: The most poignant tribute to the human spirit I've ever read
Review: That Frank McCourt can recount the almost unspeakably dismal circumstances of his childhood without a trace of bitterness or blame is nothing short of miraculous. That he can lace the whole sad tale with so much Irish humor is nothing short of genius. Thank you, Frank McCourt for this heartwarming and inspiring tale of hope and despair, tears and laughter, sorrow and joy, and the unconditional love of a child for his hopelessly flawed parents. I eagerly await it's sequel
Rating:
Summary: My, my!
Review: I just read the previously written reviews and am amazed that many people rate it 9 or 10 and then someone comes along and says it's the worst book they ever read and couldn't finish it! The latter
group of people just didn't get it...The mode of
Frank McCourt's writing was ingenious becuase it was put down in the vernacular of the age he was writing about. It was very subtle in it's progress, so much so that you didn't realize it was happening. To know that such poverty and sadness was survived and overcome is the reason one MUST read this book. I would recommend buying the book if only to contribute to Mr. McCourt's pocketbook!!
I only wish I knew what happened to Mam and the rest of the family. Definitely a sequel scenerio!
I LOVED the quote about Shakespeare and mashed
potatoes. I have used it numerous times...it's
priceless...
To y'all who dissed this book...shame on ya!!!
Rating:
Summary: A must-read for all Catholic Irish-Americans!
Review: Frank McCourt has finally given me a perspective on my Irish-American/Catholic upbringing. There were many things I never understood in my Irish Mother's attitude towards being Irish until I read this book. McCourt shatters the typically American images of Ireland with leprechans dancing at the end of rainbows in a patchwork green countryside. The bleak realities of life for the Irish are told with a wit and wisdom which softens the often disturbing images of McCourt's childhood.
This book leaves the reader wanting more . . . What happened when you got here Frank? We all want to know!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: A modern song of sorrow and love
Review: I have recently returned from Ireland, the land of my father's fantasy and his family's story telling. For three generations, no one returned until I did. I'm glad they are all dead because I would have to recommend Angela's Ashes to them.And they would have had to believe it. It captured the feelings I found everywhere I went in that tragic land. I wonder just how many little McCourts are suffering from an alcoholic father's neglect and the dire poverty of a very poor country. Thank God you came back Frank McCourt or you'd be dreaming the dreams, living on the dole and sucking Guiness with far too many friends to sing your songs with you. But in your haze you'd still feel duty bound to tell your son how to live
Rating:
Summary: It will make you laugh & cry at the same time, a masterpiece
Review: This wonderfully written memoir tells of the sad childhood of an Irish Catholic family that struggles to maintain their dignity under the fist of the British.This book cannot be rated as 10 or best for fear that such tragic stories as like ones of the halocaust for they are too sad. I give you my word that by the end of this book you will have a newfound view for the "luck of the Irish."
Rating:
Summary: A must-read for anyone with Irish sap in the family tree.
Review: McCourt's sly Irish wit and his indomitable optimism in the face of heart-wrenching poverty and neglect make this an unforgettable book. While some members of our book group were overwhelmed by the sadness of McCourt's miserable childhood, we all laughed aloud at some of the comic moments: most memorably his frustrating search for meaning in "The Lives of the Saints". What we felt to be most special about the book is the beauty of McCourt's writing: the childlike clarity, simplicity, and innocence of his viewpoint; his dry sense of humor; and, above all, the unmistakable Irish lilt in his words. Makes the reader laugh and cry simultaneously.
Rating:
Summary: Eagerly await Frank McCourt's next book
Review: I read this book whilst on vacation and for two days could hardly bear to do anything else. It is a captivating story of triumph over despair and Frank McCourt tells it with humour and pathos in equal parts. That he has overcome enormous obstacles which would have floored lesser men and can tell the tale without regret or bitterness for his childhood is truly a miracle. I eagerly await his next book.
Rating: 
Summary: Quick! Get him some Prozac!
Review: I was reminded of the old joke that obituaries are the Irish comic strips! I doubt I have ever seen a more tragic book.
I hope to heaven no one judges Catholicism by this miserable example. As a lifelong Catholic... I never was more grateful that my parents were from Italy rather than Ireland.
Rating:
Summary: wonderful tale of a life living in poverty
Review: this book is one of the best books i have read
in years . the characters are vivid and full
of life.
you find yourself laufing and cring at the same time.
i would not miss this boo
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