Rating: 
Summary: Good fiction
Review: Angela's Ashes is the chronicle of author Frank McCourt's childhood, first in America, then in Ireland, or purports to be. The sadness, tragedy, ugliness, and despair are laid on so thickly as to become improbable in combination. Bad things do happen to good people, but in McCourt's world, the worst always happens. When the family moves, it is to the worst house on the lane, next to the only outhouse. When it rains, their house is the one that floods. When he develops conjunctivitis, it is permanent (he still has it years later). When other kids' alcoholic fathers go to England during the war to earn money, his is the only one who drinks his pay away and loses the job. Nothing is ever halfway for McCourt. If there is a tragedy to tell, it will be the most tragic conceivable.There are inconsistencies, such as time frames that make no sense, as well as improbabilities, like his grandmother making several walking round trips of over a mile, all in one night, months before her death. There is also the issue of whether McCourt could possibly recall such detail (as his lengthy story about the IRA refusing to helping his father out and why) during his very early years without any context. It would be as though you were four years old and heard your father talking about the New Deal, and you remembered everything about it even though you had no idea at the time what all the acronyms represented. Oddly, while McCourt goes into great detail about his early childhood, his timeline becomes increasingly compressed as he approaches adolescence. There is much less detail, and whole months are passed by just at a time when a person would be more likely to remember more -- and to be experiencing more. It almost feels like he grew tired of the tale (and fabricating it) and was in a rush to get to the end. Or perhaps, having gone through a sleazy conception, rats, fleas, sewage, open sores, tuberculosis, vomited blood, corporeal punishment, prolonged hunger, his mother's prostitution, etc., etc., etc. (no horror goes untouched), he simply ran out of material. So, from early on, I viewed Angela's Ashes as a work of fiction in which none of the characters is likeable. While many would say the father is the worst, as he is a hard-core alcoholic who cannot and will not support his family, I found him to be far more sympathetic a person than his mother as portrayed. When sober, the father often shows his sons small signs of affection and empathy, but Angela herself is nearly always cold, distant, and unsympathetic toward her children. She is always more focused on herself than on them. I'm not sure how many people could write about their own mothers as dispassionately as McCourt does. If she had one good quality, McCourt is careful not to present it. As a child, McCourt seems relatively balanced, likeable, and ethical, wanting to do the right thing, but adolescence seems to turn him into a different person. He lies, he steals, he takes advantage of people -- and the only guilt he seems to feel is that imposed by the Catholic Church. There is never a sense, even when he achieves adulthood, that he has any deep thoughts about who he is, what he is doing, and how he affects others. Even his agonizing over his belief that he is responsible for a consumptive girl's descent into Hell because he had sex with her is tainted by the selfishness of his focus. In the end, I must concur with an author acquaintance who said, "Angela's Ashes? 'tis as phony as the photo on the cover." But it is certainly well written and compelling, if you happen to have a large grain of salt handy. Recommended under those conditions.
Rating: 
Summary: Ireland through its own eyes...
Review: I picked up Angela's Ashes with some dread. It sounded, and looked, like it would be too depressing to read. However, though many terrible things happen, through Frank's eyes, it is all readable. This book is written so eloquently and with such fine execution that you wonder how Frank can recall so many emotions from his childhood. McCourt captures the essence of childhood in an extraordinary manner. Sometimes the descriptions were so true that I found myself brought to tears at childhood memories that I had forgotten. While the subject matter isn't the easiest to deal with, the way McCourt writes the novel makes it palatable. I don't know if I could have stuck with it under most circumstances. However, McCourt is a pure genius, and there are even some quite comedic scenes in this masterpiece. My recommendation: A must read.
Rating:
Summary: 5 stars are not enough
Review: Angela's ashes is my favorite book and it is simply the best I ever read. It is about two years ago that I finished it and I still remember that I found myself laughing and crying at the same time. Truly, I think that this book deserves a rating of at least 6-7 stars, because 5 aren't enough. Don't miss it - it's worth reading. Once read - you will discover that your life will never be the same as before.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling
Review: this was a great book--the best i have ever reead! as a man, i usually do not like to read novels, but i couldn't put this one down! Mr. McCourt should be listed as one of the world's top writers.
Rating:
Summary: Amusing, yet touching
Review: "Angela's Ashes" ist a very interesting autobiographic novel, as it cover several controverse topics. First of all, it describes the live of young Frank McCourt, who grows up in unimaginible poverty in the streets of Limerick. He experiences the conflicts between rich and poor people as well as between catholics and protestants. Frank discovers friendship and even love, but he also suffers from diseases and from the death of some of his loved ones. There are funny scenes, too. This makes "Angela's Ashes" an entertaining novel. You also learn hope and despair can make people do. Get this book. You won't regret it. And I recommend to read the sequel "Tis: A Memoir", too. I think, you'll learn a lot about Ireland and about people in general. It makes you feel better.
Rating:
Summary: The Irish Life
Review: A life of poverty disease and heartbreak awaits author Frank McCourt when he arrives back to Ireland from America. The situation at home in Ireland is worse and we see the families sruggle to find work, food, money, and the charity of others. One thing the McCourts are not short of is tragedy and it becomes a normal part of life in Angela`s Ashes. Frank McCourt the oldest child in the McCourts intermediate family, is a young boy growing up in the Irish Depression. This story written in an Irish accent gives details of their Catholic Religion. In Ireland Religon sets the tone for the way people should live. Frank tries to be a good Catholic but after all, he is just a boy. Malachy McCourt, Franks father, is an alcoholic and seen through out the book drinking his paycheck and dole money and therefore loses his jobs. "It`s bad enough that Dad loses jobs the third week but now he drinks the dole money", says Frank after a night without a meal. One thing about the book that kept us reading is that there was a surprise around each corner. For example, in one chapter, the McCourts lay down to sleep and woke up being devoured by hungry fleas. Franks reenactment of this was expresssed when he said, "We saw the fleas, leaping, jumping, fastened to our flesh." However, it is not all sad, it is also guite funny. Like when Franks friend Mikey tells a story of Cuchulain, Franks superman, haveing a pissing contest to find a wife for himself. The one thing we all didn`t like was all the depressing tragedies, such as Frank`s one and only sister and two brother dieing. Frank also suffers aflictions both physically and mentally, like when he feels the shame of wearing shoes repaired with rubber. We recommend this book to anyone looking for a challenge or feels like their life is insufferable.
Rating:
Summary: Franks a tough little cookie!
Review: This book has every thing you want in a book.It can make you laugh and some parts make you want to cry.If this book does not move you nothing well.This book covers Franks life in New york to Limerick,Ireland back to New York.I would recomend this book to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: A very Special View on Ireland
Review: I liked McCourt's book for its realism and humor. I have to admit, that I've never been to Ireland. But maybe because of that I hold a certain perspective of how paradiselike a life on the "Green Island" may be, of people mainly happy, drinking their guinnes making good music like the Corrs or Clannad. McCourt robs you any illusion of that kind, and shows you a different life in poverty and misery, where even a supposed nationalistic heroism has no place as it doesn't provide any food or human housing either. Written from the perspective of a growing up teenager, who wonders about things happening around, the book never gets into severe a mood but always plays with a fine and sublime sense of humor. This may be nothing for those who cannot stand description of human misery less for those who cannot stand smiling at it. It may even disturbing for those who still want to hold an ideal picture of Ireland. I rather smiled and was delighted.
Rating:
Summary: Tremendous Story Told Flawlessly
Review: I am always leary of books showered with awards and praise. In this case, it is not just well deserved but I must add my own. This is one of the best books I have ever read. It works on every level. Interestingly, the book starts off almost with a dare. A kind of you think you had it rough growing up? Mr McCourt then uses the language of a child to describe his childhood in the slums of Limerick, Ireland among the poorest of the poor. Without a hint of self-pity he describes in crystal clear detail the sights, sounds, and smells of heartbreaking poverty. But with every sadness, there is laughter. Sometimes he seems to be revealing another layer of the human condition on every page. His compassion, his chicanery, and his remarkable use of the English language make you feel as though you are reading not just a fresh novel, but an entirely new insight on life. Missing your morning meeting, getting a flat, etc. will forever be placed in their true perspective. This book is what literature is all about.
Rating:
Summary: worth the time to read
Review: Although I felt like things were bogging down about half way thru, I did finish the book. A friedn who reads tons of novels couldn't finish it, which surprised me. McCourt tells a tale of deprivation and sadness, but not in a maudlin fashion. He manages to salvage some humor from whatever situation he recounts.
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