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Summary: a comment about the book
Review: i thought this book accurately described the life of a boy growing up in Ireland. Although the book is sad at times, how Frank McCourt writes is more to teach than to get sympathy. I am happy with the ending and that his life is a success story. Reading it was not slow, but more of a page turner wanting to read on to see what he would experienced next. Frank McCourt writes beautifully and I would be happy to read any of his other works!
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Summary: Memoir of a Young Irish Boy
Review: Frank McCourt's memoir of his childhood experiences presents an interesting and enlightening journey into the past of a young Irish boy. McCourt tells the story of how his family moved back to Ireland, from New York, when he was five. Throughout the novel, McCourt describes his innermost feelings, thoughts, and fears surrounding the events he encountered during his youth. In addition, McCourt conveys the tragedy and misery that was so typical of the destitute life in the Limerick of the mid 1900's. Despite the tribulation and sadness that is depicted in the book, McCourt's emotional and heart gripping memoir is ultimately delivering a message of hope. In addition, there are many humorous moments in the book which are, in turn, made all the more comical by the innocence and honesty of the young McCourt as the narrator. I truly enjoyed this book; even upon reading the first few pages, I was instantly pulled into the activities and events of the story, and I found myself rooting for the success of McCourt all the way to the end.
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Summary: A Masterpeice To The End
Review: Frank McCourt displayed the truths of harsh poverty through a child's eyes. I didn't know when to laugh or to cry! He satirizes many things because he doesn't know better being a child. The McCourt family were very poor and many times, their childrens' hunger was so much that they died from it. I am still amazed that four children lasted through that childhood. This book is a realistic depiction of life in Ireland in the time of war and it kept me very amused. I never wanted to put it down.
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Summary: This is one of the best books ever!
Review: This is one of the best books I have ever read!Frank McCourt writes about his youth growing up in NYC and Ireland. He lives in near desperate conditions because of a father who could not keep a job and could not resist "the drink." Yet young McCourt does not quite despair because of the squalor in which he is living. He finds humor in his daily life, which he describes in much incredibly fascinating and delightful detail. This book follows him through the addition of brothers and a sister to his family, followed by the sad early death of too many of them, the sacrifices of dignity his mother makes to maintain a home and food and clothing, his adventures with local kids, mishaps at school, the threat of eternal damnation he feels for all of the naughty things he does, a number of jobs to help aid his family upon the departure of an alcohol-enslaved father, and finally his own departure to embark upon a life of his own. Frank McCourt's young outlook on life is so unique and enjoyable, you will be delighted by his ever hopeful perspective. The writing is hilarious. You will chuckle at even the little things, including how he refers, in his Irish way, to things as "some class of..." this or that, and his dirty boy stuff as "interferring with himself" or "the excitement." Frank McCourt shares with his readers an honest, detailed, and humorous memoir of his boyhood. I think everyone should read this book. I highly recommend it.
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Summary: Irish Catholic Childhood and America Dream
Review: I like the way Frank McCourt depicted his poor Irish Catholic childhood.So vivid,heart-whole and sorrowful make me empathize with him. He showed the bitter-sweetness of his younger days in Limerick, Ireland. Frank McCourt shared his life story with compelling narration and a great sense of humour. All the reality and poverty his faced. As the eldest son,he beared extra responsibilities and was less happier as compared to his cute,cheerful brother Malachy and many other brothers. He had irresponsible but pathetic parent, poor living conditions but a great hunger for knowledge and a dream to go to America. His memoir filled with dramatic twists and intriguing events such as his days as a postman and his troubles with his sore eyes.... He made a great impression for a debut work. He wrote with sensibility and sincerity. This page turner shines in depicting the genuineness of humanity. It set a great example of the success of following your heart and to strike for your goal in life. If there's a will,there's a way.
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Summary: A Depressing but powerful book.
Review: Angela's Ashes was a book that I really enjoyed. This book helped me understand how hard life was during the years of the depression. Frank McCourts style of writing captured my attention on the first page and kept me reading till the end to learn more about the harsh life he experienced. This book for the most part is depressing but there are moments when you will laugh with Frankie. This book also gives the reader a sense of hope. Through the hard times there is always hope. This is a powerful book that conveys deep message of poverty and hope.
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Summary: Fascinating, moving, and disturbing.
Review: I listened to the unabridged version of this book during commuting, and longer trips home, etc. I think the added value of hearing Frank McCourt in his own voice is tremendous! You get a true flavor from his impersonations of all the characters, you hear him sing the songs is drunk father sung to him, hear him chirp out the obedient calls to stearn teachers, etc. You can tell from the many reviews here and elsewhere in the press that the book is a great one. It truely brings home the horrors of growing up in extreme poverty, and all it brings, including sickness, ignorance, etc. But growing up in it you have little perspective to judge how horrible your situation is, so McCourt doesn't whine about it, rather accounts for it in almost a matter-of-fact way. The horrors speak for themselves - louder than any editorializing could ever do.
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Summary: Every Little Bit Helps
Review: The name Frank McCourt might not mean to much for some people. If he were to be seen on the street, no one would think of him any differently then the rest of the people in the world, but Frank is different. Frank went through many hardship during the younger portion of his life and is shared in the book Angela's Ashes. It a very compelling book and the 364 pages seem to disappear. Even though this book was pubished recently in 1996, it has earned many awards, even a pultizer prize. Recently a movie was made from this story by means of getting the consent of the publisher company, Simon & Schuster, and the consent of Frank McCourt himself. Frank McCourt is not only the author of this book, but he is also one of the main individuals in the book. Angela's Ashes tells of Frank's life in Limerick, Ireland after leaving the United States at the age of four. Frank, his parents, a brother, Malachy, and a set of twins requested their grandmother to send them the fare money to go over to Limerick after the recent loss of Frank's sister, Margaret, sent his mother into a deep depression. Frank's grandmother wasn't pleased to send the money, but figured that she should at least help her daughter out. Due to the fact that their grandmother gave them the money, they could never forget that because she would remind them often and they knew that they were forever in her debt. The quote, " When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I survived at all." Seems to be the main thought that sticks in the readers mind. Frank and his family were at such a poverty level that is heartbreaking. There was never enough food on the table to eat. The clothes they wore were so raggedy that most of their skin was showing. The living conditions were harsh. In the winter, they would have to live upstairs, also known as Italy, because their first floor, Ireland, was under a winter flood. All these things could have been improved if Frank's dad, Malachy, would bring home the wages he made instead of drinking them away. This was easy said then done because of the fact that his father was an alcoholic and it was hard for him to pass up an opportunity to drink. Frank's main dream through this whole book was to get to America one day. He wanted to get away from all the suffering and pain he has witnessed and felt in Limerick. Frank had dealt with death a lot in this book. He was there when three of his siblings died due to lack of proper nutrition, shelter, and clothes. Frank himself was hospitalized many times due to the fact that he lived in an unsanitary home and didn't have the proper nutition. He didn't mind the times in which he was hospitalized because he got decent food, bedding, shelter, and he got to read books. Frank's main plan was not to be like his father. His father's alcoholism not only affected his father, but it affected his whole family. He could see the pain in his mother's eyes. Frank could see how tough if was for his mom, Angela, to go to the St. Vincent de Paul Society, which gives some aid to the poor families. He could see how Angela's pride had suffered and for this reason, Frank knew that he wanted to do something better and to help out his family. Frank went to work at the post office. The money he made, he gave some to his mom to help out the family since his dad didn't bring home any, and the rest of the money he put away to save up for his trip to America. The book was very interesting and keeps the readers attention. The one downfall is that the dialog in the book was never in quotations. It was hard to follow sometimes and paragraphs had to be read over again to figure out who is saying what. The title itself, Angela's Ashes, also seems a little confusing. Frank's mom's name was Angela, but with the word 'ashes' the thought of death comes to mind for Angela and that doesn't occur in this book. Maybe 'ashes' has a different meaning. Maybe it meant that Angela was all burnt out and all that was left of her was ashes. If that was the meaning behind the title, then it suits the book. The book makes the reader reflect on their own life. There are many things that individuals can do to help out in the world. This poverty level was back in the 1920's or so, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't go on now today. The reader feels compelled to do something to help, but realizes that they, themselves, can't do it all. The book shows us that every little bit helps. Even the smallest little bit of giving goes a long way and is remembered for a lifetime.
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Summary: Powerful & Provocative Portrait Of An Irish Boyhood!
Review: As someone who spent the majority of his formative childhood living within the realms of a struggling blue-collar Irish-American Catholic neighborhood housing project, much of the atmosphere and flavor so memorably and powerfully described in this best-selling memoir seems like familiar territory, from the hard-drinking and somewhat remote and indifferent fathers to the sainted mothers, from the raucous black humor to the spasms of terrible drama and tragedy, often visited on helplessly impoverished children. Yet Frank McCourt manages to display a unusually colorful and quite unique descriptive power to the florid retelling of this life lived under conditions of extreme privation and misery, a life which he largely describes in terms so dismal, dark and devoid of hope that it is remarkable to witness the degree of grace, resilience, and good humor that he so often brings to bear. It is this most prominent feature of his creative writing that gives such a powerful testimony to his ability as a writer. Like James Joyce's personal glimpses into Irish lives in his classic series of short stories, "The Dubliners", McCourt evokes the suffocating and smarmy atmosphere of flagrant poverty, to the point that I often found the story difficult to read. Thus, regardless of how well he illustrates the ways in which he and his family struggled to overcome the circumstances, it was, for me at least, often difficult reading. For any of us who have actually lived under such circumstances of privation, these powerfully drawn recollections can be challenging and painful to recall. And while I would never suggest that my own experiences approach the extremes of want and squalor described herein, I took a long time to finally work my way into the portions of the book where the McCourt brothers finally triumph based on their American citizenry. While the tone of the memoir is sometimes downbeat and sullen, the progress of these two young pilgrims toward a life of greater promise is one that gains ballast as we progress toward the end. The memoir is, as one has come to expect, full of the usual Irish complaints, from the egregious and often outrageous alcoholism of the father and Irish men in general to the full McCourt treatment regarding the so-called Irish troubles and the unmitigated perfidy of the dreaded English. Having heard all this throughout my fifty years, it finally becomes tiresome, boring and irrelevant to hear all the highly polished and crudely embellished litanies again and again here. We who are either Irish or of Irish ancestry must learn to live with what we have, to do the best we can to make the most of what we find our existential circumstances may be, and I for one would hope that the reading of books like this, books which faithfully chronicle the consequences of all the particulars of traditional Irish working class culture, would act to mollify the most extreme of these conditions and save the next generation of young Irish men and women from its manifest dysfunctions.
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Summary: A taste of reality
Review: For months, I heard the name "Angela's Ashes" thrown around, and finally bought the book to read while on a trip. I'd talked to several people before hand, who made it quite clear to me that the book was incredibly sad and depressing and to be sure to have a box of kleenex close at hand. I was reassured that despite my tears, I would find the book wonderful. Well, I do find Angela's Ashes to be a wonderful book, and yes, the poverty in which they lived was depressing, however, what I loved most about this book was the fact that these people had a sense of what it means to survive, to be alive, and be thankful for what we have. Though they lived in poverty, there was an incredible sense of community amongst all the residents of Limerick, the town in which Frank McCourt grew up, and there was always help to be had. Small comforts came from a cup of tea, or a cigarette, something that we take for granted in our lavish, western lifestyles. Though materially Frank had very little, he had a wealth of experiences that surpasses anything we can buy. I am grateful that he was able to recount his "miserable" childhood with such humor, and that he was able to humble those of us who are more fortunate.
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