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Summary: A Memoir that Touches Your Heart
Review: ANGELA'S ASHES covers author Frank McCourt's life as a child. He has vivid memories that start as early as the age of four or five.McCourt is born in Brooklyn, New York. His father is an alcoholic and can't hold a job or support his family. They return to live in Ireland where his father eventually abandons the family. Some of McCourt's siblings die. He faces hunger, illness, death and homelessness. The family is so poor that they live without the basic necessities that many people take for granted. Yet, they are always kind to others (humans and animals) less fortunate. When McCourt is 19, he returns to New York City. McCourt describes a lot of touching scenes, like the time his little brother, Michael, brings home a blind greyhound. Michael sacrifices his supper (bread) to the dog and lets it sleep in the bed that all the children share. Later they find the dog dead. His brother is so upset that their mother allows them to stay home from school so that they can have a funeral. Chapter Four is my favorite chapter, where the author describes his experiences in an Irish school - the strict teachers, learning the catechism, his first communion, his first confession, his confirmation, giving his first collection, and watching movies starring James Cagney. McCourt tells his remarkable story, many times with humor. ANGELA'S ASHES is a reminder of the many children in this world who have to grow up in poverty. Some of those children survive and others don't. I'm glad that McCourt survived and has shared his touching story with us. Fafa Demasio
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Summary: Of course you should read it
Review: Angela's Ashes reads like a novel. Yes, it really is all of those wonderful things that you've heard about it, but mostly it's entertaining and engaging. McCourt makes the sad and heartbreaking aspects palatable by tempering his narration with warmth and humor, but without diluting any of the harshness. Yes, you must read this book.
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Summary: Great Read
Review: This is an amazing story told through the eyes of a child. Frank McCourt uses his humor very wisely to portray the struggle of an immigrant Irish family. Children tell the best stories and that is exactly what the author accomplished. A life story told from a young boys point of view. I could not put this book down.
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Summary: Angela's Ashes
Review: Angela's Ashes has given me a better look on poverty and how we should value the things that we have. It would be a good book to use in senior english classes because it's so emotional and it makes you realize how lucky you really have it.At first I thought of not even wanting to read Angela's Ashes because it was too long, but once i started the first few chapters it had gotten too interesting to just put down and quit.I would recommend this book to anyone just because it has a good plot and the author just really showed me how awful he has had it to live in such poverty. It really made me appreciate more of what I have.
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Summary: Angela's Ashes; Basis for cultural diversity
Review: Having read this book for school, I realize that i would haver never picked it up to read out of my own free will. But I am glad i have read it. It opened my eyes to how different lifestyles can be between culture. The irish have suffered for so long, and I have had it so good and didnt even know the difference. I have a warm home, clothes on my body, food in my belly, and then some. During this time period in Ireland, children at the age of 5 or 6 could be working to help support their families. American children at the age of 5 or 6 would just be strting school. I think this is a great book for students at Walla Walla High School read as part of the Literature curriculum. This book takes human emotion by the core and opens peoples eyes to all the different aspects of life. It make people realize how much we take for granted and makes us appreciate what we are fortunate enough to have.
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Summary: Angela's Ashes: Basis for Cultural Diversity
Review: Having read this book, I realize i would never have picked it up and cchose to read it myselelf, But I am glad i did. It opened my eyes to how different lifestyles can be between cultures. The Irish have suffered for so long, and i have had so good and didn't even know it. I have a warm home, clothes on my body, food in my belly and then some. During this time period in Ireland, children as young as 5 or 6 could be working to help support their families whereas in America at the age of 5 or 6 children will only be starting school. I think it is a great book for seniors to read in the World Literatue/ English class category. This book takes human emotion by the core and opens peoples eyes to all the different aspects of life. It makes people realize how much we take for granted and makes us appreciate what we are fortunate enough to have.
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Summary: Ashes
Review: Angela's Ashes appeals to people of all ages, an aspect which I think has greatly affected its popularity. When the story begins, Frankie McCourt is a young Irish-American boy traveling with his family back to Ireland from New York City. He tells his tale of hunger in poverty stricken Limerick, Ireland where fleas are always more plentiful than food, of never having shoes or winter coats because his father would drink away any scarce money they could manage and of his pain in dealing with the constant loss of siblings. However, though the tale is laiden with depressing events, a happy tone comes through at times and you see that no matter how poor or sick the family becomes, the family is still as strong and loving as ever. You hear Frankie mature in his storytelling as the memories go on and as his voice is as strong and clear as any. This is a major element to the book because it gives it a true life and character. At the start of the story Frank is a very young child and you can tell it by how he uses language in the book. His words are smaller and more simple and many times when talking to adults he will say that he "doesn't understand what they meant" by something or guesses at what they mean and comes off very juvenile. For instance the way he took his father seriously when he said that there was an angel on the seventh step of their home. As the book then progresses you see Frank's words become more complex, ideas more mature and his understanding of why things happen become more apparent. Also he seems to understand the situation his family is in, namely their impoverishment. This was something that early on in the book he is completely oblivious to.
I enjoyed this book and I think that everyone should at least give it a try. It really made me realize how lucky I am to have a house with a roof, a fridge full of food and clothes that haven't been patched up with tire scraps. I think that after reading this I have a better appreciation for all I have and the family that will always be there to support me.-NGonwa
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Summary: Angela's Ashes Review
Review: In my High School Independent Literature class, I was given the assignment to read a multi-cultural book and the book I chose was Angela's Ashes, by Frank McCourt. I had heard many great things about it and I had wanted to read it for a long time. After reading it, and reading a few of the reviews, I agreed with every word that people said about it.
Angela's Ashes is about Frank McCourt's life as a young boy growing up in a run down apartment in New York and living in the poverty stricken society in Limerick, Ireland. Frank's father was an extreme alcoholic and would come home almost every night wreaking of different smells from the pub and having his boys promise to die for Ireland. If that was not enough for young Frank to deal with, he also lost three of his siblings to consumption. It was while living in Ireland Frank promised himself he's move back to America to create a better life for himself and his family.
The ideal audience for this book is probably around the ages of fifteen years old and up. I feel that some of the actions taken place in Frank's book should not be read by young readers. For example, Frank would describe some of the horrible things he witnessed or did himself which might influence younger children. Another reason why this book is targeted more for the young adults is because of the language used. Even when Frank was young, he would say cuss words that most adults would use. It wasn't Frank's fault he began cussing at an early age, it was all he knew. He had grown up with the drinking, smoking, and cussing all his life.
One of the most powerful literacy elements that Frank McCourt used in his book was the technique of suspense. He continually used suspense to pull you into his life story. Frank's life was constantly filled with sorrow and pain and when his baby sister died and he used suspense as a way to tell you the story behind his mother's actions. You never knew if Frank's mother was going to get through the death of her daughter or not. Another literacy element Frank used was imagery. Frank used imagery in his book to describe the 'lanes of Limerick.' Frank lived in a run down old house and he used imagery to describe the way the house smelled, looked, and felt.
While reading this book, my emotions were going wild. I was mad and in shock of how selfish Frank's father was, yet at the same time I felt sorry for him. As I mentioned before, alcoholism was a reoccurring theme in this book and from it I have learned the true horrors behind it. Alcoholism is a disease that people cannot control. It takes time and Frank's father never took that time. Frank's father spent his daily wages at the pub even before Frank was born and the hassles of a busy day drove him to drink. When Margaret, Frank's baby sister, was born something inside of Frank's father made him realize he needed to control his drinking, but when she died, his drinking only got worse! It is because of his actions I have learned that alcohol is never the way to get rid of your problems.
Over all, I really enjoyed reading this book! If I were to give this book a rating, I would give it a five out of five. It is hard to put excitement and tragedy all into one book, but Frank McCourt did it. I highly recommend people read this book if they enjoy suspense mixed in with a little bit of comedy.
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Summary: a memoir's review
Review: Angela's Ashes focused on Frank McCourt's poverty-stricken childhood. Any money the family was able to obtain was drank away by his father, leaving the rest of his family (including the mother Angela, brother Malachy, brother Michael, and other siblings passed away) to starve and fend for themselves. He tells of growing up in this life, and his efforts to raise this family for the better, even though he, too, messes up.
In reading this I think to get the full message and comprehension, along with some swearing, one should be fourteen or older. Also, it could give kids nightmares with its bleak, dark tone. It's discomforting to know of the sufferings in the world and how horrible they can get. Its sometimes lightened by events happening that doesn't focus so much on poverty (when he finds Teresea, and goes to the hospital for another time.) He had a very dry sense of humor, and that could have done with the way he was raised and he surroundings in his growing up. He uses run-on sentences a lot. This can get irritating and distracting to the initial thought, but it also is a way of putting so many emotions in one sentence. (When he looses his virginity he writes in a way that anyone could understand his swamp of thoughts). As the story goes on, his sentence-structure improves and shows him growing up (pretty creative).
While reading, the first half seemed very repetitive, and almost in a whining manner. The second half seemed better, with more of a plot line. The book was extremely emotional at times. It made me think of how it must have been having one or two slices of bread and water a day, wearing rags and old shoes with tire rubber soles, and made me sick to even acknowledge this actually happens in real life. It made me realize that even though my life may not be perfect, I have it a lot better than some. I think it was a good book people should read, but be prepared to unsweeten that sugar coated view of the world around you.
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Summary: Angela's Ashes Book Review
Review: Angela's Ashes is by far one of the more interesting and enjoyable autobiographies that I have ever read. It tells the heartbreaking story of young Frank McCourt growing up in poverty-stricken Limerick, Ireland. The book follows the McCourt family through the trials of poverty, birth, death, alcoholism, and everything in between. Only four of eight children survive the tough life that they were forced into in Ireland. Frank if often made to watch his younger siblings while his father is getting drunk is a pub, and his mother is bed ridden with severe depression. He becomes more of a father figure and role model for his young brothers. Frank works odd jobs trying to save up enough money to get himself and his family to America one day. This book is truly very touching and it keeps you on your toes through out the entire novel. You are always wondering what will happen to Frank and his family next. I found myself wanting to laugh and cry through out the entire book. One page I found myself feeling sorry for Frank because of his situation, and the next questioning his morals and values. This story is a perfect example of the human will to endure and will surely be a classic in years to come. It opens readers' eyes to new experiences and challenges that many Americans are not faced with daily. It will stand the test of time well. I strongly recommend this book for any age group, as anyone can identify well with characters in this book.
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