Rating: 
Summary: magnificent
Review: i read this & seamus deane's reading in the dark simultaneously for a book group. both were wonderful.
Rating:
Summary: Make that 10..Maybe the best story I've ever read, or heard.
Review: Anglelas Ashes was my first attempt at listening to a book on tape, and I was totally blown away by McCourt's story, as well as his style. I'm almost embarrased to admit that in less than a year, I've listened to the story at least half a dozen times - I kid you not! He has even inspired me to attempt writing myself. I have eagerly awaited his new book, which was released in stores this week. Trust me, if you want a truley remarkable listening experience - LISTEN to Angela's Ashes. TJD,Seattle
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing to do with the title. Similar to other about Ireland
Review: Though parts of this book are obviously biographical, I'll start by asking:Who compared it with Roddy Doyle...? Most of the childhood events are narrative and not original. And it reads that way! If I could hear the author it may be different, but there are sections on sex, etc. which try to out-Joyce Joyce's Portrait of an an Artist. I know: I heard exactly the same lectures over 1/2 a century later with the same effects: hell-fire and damnation for all you wankers! And how we laughed when face to face a Jesuit tried sex-education. We responded as Frank might have: What do you want to know, Father? The book is tremendous in narrative description but the constant dwelling on the bog-side of life and his heroic effort to drag himself out of it by any means show how desperate the situation was. All in all when I got to the end, I was left dissatified and had a ton of questions: where were the ashes? what about the promised land of fish and chips? (I achieved that, only to skid in some-one's leavings!)I hate the Jesuits as much as he hates the Church for slamming the door in his face. That they did to me many times. Not because of my accent, North Yorkshire, broad English! but because of my parent's job...he was a manual worker and he brought his money home every week! So, Frank, lots in common with you but you hide too many things "en passant" or in your case with the Church " en pissant!" I look forward to an improvement with "Tis" and I bet the Church plays a little if no role in your upbringing from age 18, 19 on, till later in life!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: I had a hard time putting this book down. I cried and laughed so hard, I certainly can not wait for the movie, I will read it again. Excellent. Good job Mr. McCourt!
Rating:
Summary: Riveting story of a naive boy growing up in desperate times
Review: The details in this book really create a visual of what life was like for him and his family, without making excuses about why life happened the way it did. It's difficult to relate to the overwhelming emotional conflict that seemed to plague life at that time. Frank did an amazing job at portraying his father as someone who was 'above' begging and groveling as a form of survival, but who was ultimately responsible for making his family become what he loathed most. I can harldy wait to read 'Tis' to see what will happen next!!!
Rating:
Summary: Touching with the perfect amount of real humor.
Review: Frank McCourt does an excellent job of describing his thoughts and experiences as a child. This book goes to show how sensitive children are to their surroundings. I have many different feelings while reading this book. McCourt perfectly combines sensitive issues with genuine family humor. How exciting that another book is soon to come!
Rating: 
Summary: A complete waste of time.
Review: The rave reviews are a joke, right? How about turning a monkey loose with a word processor.
Rating: 
Summary: A worthwhile read!
Review: It's sure interesting how the author engages the reader in every aspect of this child's life. Vividly written, it's an intesting read, although it's a little depressing to say the least. I'm glad I bought another book at the same time I bought Angela's Ashes, a book that lifted my spirits and put everything back into the proper perspective and I highly recommend which is Dietmar Scherf's "I Love Me: Avoiding and Overcoming Depression" and I bought at Amazon.
Rating:
Summary: A tragic, funny, accurate, well written masterpiece
Review: As a 23 year old who grew up with a relatively poor (but, thank God, the poverty wasn't as grinding) background and with very religious Catholic parents, this book really resonated. It also helped me appreciate the stoicism of my father who, grew up in a very poor Dublin at around the same time as McCourt was struggling through life in Limerick, yet, like McCourt, complains very little about it, talking about it as a matter of fact. It relieves me that today, Ireland has become one of the world's more successful economies and such poverty is hopefully a thing of the past, as is the religious tyranny of the 'pious'. I was continually amazed at the author's ability to combine hilarious humour with tear-inducing pathos, often within the same sentence. The writing style is succinct, lucid and, for those of you not from Ireland, 100% genuinely Irish. It captures perfectly how the world appears through the eyes of a young boy. I've already booked my copy of 'Tis which I await with eager anticipation. If the scores of 5 star ratings and the Pulitzer Prize aren't enough to convince you, let me add my voice to the litany: READ THIS BOOK!
Rating:
Summary: Bittersweet, tragic, hilarious...
Review: "Angela's Ashes" is quite simply one of the best books I have ever read--it has stayed with me long after I finished it, and it is one of a handful of books I've bothered to read twice. While a few readers have utterly missed the point and dismissed McCourt's memoir as "too depressing" or "repetitive", he has achieved one of the goals of great literature: "Angela's Ashes" takes you into a life and world that is far beyond the imaginings of most readers, and makes it live and breathe. Though now in his sixties, he skillfully narrates his story through the perspective of the child he once was, perfectly conveying a child's fear, confusion and occasional obliviousness to the bleakness of his life, his mother's sufferings, and his fathers alcoholic rampages. Through it all he writes with grace, tenderness, irony, and even humor-- and not a shred of self-pity. McCourt's childhood was certainly hell, and the miracle is not that he not only survived it, but did so with his humanity and compassion intact. The normal pains of an average childhood, which so many people seem to want to blame for all their adult failures, pales to insignificance by comparison. You may never look at your own life in the same way once you have finished it.
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