Angelas Ashes Cd

Rating:
Summary: Writing at its best
Review: Angela's Ashes is filled with realism and authenticity. The obvious focus of most readers is on the undeniable sadness, but the true inspriration lies in the message of hope that lies beneath that surface of despair. Frank McCourt is a survivor and a brilliant storyteller. I laughed. I cried. I couldn't put it down.

Rating:
Summary: Exceptionally depressing
Review: I found this book to be very repetitive and depressing. After finishing this, I gave it to my mother to read. She is 66 years old and was born and raised in Galway, Ireland. After reading it, she was furious. She grew up on a farm and said that she NEVER saw the kind of poverty that McCourt was talking about. Her father was NOT a drunk, either. Many people who have read this book apparently think that this is what life was like in Ireland for everyone. My mother had a very happy childhood over there. She ended up coming to America because of the lack of opportunity in her homeland. Today, Ireland is one of the wealthiest nations in the world. I have no doubt that McCourt grew up in poverty, but many Irish people feel that he got carried away with himself in this book. Angela's Ashes won the Pulitzer Prize because it was about poverty, and that's a politically correct issue these days.

Rating:
Summary: Sharp beauty and naked truth
Review: The human race stands before us in McCourt's memoir of abject poverty, disease(and God bless 'im), dreams, desires and a sense of humor. It's grand and gorgeous: no preachiness, no gags, no sympathy vote, no pretentious shock value. It is a pure and true book, and its tone matches in perfect beat as absurdity rules little Frankie's life. Yes, folks, there are some extreme and horrible realities for the family in this book, but then again, this is planet earth. It is sorrowful and bleak. It is also a memorial, with McCourt's pint raised, to all those who believed, endured and/or lost. And if you don't believe it, you're an "eejit".

Rating:
Summary: And the point of this book is what?
Review: I couldn't even finish this boring, repetitive book. Yes, Frank McCourt had a horrible childhood, but that does not excuse his inability to write. His father was a drunk, his family was poor, his live was miserable...I got that from the first 20 pages, and then heard it over and over and over and over, etc... Not only is this book not worthy of any awards, it is not even worthy of being read.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant until the end...forced transition into a sequel?
Review: Entertaining and lively...but the end was anti-climactic. The last 10% of the book felt out of place, didn't seem like the same writer and seems to be an ackward transition into a sequel...which I found out is in the works.

Rating:
Summary: A good reader
Review: I read this book a couple of years ago when it first hit the bookstores and I have to say although it was a good read I found it repeated the contents a great deal and boring at times. It was not the type of book i just couldnt put down. It took me a while to get through because much of the story seemed the same chapter after chapter. I am interested in seeing what the film this fall will produce.

Rating:
Summary: A bit too close to home for me
Review: As a third generation Irish descendant, and a Catholic to boot, I could not wait to read this book when I discovered it. However, Mr. McCourt's desriptions of the struggling Irish Father and Mother starting hitting too close too home and I became unsettled. Further, when I read about the poor conditions and the fate of the children I had to put this book down and get away for awhile... soon I will gather my courage and pick it back up... McCourts description of the characters are SO real and as I read I can hear the old stories I heard as a child (without a care in world about them and their plight) about my elders and how it was in those days. Strong book Mr. McCourt. I am gathering myself and will return to it soon.

Rating:
Summary: Not a masterpiece, best seller & unworthy of big screen
Review: This is one of the worst books I have ever read. I could not wait to finish reading it and quickly donating it to our local library. I have never started reading a book without completing it, but I did contemplate not finishing this one. The book is too repetitious. Each chapter echoed the previous.

Rating:
Summary: a special, different, beautiful memoir
Review: When I was assigned to read Angela's Ashes as a summer assignment, I thought, "how am i ever going to finish this AND the six assignments that go along with it?". As a matter of fact, I could hardly put the book down and most of the assignments were a breeze. Of the 362 pages, I read at least 50 pages a day because the book was so undescribably great. I've never read a book like McCourts. Although his childhood was so depressing, McCourt mixes humor into his story, that'll make you laugh and cry at the same time. For example, when Frankie and his brothers tear the remaining beams of the house on Roden Lane down and the house collapses, I was laughing and upset at the same time. Frank McCourt just has a way of telling a story that no one else does, and that's what makes his book so truly great. It's also beautiful to see that he came out so successful despite a bad childhood. Actually, when you think about it, his childhood wasn't as bad as it seems because there are so many funny things in his story. The book also produces another emotion: thankfullness. One day after reading about poor Frank's meals, my mom called me to the kitchen for dinner, which was macoroni and cheese, pork chops, mixed vegetables, rolls, and soda. Imagine what Frank would've given for a meal like that. It also showed me not to take things for granted, such as my closet full of clothes or my house. I sometimes complain that I want more clothes or that I wish we had a bigger house, but I think about the rags Frank had to live with and his the leaky lower floor (Ireland) in his house on Roden Lane, and I am so greatful for what i have. Well, all I can say is that I can't wait to read the sequel and to see the movie, and if a 14 year old enjoyed this book, surely any adult would.

Rating:
Summary: Read this !
Review: In my opinion,two things are important in a book.Firstly, the story itself and secondly, how its narrated. In "Angela's ashes",the story is so vivid and real ,that in my mind a clear picture of Court's life was spontaneously created when I was reading this book,even though that much poverty and ardeousness was far from what my eyes could see.I must say that,I couldn't imagine this much hardness before I read the book.Now I feel more aware of the world and whats more I feel more strong than ever.How little Francis survived from that world of absence and cruelty and became a Pulitzer winner author is a miracle, or what?I liked the book and I'm looking forward to read his upcoming book called "Tis" which will be the second part of his story.