ANGELA'S ASHES

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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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Summary: Angela's AShes
Review: This novel was more than just a tale of misery and poverty, it creates an image for readers of the Irish Catholic Childhood and brings to life that time period. Although depressing at times it jumps out at you with wit and intelligence. It catches your eye and keeps you reading on and on.

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Summary: Angela's Ashes: Death and Poverty
Review: Most people would agree that life is frequently difficult. Life may seem easy after reading Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt. Angela's Ashes is a true classic. It is timeless, addresses the history of Ireland, and evokes emotion. Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt is a memoir of the hard times he and his family experienced during his life in Ireland during the 1930s and 1940s.
Angela's Ashes is a timeless memoir that will last through the ages. Twenty to thirty years from now people will still read and enjoy this book. People are easily taken into the well-written memoir about families that are poor, living under inhuman conditions. There was little heat, food, or clean water. Christianity was and is the main religious belief in Ireland. Today people continue to attend church each Sunday and Limerick is still the holiest place in Ireland. The description of the life of the McCourts, sixty to seventy years ago, is so vivid and tragic, many readers were waiting for a sequel, hoping that some good could come to the lives of these children who lived with abuse and hunger.
Readers may not easily relate to McCourt's stories of Ireland, the church, and the suffering experienced by the poor Irish, but they can feel the pain and suffering through McCourt's descriptions. Angela's Ashes actively involves the reader with the hardships the McCourts experienced. Frank McCourt addresses the history of his place of birth, Limerick, Ireland. Malachy, Frank McCourt's father, often made the children promise to die for Ireland. Frank McCourt's father demanded, "I want you to jump out of that bed and line up here like two soldiers and promise to die for Ireland and I'll give the two of you the Friday penny." (111) England was Ireland's enemy for many years. The times were hard and men were asked to die for Ireland, if needed. Frank McCourt was a part of the history and suffering of the poor Irish. The reader will feel the pain his father puts upon his family, due to his beliefs, his anger, his drinking habits, and his lack of good work ethics.
The well-written memoir of Frank McCourt's life evokes emotions. Three of the children die depressing deaths. Margaret, McCourt's only sister, died at a young age. Oliver, one of the twins, then died and soon after Eugene appeared to have died of a broken heart. The family fell apart after the death of each child. The story is written with an emotional impact for the reader.
Angela's Ashes is a classic of the highest quality. Angela's Ashes, by Frank McCourt, is a memoir that is visually stimulating. It evokes emotion and should be read and enjoyed by all. The memoir is so moving that McCourt stated, "I could never have written this book while my mother was alive, she would not have liked it. We were always ashamed to have grown up in the slums.... She suffered a lot.... She was a depressed and angry woman." All readers will definitely feel compassion for Mrs. McCourt and her family.

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Summary: McCourt Delivers Stunning Memoir
Review: As McCourt recalls, life was never easy. Angela's Ashes proves just that. If you've ever thought that your life was rough, give this one a try. Every page reveals yet another tragedy that this young Irish-American must try to understand.
Written from the first-person perspective, the book begins it's setting in New York where everything is seemingly flawless. However, in an ironic twist, the aleady Irish immigrants traverse back to their homeland, battling the mobs and mobs of new immigrants coming to the 'New World'.
Once in Ireland, the McCourt's begin their struggle to live complacently among their own. Going through many, many decrepit houses, the McCourt family expands and shrinks like a beating heart. Angela, Frank's mother, has a miscarriage, a daughter that dies, a son that dies, and twins that both perish as well leaving the family with father, son, and three brothers.
Malachy McCourt the older, Frank's father, deals with getting a place in the work force with his "North of Ireland accent", unacceptable to those living in Limerick at the time. When Malachy does get a job, he spends all of the wages on the dreaded 'pint' and comes home singing through the streets, waking everyone and disgracing himself in front of the entire town.
Throughout all, Frank begins schooling, a religous life, sexual experimentation, getting a job, and finding his place in life. With Frank's unique way of questioning everything, he draws in the reader and makes it truly believable that a child wrote the book.
With all the trials and tribulations of Irish life come many valuable lessons which McCourt inserts as prevailing themes. Angela seems to offer up the most advice to young Frank and the climax of the book seems to come when she tells him, "never let anyone slam a door in your face again, Frankie." This proves to be a valiant offering from a woman who begs for food scraps and bits of coal from the church.
With this, Frank is determined to go back to America where he can live happily among the hardworking, wealthy, 'cowboys' of the Western world.
This book truly delivers something special into every reader's heart. It has met praise and unexpected success, "I had no expectations. As I said to my wife, recently, I might be reviewed in the New York Times Book Review under "Briefly Noted." And then I'd get my Library of Congress catalog number. And then I'd recede into obscurity and I'd get a job like everybody else."
This is most certainly untrue. Pick up a copy of Angela's Ashes and the sequel, 'Tis in a bookstore near you today.

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Summary: Angela's Ashes wins the crown
Review: Angela's Ashes is a wonderful book. It will make you laugh, cry and want to give all of your money away to poor children all at the same time. The book follows Frankie McCourt, a young Irish boy, through his many houses all of which are barely standing, through his many adventures through the streets of Limerick, through the deaths of his brothers and sisters, and through all the times waiting late at night for his father to come home drunk with no money from work and making the boys stand up and promise to die for Ireland. Frankie is so poor that he has no shoes he's had the same clothes since he was about three years old. Frankie struggles to survive in the tough streets of Limerick and earn money for his family. He finally sails to America with hopes of a new life and prosperity. This book is a masterpiece that will forever be an emotion-provoking novel.

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Summary: Wonderful
Review: Angela's Ashes is by far one of the most touching novels you will ever read. Once I picked it up, I could not put it down. It keeps you on your toes, and you wonder what's going to happen next? It's innocent and sweet. You see the story through the eyes of young Frank McCourt, where he takes you through journey's, some sad, some uplifting. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading true stories that come from the heart.

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Summary: In a different light
Review: Almost everyone who's read Angela's Ashes praises it as one of the best autobiographies/memoirs ever - a statement I would hesitate to agree with. Dont get me wrong: I do think it's a very good book. The best thing about Angel's Ashes is its lack of sorrowfulness - you dont see an author sobbing over a painful childhood and asking for your sympathy. Instead it's treated with great humor (this book does have some of the funniest passages you'd read in a serious autobiographies) and a lack of egoism. The narrator describes things for what they are and show a geniune interests in the psychologies of others. Even when it comes to an unsympathetic character, the protrait is drawn with great understanding and warmth. The oceanic existence of the child is particularly well-done, with great immediacy, that we get drawn into his universe in great sympathy. These are among the greatest achievements an autobiographer can have.
The only thing I am uncomfortable with is the ending. It's a very deliberate construction of McCourt 'giving up' Ireland (symbolized by the Priest) for U.S. and its values (think of the woman who grabs him - and the affirmative answer he gives to the question: isn't America wonderful?). The book ends well - but I can't get rid of the feeling that it is a bit too 'market-oriented', which undermines the previous narrative a little bit when you go back to read it again.

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Summary: Angela's Ashes Review
Review: After I read the book, Angela's Ashes, I felt as though I had lived and experienced a whole different life. This new life, was in Ireland, and I faced the same harships as the protagonist, Frank McCourt, went through. This book made me realize that you should be happy with the little things in life that you take for granted, because some people might not even have those items. I can't even express in words, what kind of impression this book made on me. I think that this has to be in the top 3 of my favorite books. I learned a lot about the culture and values of this family, which makes it a book worth reading.