Genealogy Books - Angela's Ashes

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Summary: GOD BLESS THE CHILD!
Comment: After reading this book, it is doubtful that anyone could ever find anything to complain about
again.

In one passage, starving, seeking food, little "Frankie" licks a
discarded empty fish and chips paper wrapper trying to get some sustenance from its residue of
grease. He retrieved it from the floor of a bar. It's contents were consumed by a sleeping drunken
man.

At other times, "Frankie" is mostly barefoot, or clunking
along streets in makeshift clothes and worn shoes with repaired soles cut from a discarded bicycle
rubber tire. Doors are slammed in his face by a local parish priest, a school master, contemptous
neighbors, cruel relatives, among others. His mother, Angela through her tears and dismal
surroundings consoles him, offering him the shattered shreds of her strength. "Remember this"-
she tells him- "never again allow anyone to close another door in your face."

These and other scorching memories of his young tender years in Ireland are shared by author Frank
McCourt. Yet even in abject poverty and suffering, his family never loses their buoyant hopes
for a better life somewhere. There are Dad's stories, Though her "singing voice" is gone, there are
Mam's songs. They bear children. Some die from hunger and sickness; some like Frank and Malachy
endure. They are much like the tiny glowing embers among ashes of an almost quenched fire. />
The author takes us from America to Ireland and back again to America. His journey
is a harrowing, melancholy saga laced with bittersweet memories and humor. The book never boggs
down. Page after page holds our interest as we are mesmerized by the creativity, and resilient
spirit of this child. We wonder how in the world did he manage to survive and become this
literate being who holds us spellbound with his words.

Customer Rating:

Summary: To be Irish and poor
Comment: This is a rare autobiography where you are given the subject's eyes and ears to experience,
seemingly first-hand, their unimaginable and tragic reality. McCourt describes everything in its
raw form, as if straight from his senses to the page, without any filtering in between.
/>Frank McCourt grew up in Ireland in a very poor family, his parents loved him, but they could not
provide for him or his many sublings. This is perhaps the first story and can recall which so
clearly states that loving a child is not enough, rather to be a good parent you must be able to
provide for them financially.

This book is not all depressing, and at times it is
completely hilarious. And in the back of your mind, it's always comforting to know that eventually
the little boy will grow up to become a best-selling author, but try not to think about the other
99% of the poor children that never get out.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Angela's Ashes
Comment: Even at the most difficult of times, there is always hope for better to come. The narrator of the
story, Frank McCourt, conveys this throughout his acclaimed memoir Angela's Ashes. Born in
Depression-era Brooklyn and raised in Limerick, Ireland, Frank lived in poverty throughout most of
his life. His mother, Angela, would sing to her children at night, giving them hope that one day
there would be enough food and happiness for everyone, even though there was barely any hope left
for herself. It is the coming-of-age story of Frank McCourt as he grows from an impoverished
childhood to a maturity at the age of nineteen, when he is able to plan his own course in life.
Before the age of ten, Frank is a witness to the death of his sister and two brothers. His father
does not work much and when he does, he spends all of his earnings drinking at the local pub. He
also is fond of telling stories and reminding the children that they hopefully will die for Ireland.
Through all of the difficult times he had to endure, he grows spiritually, morally and
intellectually. His family remains strong in spirit even through the poverty, near starvation and
harassment.
This wonderfully written and deeply moving memoir is a story that changes your
perspective and captivates your heart. It is narrated in the first person and is told in the present
tense. This kind of immediacy centers on the reality of the child's experiences and avoids the
impression, as the past tense might, that the story is being reflected upon by an adult on his
childhood. The language used throughout the memoir is informal and common. Regional, Irish phrases,
and vulgar expressions are used often to convey the way people really talked during the author's
childhood in Limerick. Both tears and smiles are brought together as close as they be in this style
of writing. An example of type of language used: "The master says it's a glorious thing to die for
the Faith and dad says it's a glorious thing to die for Ireland and I wonder if there's anyone in
the world who would like us to live. My brothers are dead and my sister is dead and I wonder if they
died for Ireland or the Faith. Dad says they were too young to die for anything. Mam says it was
disease and starvation and him never having a job. Dad says: `Och, Angela,' puts on his cap and goes
for a long walk" (113). The theme of poverty is persistent throughout the memoir. To the people in
Limerick, poverty is accepted as a fact of life; there is nothing much to help the poor out of their
misery.
The title of the memoir indicates the ashes that fall from Angela's cigarettes and
those in the fireplace that she continuously stares at blankly. Her ashes represent her crumbling
hopes of raising a healthy family with a supportive husband. These dreams are withering and have
almost died so that all she is left with are the smoldering ashes from the fire that provides them
warmth. Frank grows to learn that he must take on the responsibility of keeping his own dreams alive
in the end. At the end of the book, he leaves his broken family behind in order to make himself
whole again in America.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Worst Ending
Comment: I truly enjoyed this book... I listened to the audio edition on a road trip I took alone. However,
the immoral ending astounded me. People may say "He tells it like it is," but I find the things
that the author chooses to emphasize particularly demeaning. To call this book "Angela's Ashes" is
an insult to his mother.

Perhaps someone can clarify for me, but I did not quite
understand why the author chose to end this beautiful and poignant story with a jarring and explicit
sexual encounter with a married woman, in which he loses any semblance of the penitant attitude he
displayed back in Ireland. What is he trying to say about himself? What is he trying to say about
America?

This book is not appropriate for all ages, as some reviews attest. the movie
was rated R for a reason.

Customer Rating:

Summary: A Must to Hear
Comment: There is no substitute for hearing Frank McCourt speak to you, in his own voice, his own words, his
own story. Even if you have read the book, you will find fresh enjoyment and an incomparable
entertainment experience through listening to Angela's Ashes on audio. McCourt breathes warmth,
humor and personality into his reading in such a way that is is more like having a cup a tea -- or
at times, a pint of Guiness -- with the author in person as he recalls both the humor and tragedy in
his life with neither guile nor bitterness. Anything more I can add to this review will be
superfluous after this caveat. Do not deny yourself this (albiet onesided) conversation with a
truly admirable man.

Back to Angela's Ashes

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