Genealogy Books - Angela's Ashes

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Summary: Angela's Ashes: A Memoir
Comment: Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt is an autobiography of a boy suffering from a poverty-stricken life.
This little boy is Francis, born in America, but a descendent of the Irish. He had five other
brothers and one sister but they all had died before the age of four, except for his three brothers
Malchy, Michael, and Alphie. Their mother, Angela, tried to feed and warm her children, but times
were harsh and it didn't help that the father, Malachy, rarely worked. When he did find work, he
"drank his wages" and never brought home any money. Even when his children were starving.
This
story begins when Francis is only a small boy around the age of three. At the end, he is near
twenty. His tales of life lessons and the pain and suffering of living in the slums of Ireland are
presented wonderfully in this thought-provoking book. It makes the reader consider what it might
have been like to live the way they were forced to.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Yet another rave.
Comment: What really sets Mr. McCourt's story apart from any other memoir, or the rather dramatic (and
appalling) childhood he led - what really sets it all above the rest, is simply the style. The lack
of punctuation, the run-on sentences, no quotation marks; all give us a truly genuine sense of his
thought processes and the swirling madness that was around him. I felt miserable at times,
particularly at any point involving going to the restroom in a little hovel outside the McCourt
home. Not that it will change anything, but Americans need this kind of literature more than anyone
else. We have it so easy, and that is so rarely the case elsewhere.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Splendid
Comment: A heartbreaking but warm and funny tale of an unfortunate Irish family, told through the eyes of a
child. Despite miserable poverty, an alcoholic father, and the death of three siblings, Frank
manages to work his way towards a dream of returning to America. Major hardships are the backbone of
the novel, but the author's use of colloquial language and religious symbolism adds lightheartedness
to the suffering. A novel that can make you laugh out loud and choke with tears in the same chapter
is definitely worth 5 stars, if not more.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Absolutely astounding!
Comment: This is probably the most pivotal book I have read in my entire life. And I have read a lot of
books. Frank writes so well that at parts in the memoir I almost felt that I was experiencing what
he was. If you ever read a memoir, there is none better and more thought-provoking than this one.
Get it! Read it! And let it change your life!

Customer Rating:

Summary: An exceptionally heartrendering and poignant novel
Comment: The non-fiction read of Angela's Ashes captured our attention with an infinite barrage of pure human
emotions and experiences. Author Frank McCourt captures extensive details in his writing by
illustrates the poignant severity of the poor Irish Catholic childhood in Limerick Ireland. The
sentiment exhibited throughout the book by virtually all members of the McCourt family allows the
reader to connect with "old" Ireland. The vivid imagery of the depression and stark hunger of
Limerick is articulated so well that at several points during the book readers can actually identify
with the family's humiliation. An Example of such an occasion is the Christmas Eve dinner. Due to
sever poverty, the family is forced to beg for extra food. The only food that can be spared is a
pig's head that the mother (Angela) cooks up, eyes and all. Frankie himself faces ultimate shame
when, in carrying the pig's head home, it sheds its newspaper covering which draws mocking disgust
from surrounding pedestrians in downtown Limerick. The general position of the family in society
only worsens as the father flees shortly there after, the weekly doll of sixteen pence canceled with
his desertion. Frankie's life is full of trials: from his father's love of alcohol to the boys'
rubber tire soled shoes; from his first love Theresa to the first time he loses trust in his Mam,
his life is full of a tremendous amount grief. Through out the book Frank McCourt is constantly
overcoming overwhelming adversity that surely would have ruined a lesser man. Though we consider
this book to be rather depressing in nature, it also shares with the reader a substantiated love of
life.

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