Genealogy Books - Angela's Ashes

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Summary: Angela's Ashes: Irish I was Reading This!
Comment: Imagine being crammed into a one bedroom home with two siblings, an alcoholic father, an exhausted
mother, a flooded downstairs, and the constant threat of tuberculosis, or even worse, death knocking
at your door. On top of it all, imagine being so poor that going days without food is normal and an
egg can be considered a delicacy. No matter how difficult that is to imagine, it was nevertheless
the life of young Frank McCourt.
Frankie grows up in the slums of Ireland where begging is
commonplace and children must find jobs at the age of 14 in order to support their entire family.
Frankie struggles to overcome his destitute life, the death of three siblings, and a father who
drinks away all of the money needed in order for the rest of the family to survive. This is the
world that you experience as you begin reading Angela's Ashes, a true-life memoir of Frank
McCourt.
Angela's Ashes takes place during the Great Depression where poverty runs rampant
through the streets and even the most proud of families is reduced to begging in order to get a
simple lump of coal. However, Frankie has the seemingly unrealistic dream of eventually travelling
to America and starting his life anew. Throughout the course of the novel you are left wondering how
Frankie can gain the physical or mental power to accomplish his goal.
One aspect of the
novel which I found very intriguing is Frank's use of "comic relief" in order to keep his otherwise
depressing life hopeful and at least somewhat upbeat. Mikey Molloy, a cross-eyed friend of Frank who
suffers from "fits" (seizures), is one such example of this sporadic humor. Frank even recounts one
time when Mikey fakes one of his fits in order to sneak into the movie theater. "...I'll pretend to
have the fit and the ticket man will be out of his mind and you can slip in when I let out the big
scream...That's what I do to get my brothers in all the time." Scenes like this really kept me
smiling throughout the sadness in Angela's Ashes.
McCourt's writing style also provides a
relieving mixture of both comedy and sorrow. At one point, Frankie contracts typhoid fever and
describes his experience with the doctor in charge. "It's dark and Dr. Campbell's sitting by my
bed...He tilts over on the chair and farts and smiles to himself and I know now I'm going to get
better because a doctor would never fart in the presence of a dying boy." Through the innocence and
naivety of Frank's voice, I felt as though I could really understand and feel what the author was
feeling while recounting his life.
Despite all of the comedy throughout this novel, the
author never loses sight of the main aspect of the story: the sorrow. Frank basically has to support
his entire family by himself at a very young age because his dad is always at the bar drinking away
every penny he earns. From the age of three to nineteen, Frankie moves from one house to the next,
and each time the conditions get worse and worse to the point where Frank and his family have to
live next to an outhouse which is shared by the entire street they live on. Not only that, but
Frank's mother, Angela, has to spend all day scrounging the streets for whatever scraps she can find
to help her family survive.
Angela's Ashes has become one of my favorite books. Although I
would suggest it to a more mature audience due to some of its scenes, I would still recommend this
book to anyone who wants to learn more about Frank McCourt's struggle growing up in Ireland. I would
easily give this book an "A." I never lost interest in the plot no matter how depressing it was and
the characters always kept me compelled to learn more about their plight and hardship. You'll laugh,
you'll cry, and most importantly this book will make you appreciate what you have and realize that
we have it pretty good here in America.

Customer Rating:

Summary: A great read, an even better listen
Comment: This is one of those rare instances when listening to a book being read is better than reading it
yourself. I bought this copy of the book for my daughter, who chose it as her summer reading
assignment. Yet the version I treasure is the audiobook, read by the author himself. My daughter
would not have read the book if I hadn't played the audiobook in the car. Your imagination can't do
justice to that Limerick accent and wry delivery; you are hooked in the first two minutes. A
warning: if you listen to it with a young child present, you are likely to have to answer a lot of
embarrassing questions.

Of course it's a wonderful book: funny, poignant,
heartwrenching... you can keep loading on the adjectives. It has its own music and rhythm as it
moves from one small incident to the next, painting a picture of a childhood defined by unimaginable
poverty. The narrative moves from a child's acceptance of his circumstances to the adolescent's
ruthless determination to find a way out, while never abandoning the family that mean so much to
him. And the author manages to accomplish this without a trace of sentimentality, and with plenty
of deadpan humor. I would recommend this book - or audiobook - to anyone old enough to cope with
its unrestrained language.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Colorful portrayal of life as a poor Irish Catholic
Comment: McCourt was funny, witty and descriptive in every regard throughout this book. His first person
account of being raised in a poor Irish Catholic community makes you glad to be raised in modern
times in America. Read the book for an interesting insight into Europe over fifty years ago.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Unforgettable memoir
Comment: I read this book years ago and it left a mark. It's one of the best autobiographies I've ever read,
mesmerizing to say the least. Mr. McCourt recounts his childhood in Ireland, surrounded by poverty
and hunger, up until the time when his dream comes true: going to the USA in search of a better
life.

The prose is powerful and conveys a very clear picture of his life. It makes you
laugh, it makes you cry, some graphic descriptions might even make you look away, but what I truly
liked about this book is the absence of sorrowfulness, especially when depicting some incredibly
miserable events.

I went on to read " 'Tis ", the sequel, and found it to be as good as
"Angela's Ashes", perhaps a bit less powerful but great nevertheless. Get both books if you haven't
yet read them.

Customer Rating:

Summary: What a Story!
Comment: I listened to the Recorded Books Unabridged version of this on tape--narrated by the author. What a
treat! I'm sure it must have been better than reading it myself. I cried and sometimes I giggled
and belly laughed. Many have reviewed the book and most were riveted to it as I was. How I wished
I could have scooped up those kids and given them a good life.

Back to Angela's Ashes

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