“When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood.” So begins the luminous memoir of Frank McCourt, born in Depression-era Brooklyn to recent Irish … Irish immigrants and raised in the slums of Limerick, Ireland. Frank’s mother, Angela, has no money to feed the children since Frank’s father, Malachy, rarely works, and when he does he drinks his wages. Yet Malachy — exasperating, irresponsible and beguiling– does nurture in Frank an appetite for the one thing he can provide: a story. Frank lives for his father’s tales of Cuchulain, who saved Ireland, and of the Angel on the Seventh Step, who brings his mother babies. Perhaps it is story that accounts for Frank’s survival. Wearing rags for diapers, begging a pig’s head for Christmas dinner and gathering coal from the roadside to light a fire, Frank endures poverty, near-starvation and the casual cruelty of relatives and neighbors–yet lives to tell his tale with eloquence, exuberance and remarkable forgiveness. Angela’s Ashes, imbued on every page with Frank McCourt’s astounding humor and compassion, is a glorious book that bears all the marks of a classic.
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It held my attention. Made me realize how good I had it
A very interesting read…life is ai strange
When I started reading this book, I said to my husband, “This guy ought to dig up his dead parents and shoot them.” What he does is share the cold truth of his deprived Irish childhood with something close to affection. It’s truly a triumph of the human spirit, but it’s not an easy read.
I had to put this book down, which is rare for me, because of the heart-wrenching poverty and violence portrayed …
Loved this story…well written.
I really enjoyed reading this book. It was the kind of book that I wished went on & on.
One of my all time favorites.
This book touched me
I loved this book. The story of overcoming abject poverty and grief but written with wit and charm.
Poignant story and well written.
I read this book a long time ago but it left a lasting impression on me. The book is truly amazing. Why? Because the author grew up in the most abject poverty but the way he writes it is truly funny. I think everybody ought to read this book.
Where the place?
One of the few books that, when I read it, I regretted its coming to an end. I wanted it to go on in perpetuity. The language, the individuals sketched for the reader, are so magical, the book, being so honest, allows the reader to see the potential in each life (including their own) regardless of defects, proving that every person’s life is of …
Loved this book!
Read this book some years ago when it was published. It was a good read on so many levels. I think I will read it again. Thank you for reminding me that good books are like good friends, worth re-visiting.
For some of us it is hard to imagine a difficult or horrible childhood. Thank you
This is a book no reader should miss. If you have, catch up soon. It is a rewarding experience you will carry with you forever.
One of my favorite books. Love Frank McCourt. Tender, sad, hilarious, unforgettable
A wonderfully sad book about a poor Irish family.
This book has the best closing chapter I’ve ever read.