Book Ten: Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt, 460 pages
"Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood," writes Frank McCourt in Angela's Ashes. "Worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood." Welcome, then, to the pinnacle of the miserable Irish Catholic childhood. Born in Brooklyn in 1930 to recent Irish immigrants Malachy and Angela McCourt, Frank grew up in Limerick after his parents returned to Ireland because of poor prospects in America. It turns out that prospects weren't so great back in the old country either--not with Malachy for a father. A chronically unemployed and nearly unemployable alcoholic, he appears to be the model on which many of our more insulting cliches about drunken Irish manhood are based. Mix in abject poverty and frequent death and illness and you have all the makings of a truly difficult early life. Fortunately, in McCourt's able hands it also has all the makings for a compelling memoir.
Oh my goodness, as I've already said, this was just SO good. I love stories that are total character based, especially when I take an immediate liking for those characters. Read this & tell me you don't love little Frankie McCourt. You'll be amazed at how well this story is told through the eyes of a child. You will want to reach inside & rescue him until you remember that he's already grown up. & grown up well, into a bestselling American author! An amazing, inspiring story.
Finished: February 08th, 2006.
I've got to get better with updating these things as soon as I am done! I'm thinking I should move everything off of LJ & over to that new book site, but I'm not sure yet. We'll see.
"Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood," writes Frank McCourt in Angela's Ashes. "Worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood." Welcome, then, to the pinnacle of the miserable Irish Catholic childhood. Born in Brooklyn in 1930 to recent Irish immigrants Malachy and Angela McCourt, Frank grew up in Limerick after his parents returned to Ireland because of poor prospects in America. It turns out that prospects weren't so great back in the old country either--not with Malachy for a father. A chronically unemployed and nearly unemployable alcoholic, he appears to be the model on which many of our more insulting cliches about drunken Irish manhood are based. Mix in abject poverty and frequent death and illness and you have all the makings of a truly difficult early life. Fortunately, in McCourt's able hands it also has all the makings for a compelling memoir.
Oh my goodness, as I've already said, this was just SO good. I love stories that are total character based, especially when I take an immediate liking for those characters. Read this & tell me you don't love little Frankie McCourt. You'll be amazed at how well this story is told through the eyes of a child. You will want to reach inside & rescue him until you remember that he's already grown up. & grown up well, into a bestselling American author! An amazing, inspiring story.
Finished: February 08th, 2006.
I've got to get better with updating these things as soon as I am done! I'm thinking I should move everything off of LJ & over to that new book site, but I'm not sure yet. We'll see.