This is a great story of growing up poor in Ireland. Large parts of this made me laugh till I cried. However, when McCourt writes about his eye troubles and the (shudder) treatment he experienced, I shrank in my chair and cried ordinary tears. If you want a a book to take you to all extremes of emotion, or if you are at all interested in Ireland, this is the book for you. ( )

Moving, funny compelling memoir ( )

As the granddaughter of an Irish immigrant, I loved this. It was fascinating to read about what life was like in the country my grandfather left. ( )

A heartrending memoir of McCourt's early life in Ireland written in a moving and completely unaffected manner. But if I had read this first I wouldn't have chosen the Limerick area for a holiday! ( )

While the writing style was pleasant, I found this book to be a little slow for my taste. It is well written and of a decent story, but there leaves a lot of questions unanswered (in my opinion). ( )

I was hesitant to get this book because I thought it would be devilshly boring, but I am glad to say I was proved wrong. I found Frank McCourt's autobiography very insightful and funny. I particularly liked the parts when Frank is praying or is in confession. He is so guilty and nervous, it just made me laugh. Even thought it does tell of the horrors growing up in lower class Ireland, I thouroghly enjoyed it. ( )

En tragisk og skræmmende historie om 30´ernes krise og hvilken betydning den havde for folk. En historie om Irlands religiøse problematikker. ( )

I laughed till I cried, but then I am Irish and understand the humor of the poverty and the Irish "problem". ( )

Couldn't quite bring myself to give it 3 full stars. I found it too long and repetitive -- it could have been a really effective book otherwise. Relentlessly grim, so I suppose I should admire Frank's endeavor more than I do. Unlike other reviewers here, I don't remember it as having a lot of humor -- just one sad story of poverty with an awful father after another. I guess I've had enough sadness in my own life to embrace this much of Frank's. ( )

Top 5er--may he rest in peace. His other books are outstanding as well. ( )

This was a great book to listen to because the author was the narrator. He even sang the songs, making it very genuine. ( )

Maybe my expectations were too high.

Maybe I'm looking at the book and expecting it to develop like fiction, even though I know it's a memoir.

The simple fact is that I didn't like this book, and I was eager to finish it so it could be done. I hated Frank's father with a passion, and so often the book just seemed to repeat the same thing, over and over again. His father gets a job. Father spends all his earnings at the pub. Family starves, children die. It's infuriating because it still happens, and it still destroys people and families. I wasn't depressed, I was angered. And by the end of the book, I wasn't too thrilled with Frank, either. ( )

I've owned this book for 10 years and repeatedly shied away from reading it. What a mistake. Within the first 3 pages it was obvious why Frank McCourt won the Pulitzer.

This book is hilariously funny, beautifully written and poignant. I identified with the characters and the stories having grown up in a small coal mining town in the 60’s where everyone’s grandparents were immigrants from Europe. These are the same troubles and stories whether Irish, Lithuanian, Russian, Slovak, German…and it all still rings true. ‘Tis and Teacher Man are on my TBR list – to be sure… ( )

Beautiful and heartbreaking. ( )

McCourt's memoir of a destitute childhood in New York and Ireland is both heartbreaking and hilarious. His memory for detail and dialogue continually astounded me. Although much of it is probably recreated, I still found it fantastically genuine. McCourt does not write with the perspective of a grown up looking back on his childhood, but rather with the actual voice of a child. It's impressive and lends such a genuineness to his writing that the reader is forced to visualize and empathize with young Frankie. I am greatly looking forward to his other memoirs and those of his brother, Malachy. ( )

A gripping story that chronicles a young man's life from boyhood to his late teens. It is wonderful writing and very emotional. It is full of a pain and agony, it made cry and grind my teeth in anger throughout the hard times in his life. The human spirit and periodic happyness peaks through the sadness at times. I loved the book! ( )

Intriguing, bold, honest. This is a tale of Irish poverty, Catholic misunderstandings, and one boy's childhood in a world where no man is dependable. One of the most amazing autobiographies I have read, this book is somewhere between the traditional memoir and the historical biography. Filled with emotion and vivid imagery, this is the perfect read for anyone interested in Irish culture or what it was like to grow up in a country and family that has been torn apart. ( )

Best memoir ever ( )

The Story

This story is the one of Frank McCourt’s, an Irish-American who was raised in Limerick, Ireland. It is his life story from his earliest memories in New York through his life in Ireland until he returns to America at age 19. His life was a remarkable one and I can’t imagine living through the hardships that he’s endured. He lived a childhood in extreme poverty and nearly died of typhoid fever. Frank suffers the loss of his twin brothers and little sister. Frank’s father is an alcoholic that causes his family to live in squalor as he spends any money he earns in the pub until it is gone.

Frank’s story in Angela’s Ashes is one that contains so many unbelievable hardships, yet at the same time the reader is amazed by his resilience and continued fight to make something of his life and return to America.

The Review

Lisa lent me this book and told me that it was one of her favorites. I can see why. I have since learned that Frank McCourt received the Pulitzer Prize (1997) and National Book Critics Circle Award (1996) for Angela’s Ashes. He is also the author of ‘Tis, which continues the story of his life, picking up from the end of the Angela’s Ashes and focusing on life in America, and Teacher Man about his challenges as a teacher with his students.

Reading this book was so overwhelming to me! Its tale was remarkable and I felt such a sense of gratefulness for the life that I’ve lived in comparison to Frank’s. I don’t know how it is that I had never heard of this book nor movie. To avoid spoilers for those who have not read this excellent book, I will instead share with you one of my favorite parts of the book. Frank has written a composition on the Lord entitled “Jesus and the Weather” for an assignment in school. He is instructed to read it aloud to the class.

“This is my composition. I don’t think Jesus Who is Our Lord would have liked the weather in Limerick because it’s always raining and the Shannon keeps the whole city damp. My father says the Shannon is a killer river because it killed my two brothers. When you look at pictures of Jesus, He’s always wandering around ancient Israel in a sheet. It never rains there and you never hear of anyone coughing or getting consumption or anything like that and no one has a job there because all they do is stand around and eat manna and shake their fists and go to crucifixions.

Anytime Jesus got hungry all He had to do was walk up the road to a fig tree or an orange tree and have His fill. If He wanted a pint He could wave His hand over a big glass and there was the pint. Or He could visit Mary Magdalene and her sister, Martha, and they’d give him a His dinner no questions asked and He’d get his feet washed and dried with Mary Magdalene’s hair while Martha washed the dishes, which I don’t think is fair. Why should she have to wash the dishes while her sister sits out there chatting away with our Lord? It’s a good thing Jesus decided to be born Jewish in that warm place because if he was born in Limerick he’d catch the consumption and be dead in a month and there wouldn’t be any Catholic Church and there wouldn’t be any Communion or Confirmation and we wouldn’t have to learn the catechism and write compositions about Him. The End.”

This book is written without quotation marks and is written in his true voice. There are many songs, poems and other such recitals within the book. There are so many endearing and wonderful things that Frank shares in the book that will stick within the confines of my mind for a lifetime. I only wish that I could meet him! What an amazing thing that would be.

On Sher’s “Out of Ten Scale:”

If you have not read this book, it needs to be added to your MUST READ list. This is a book that will enrich your spirit and make you feel so grateful for not only ever meal you eat, but for your health as well. It is simply an amazing book!

For the genre Non-Fiction:Memoir, I am going to rate this book a 10 OUT OF 10. ( )

Some parts of Angela's Ashes will make you cry others will make you laugh. Frank McCourt is a wonderful story teller who effortlessly captures your attention and keeps you focused on his tale. ( )

An Irish man looks back on the first nineteen years of his life.

I wasn't sure about this book at first. It's very, very raw. McCourt's style is stream-of-consciousness; he eschews quotation marks, tones down his punctuation and sticks mostly to the present tense. The narrative feels like it came straight out of someone's head. We get an unfiltered account of McCourt's life. We live each event right along with him.

Slowly but surely, the book grew on me. I found myself becoming absorbed. I was eager to read onwards. The content is more than a little depressing, but McCourt tells his story with enough warmth and humor that I never felt overwhelmed by his family's difficulties.

I doubt I'll ever read this again, but I'm glad I read it once. It was a very slow read, but definitely a worthwhile one. ( )

One of the most well written books I've ever read. McCourt makes you feel as if you have been there yourself. Amazing and sad story. ( )

Absolutely 5 Stars!! Beautifully written. I loved the way the voices and dialects came through so clearly. No wonder he won the Pulizter. ( )

I can't believe how much I love this book. I found no fault with it and it made me feel extremely grateful for everything that I have. It is so beautifully written that even though it describes terrible situations, I wanted to keep reading. I will be reading McCourt's followups shortly. ( )

I've spent the last week in Limerick, Ireland, in the pages of Angela's Ashes. Some parts of the book brought tears to my eyes as the author described the hunger, the lack of clothing and fuel in the winter, the disease, and the unsanitary living conditions he and too many others endured. Occasionally the tears became laughter, as when young Frankie narrates the events of his first communion day. Less skilled writers might succumb to expressions of bitterness or self-pity, but McCourt wisely avoids these temptations. His voice throughout is that of the child he was, not that of the adult he is now. It engages the reader in a way that a psychoanalytical account could not. ( )