Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
>> Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
Genre: Memoir
Publication Date: 1996
Pages: 362
Challenges: None
Source: Loan from my Sister-in-law
The Short Version:
A sad story of a miserable childhood is told by a man who clearly managed to persevere and even succeed despite his early years.
Why I Read It:
My sister-in-law loaned me her copy because she loved the book and thought I would too.
The Book
Although he was born in Brooklyn, Frank McCourt’s parents returned to Ireland when he was young after the death of his younger sister. Incredibly poor and with an alcoholic father who could rarely keep a job for more than three weeks, the family struggled on the edge of starvation and homelessness.
The family lived in miserable conditions, but as told from the viewpoint of Frank as a child, there are moments of humor, beauty, joy and love interspersed with the sadness, tragedy and poverty.
My Thoughts:
This is a book that is difficult for me to explain my thoughts. I know lots of people love this book, but I’m not one of them
I think this is one of those books that I’ll probably like better the longer it’s been since I read it. I struggled with this one. I have a history of not being much of a memoir fan and this book didn’t do a lot to change my mind. It took me nearly a month to read it because I had to set it aside about halfway through just to get a change of pace. It was never a book that I looked forward to picking up again once I set it down; I finally had to just decide to get through it and push on to the end.
Despite the fact that I didn’t enjoy the actual reading of this book, I also thought it was good. The writing is wonderful and there were countless moments of a phrase, sentence or paragraph that I would just savor. McCourt did a great job of telling the story through his own childhood viewpoint.
I will probably look back on this book and say I liked it, but I also have to admit that I had to make myself finish reading it.
Rating 3/5
No stars – I couldn’t even finish it
1 star – I didn’t like it but I managed to finish it.
2 stars – It was OK. Not good, but seriously just OK.
3 stars - I liked it. I didn’t think it was great, but I thought it was good entertainment.
4 stars – I really liked it. I really think you might like it too.
5 stars – It was amazing. I’d recommend this to just about anyone.
9 comments:
To me, it's always hard to judge a memoir because how can I judge someone's experiences? I did like this one, mainly because of the beautiful writing.
I listened to this on audio book, narrated by the author, and I think that it was a positive addition to the reading experience of this book, if that makes sense. You got to here the Irish accent talking which enhanced the story. Enhanced...that's the word I was looking for!
i can definitely understand how this isn't the kind of book that you 'want' to read. it's so bittersweet at times, but, i'm glad you were able to persevere through it and finish.
It's been years since I read this, but as I recall, I did like it in spite of the bleak, depressing details of the McCourt children's childhoods.
DiaryofanEccentric: Maybe that's why I have a hard time with memoirs - but yes, the writing in this one is beautiful.
Marg: Oh I bet that added a lot to the story - maybe I should have gone with the audio version.
LIsa: I really think I'll like this one more in hindsight than I did as or right after I read it.
Les: Yes, bleak and depressing, but so beautifully written - that's why I did stick with it.
I had a hard time with this one, too. Like you I'm not always much into memoirs. I agree that there was a lot I could point to and say "this is a great phrase" or "this is incredible imagery" but that didn't make it any easier to read. For me, there's only so much devastating poverty that I can take in one book.
This is one of my absolute favorite books. I haven't read it since I was 14 or so but I wonder how I will feel about reading it now that I'm a little older.
It was interesting to read about your perspective!
This was bleak but I enjoyed the very dark humor in it - the way the children would find mischief even in the most desperate circumstances. Interestingly the book got a lot of criticism in the Irish community for what they felt was an exaggeration of the poverty in Limerick at the time.
Veronica: it makes me feel better to hear that others have had a hard time with this one.
Ashley: I really think I'll like this much better in hindsight. The further away I am from the act of reading it, the more I appreciate it.
Booksync: Bleak - yes, so bleak, but with moments of lightness and humor, yet so bleak.
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