Customer Reviews

The Angela's Ashes/'Tis Boxed Set

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One of my favourite books. Mr. McCourt brings tenderness and humor out of the dark and challenge of life. Tis' is essentially the story of an immigrant and his new life in New York City. Beginning with his voyage to America, the autobiographical story follows his struggle to make it in a country that isn't always accepting of strangers. Don't be mistaken to think of this as an extension of the dark tone of Angela's Ashes (which I also liked). I found this book much lighter in tone and more optimistic. McCourt finds his way to the promised land and has to deal with the realities of American society. It's full of the irony of everyday life and his struggles for education, happiness, love, and acceptance. Yes Mr. McCourt is an Irish immigrant, but it's not soley about his being Irish in America. If anything, it's about his struggle to be an American.

Both "Angela's Ashes" and "Tis" are marvelous works, and both are also told by one of the amazing storytellers of our time. McCourt has the abitlity to make the miserable almost seem magical. His open account of his early life in these two volumes serves to inspire, and also, certainly, to entertain.

McCourt has done a great job, keeping my eyes awake for 6 hours reading his memoir. Time really flies when you are happy!! Veriety of emotions happened from page to page. When I was reading the beginning of the page,I wanna cry. When it came to the end of the page, I just wanted to burst out laughing.
Frank is just an ordinary Irish boy, who just has to struggle with alcoholic dad that used up every penny in the pubs, leaving his Angela and other siblings groaning with empty stomachs.
Frank has truly brought me inspiration!

Speaking to the heart of things Irish, the works of Frank McCourt will touch your soul. I have actually read both works twice, and laughed and cried again with each read.. From the eyes of young Frankie McCourt we see every human emotion, from love to fear to loathing , to the light in a child's eyes when he discovers reading and the power of words and an education. One can only wonder how anyone survived such poverty and emotional scars as the McCourts surely must have felt being raised by their parents. The language of these wonderful works is unmistakenly Irish, and is a classic example of what the Irish do best!!!

"Angela's Ashes"/"'Tis" by Frank McCourt

"Angela's Ashes"(*****)
You know how sometimes a book is just so good, when you see you are nearing the end, you want to slow down and savor those last few pages? Angela's Ashes" by Frank McCourt, was that for me. It is a wonderfully beautiful memoir and an engrossing story. McCourt tells the story of his life as a boy, growing up dirt poor in Ireland. And he tells it in a way that makes it impossible to stop reading. I always had a hard time finding a point to stop turning the pages, I had to know what would happen to Frankie McCourt.

The writing is incredibly honest. It flows from sentence to sentence, paragraph to paragraph,page to page. McCourt puts himself right back into the mind of his younger self, and seems to be talking and thinking just as he would from ages 4 through a young man. He speaks of his family. His father that couldn't keep his wages in his pocket on pay day, and could not make it home without stopping for a pint(or two) along the way. Yet a man who seemed to understand his young sons, and always had what seemed sage advice and a great love for his children. His mother's(Angela herself) suffering, with the loss of children dyeing, trying to make do for her family by begging, and did whatever it took to keep her children warm and fed. He writes quite honestly, and uses his wonderful wit and sense of humor to talk about the harsh schooling, the relatives that he looked up to and those he didn't,the many illnesses he and the family went through, his taking to petty thefts to keep from starving, discovering his sexuality, the jobs he had to do, and his great desire to go back to America, where he was born.

The stories are sad,funny and poignant.They will tug at your heartstrings, but the humor he uses in describing the sometimes dehumanizing events(having to empty and clean disgusting chamber pots among them) make this a stand out read instead of a woe-is-me theme.The characters jump off the page, you can hear them speak with their thick Irish accents, or in some cases New York. He writes of all the doors that were closed in his face, when he needed help, but you can feel the tenacity with which he continued to move his life forward. There are many laugh out loud moments of little Frankie's adventures, and other times you may need to have the Kleenex handy.One thing for sure, you'll be thinking of Little Frankie McCourt for a long time after the read. Through thick and thin(mostly thin) this was a family rich with love. A love that is contagious.


"'Tis"(****) is a most enjoyable follow up to his childhood memoir "Angela's Ashes". Frank McCourt now lets us in on life as a poor young immigrant, trying to make his way in the jungle of NYC. Being told over and over, stick with your own kind(the Irish immigrants), Frank as is his nature, does things his own way, which don't always work out to well for him.

When we last left off in Angela's Ashes, Frank had just arrived, eager for a new life in America(the place of his birth). Nothing seems to be going right for him. He is naive in the ways of the world, and learning some hard lessons.Still plagued by bad eyes and teeth, he lands a job, cleaning up in a hotel.He sees the college students, with their movie star smiles and looks, and yearns to be among them. With the war in Korea going on, Frank gets drafted and right away gets himself into trouble by just holding to his beliefs. Stuck as a company clerk, he masters the skill of typing! Later he manages to get into college,even without a High School diploma, which really speaks to his tenacity, and after much hard work between school and jobs requiring much physical labor, he graduates and becomes a teacher.He treats us to some very human moments in and out of the classroom. He also somehow manages to marry the most beautiful girl, the envy of all in his college days.

We are introduced to some new characters that have affected his life in some way. He also goes back to Ireland to visit, and we are reintroduced to some of the people who shaped his early life. His mother is still very much a part of the story, and it is hard not to get emotionally involved with their relationship.

McCourt's refreshing style of writing, still shines through in 'Tis, as he subtly pokes fun at the ways of society and the system of life. It is the tone that is different. As well it should be. In "Angela's Ashes", we saw the hardships of life through the forgiving and eager eyes of a child. It made that book maybe just a little more special. Now the look is that of first a frustrated young man, and then a more experienced adult. There are times, you may not like what he does or says, but this is his life story, and it is honest and life affirming.

I'd been meaning to read Angela's Ashes for a long time. As it turned out, it was a good thing for me that I waited so long. By the time I got to it, 'Tis and even the third in the triology "Teacher Man" had already been published. And if you love Angela as much as I did, you will want to start Tis' right away. You have got to know what has happened to little Frankie McCourt.

So this 2-pack, purchasing them both at once is a really good idea. But it may not be the best deal. Amazon is out of stock of this 2-pack, so you would need to check the outside seller prices. There are several sites and editions to surf around. Keeping in mind that if You purchase these individually from Amazon, and have the required amount in your cart, you will not have to pay shipping charges, and that there is a shipping charge if bought from outside sellers, it still may be the better deal to go with one of the merchants. Even though the 2 pack here is available from a merchant at this time(and you will only be charged the shipping charge for one book, buying them together), check out the prices for buying each one separately. There are some pretty low prices, even with shipping charges applied, that comes out to be a good deal. Just enter "Angela's Ashes" in the book search and all the various editions should come up of both books(you may have to enter Tis' also.)I believe I even saw som audio editions as well.

Here are a couple of places to start:
Angela's Ashes A Memoir

Angela's Ashes: A Memoir of a Childhood

'Tis


And don't forget "Teacher Man", the third in the memoir trilogy, for more of the wit and wisdom of Frank McCourt.(I'm about half-way through, and will bring you my thoughts on that one soon!)


I would highly recommend these books to everyone, but a must read for teachers or anyone planning to write their own memoirs....Enjoy the read...Laurie

I bought Angela's Ashes a few days before christmas as a joke present for my sister (Angela) when it hadn't even been translated into Spanish (I live in Barcelona). Out of curiosity, I read the first few pages and found myself unable to stop. Absolutely amazing.
I don't think many books can compare to this one. Humanity and sincerity in the first degree.
I not only bought it again for my sister, I think I've probably made about 15 other people read it. Not a single one wasn't as elated as I was.

I can easily tell you that Angela's Ashes is my favorite book. I read over parts sometimes, because Frank McCourt's style of writing and his story intrigue me. Frank deserves praise for his survival through little to no means and for of course and excellent book. FIVE STARS!