Customer Reviews

Singing My Him Song

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4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I had the pleasure of attending a book signing by Malachy McCourt recently. He is a true storyteller, and the only thing better than reading his new book Singing My Him Song, was listening to him read it.

For those who enjoyed A Monk Swimming, you will love this latest account of his life. A more reflective and introspective Malachy is revealed, without losing any of the humor or cheekiness of his first book. The best book I've read in a long time.

Not only was I prepared not to like this book, I knew with certainty it would dwell near the bottom of the books I had read this year. The Brothers McCourt had produced a quartet of books, and I was sure this was just a volume to ride the Frank McCourt wave for all it was worth. I was wrong, I was wrong huge, Orca huge! (A nod to Kevin Spacey). Of the 4 books offered thus far, this is easily the better of the 2 from Mr. Malachy McCourt, and second only to, "Angela's Ashes". Judging by the ranking of the book, and the comparatively few reviews, perhaps I was not alone in my error.

This second work from this Author starts and is unremarkable. His life at the beginning of the narration is afflicted with every complaint a reader would expect. When the end of the book arrives you have shared a long, painful, and brutally honest assessment of a life by the man who lived it. I don't know that I have read an autobiographical work that is more personal, pointed, and candid. This man transforms himself from bitter, angry, and sick, whose solace is found in a variety of chemicals, to a man who comes to terms with his life, and changes its course. The book is not a fairy tale. The man at the end is one you would likely be as fond of, as the younger version would have repelled you.

There are some remarkable stories within this man's life. A Daughter who is handicapped, the system that she enters that would be the delight of The Marquis De Sade, and a then young reporter, who helped change the system, and is a household name today. Mr. McCourt takes a trip cross country, and tends to a mouse that has found a spot to hitchhike its way to The West Coast in a small hole in the auto. There is the encounter that he and his wife have with one of the more notorious murderers of the 20th Century prior to his crimes. And there are dozens more.

This book has a great deal of the wit this man is known for, however to describe this work as humorous or funny would be way off the mark. This was a man who was angry, who marched when it was unpopular to do so, he even had the tapes of one of his radio programs confiscated by The Secret Service, after The Saturday Night Massacre of Nixon fame.

To say Mr. McCourt has lived a full life would illicit from him a quip about the wildest form of understatement. He is unique, a one time original. How else do you describe a man who tried to divert the minds of passengers in the midst of skimming the Atlantic Ocean because a door was insecure, by asking if the other passengers would like to meet his Mother? The most normal of questions except when uttered by Mr. McCourt, who when the passengers agreed, produced the ashes of his deceased Mother, whose remains he was bringing back to Ireland to bury. Bad taste...if you find yourself on a plane that may or may not make its destination, hope there is a man or woman aboard who has a sense of humor, who thinks of his fellow passengers.

A wonderful book that deserves much more attention.

Malachy McCourt has written an occasionally captivating look at the last forty years of his life that is replete with self reflection, without wallowing in self pity. Furthermore he shows that he can convey his tale in a terse, lyrical prose that shines more brightly than virtually anything he wrote in "A Monk Swimming". The passages that describe his careers as actor and radio talk show host and his involvement in the successful effort to close Staten Island's Willowbrook mental institution are among this tome's finest moments. Although "Singing My Him Song" is not the literary classic that "Angela's Ashes" is deservedly so, it should be read by McCourties - diehard fans of the McCourts - and by others who enjoy reading tales well told.

(EDITORIAL NOTE 8/20/2009 - Now that his brother Frank is gone, Malachy is now the McCourt family's resident expert of comic storytelling. If I had any doubts about that - and I can assure that I never have - they were dispelled during an emotional, funny, and yes, even, irreverent, eulogy which Malachy delivered during a memorial mass held for Frank early last evening - exactly one month after Frank passed away (on the occasion of what would have been Frank's 79th birthday) - at a Franciscan-run Roman Catholic Church on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It was indeed a most moving remembrance of my Irish-American "Dad", delivered by his oldest brother, who will remain forever in my heart, my favorite Irish-American "Uncle".).

Singing my Him Song is a classic. It is a veritible who's who of the past 40 years of American pop culture. McCourt has encounters with Sean Connery, Jimmy "Kid Dynamite" Walker, Charlie Manson etc.. I enjoyed this book way more than A monk Swimming (maybe because I was skewed by the dipiction of Malachy's father in Frank's book Angela's Ashes, and saw Malachy and him as one in the same in that (monk) text). Him Song is a must read and an absolute gem.

Malachy reveals a humble,contrite witty side of himself as he describes his journey from drunken libertine to sober, caring father and husband. Whether letting us know what it's like to be a welfare recipient or the father of a trouble young man, the author pulls no punches. Very different from A Monk Swimming!

If you loved "A Monk Swimming," then you'll love this second book from the author a follow up that continues the story of Malachy McCourt. Probably, what strikes me most about the book is that it's a story that in reality cuts across all ethnic boundaries and, in the end, Malachy's new book is really a tale about the human condition. How could you not enjoy his talk about the strange experience that it is to first realize you're married?

"Singing My Him Song" is very real and honest. It is for all fans of his first book "A Monk Swimming" and for those who enjoy an honest look at the ups and downs of being human.

Malachy McCourt's first book, "A Monk Swimming," was very, very enjoyable, but clearly, Malachy learned from the experience of writing it, and "Singing My Him Song" is even better. It begins approximately where "A Monk Swimming" leaves off. Malachy meets his second-wife-to-be, Diana, and her lovely but retarded daughter, and, now in his mid-thirties, he begins the slow process of growing up. It is much more difficult to grow up after one's mid-thirties, because the additional fifteen to twenty years of childhood in an adult body has created many more bad habits, more firmly established.

As in "A Monk Swimming," Malachy tells it like it was, omitting little or none of the things he is less than proud of. Sometimes sad, sometimes very funny, this is the story of a man overcoming the lessons of his dysfunctional birth-family and finally co-creating a functional, loving blended family. It is a joy and an inspiration.

watziznaym@gmail.com

When Malachy McCourt's first book, " A Monk Swimming", came out, I read it because of the success of his brother's best seller. I found it charming and very readable. This book, however, is masterful. In my opinion, it's the best book from any McCourt to date. It has everything....power, pathos and extreme thoughtfulness. He does tend to get political at times and I do not always agree with his politics but the way he feels, in relation to his life is excusable and understandable. He is self effacing and brash at the same time. The reader can actually feel his pain....and his joy. A real treat!!

No, it won't be Angela's Ashes (though Malachy does tell the story of carrying the ashes back to Limerick in a defective airplane). The author is Frank McCourt's brother and shares with him the Irish ability to tell a good story.
I haven't read his earlier book, A Monk Swimming, but this one can stand alone. In it, he wrestles with his alcoholism, finds the love of his life, tries to carve out a career as an actor, confronting his dreadful childhood and gives his opinions on American political failures of the past forty years. Somehow he melds all that together into a biography that holds your attention.
Readers might also be interested in A Drinking Life by Pete Hamill.

I must heartily disagree with the claims that _Singing My Him Song_ is superior to _A Monk Swimming_. I found McCourt's style in _A Monk Swimming_ to be marvellously and uniquely irreverent. While we're all happy that in this sequel, he quits drinking, smoking, philandering, and essentially becomes a better person, it's a transition he can't pull off in writing. As a writer, McCourt was at his best when he didn't give a damn about politics or people: he was clever, cocksure, and could spin a sentence with the best of them. There's some of the old McCourt here, but too often he abandons that part of himself and gets bogged down in heavy-handed reflection and moralizing; at parts, this memoir reads like a manifesto for a 12-step program. It's a pity, too; _A Monk Swimming_ was fresh and honest, and McCourt is funny and talented enough that he shouldn't have concluded his life adventures with the saccharine offering that concludes this volume.