Angela's Ashes (Hardcover)

by Frank McCourt (Author) "My father and mother should have stayed in New York where they met and married and where I was born..." (more)
Key Phrases: floury white potatoes, telegram money order, telegram boy, First Communion, Our Lord, Laman Griffin (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
"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.

From School Library Journal
YA. Despite impoverishing his family because of his alcoholism, McCourt's father passed on to his son a gift for superb storytelling. He told him about the great Irish heroes, the old days in Ireland, the people in their Limerick neighborhood, and the world beyond their shores. McCourt writes in the voice of the child?with no self-pity or review of events?and just retells the tales. He recounts his desperately poor early years, living on public assistance and losing three siblings, but manages to make the book funny and uplifting. Stories of trying on his parents' false teeth and his adventures as a post-office delivery boy will have readers laughing out loud. Young people will recognize the truth in these compelling tales; the emotions expressed; the descriptions of teachers, relatives, neighbors; and the casual cruelty adults show toward children. Readers will enjoy the humor and the music in the language. A vivid, wonderfully readable memoir.?Patricia Noonan, Prince William Public Library, VA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Scribner; 1996/Scribbner edition (September 5, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684874350
• ISBN-13: 978-0684874357
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (674 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #16,190 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #6 in	Books > Reference > Genealogy
  #11 in	Books > History > Europe > Ireland
  #16 in	Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Ethnic & National > Irish

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magnificient!, March 20, 2000

By	Xenia (New York) - See all my reviews

At first I had absolutely no interest in reading a book about someones hard life in Ireland, even if it was a #1 NY times best seller. There is a lovely Irish woman I ride the bus to work with every day, and we talk for very nearly the whole hour of our ride into work. This woman is in her early 60's. The movie ANGELAS ASHES was about to come out and she mentioned that she read the book three times and cried all 3 times because the book was exactly her life in County Kerry. Every page that she read brought back memories. The extreme poverty, going without shoes all the time, the meanness of the teachers, and a father that drank at every opportunity. She told me that if I want to know what her childhood was like in Ireland just read ANGELAS ASHES. After talking with her I became more than curious and intrigued. The first page of the book is very powerful and sets the stage for the rest of the book. I could not put it down. Who the hell cares about the run on sentences & lack of punctuation. I was so engrossed that I didn't even notice any of that. Some of the best books I've ever read were written in plain language. No fancy, its obvious I've got my PhD jive. Frank McCourt still manages to pull the reader into his story & draw emotions. At least that is what Frank McCourt did with me. Once you are finished reading the book you continue to think about it long afterwards. I am a member of an African-American book club and I put ANGELAS ASHES on the list of books for the other members to read & for us to discuss. I am so glad that I read this book and can't wait to see the movie. This book & Frank McCourt will long be remembered and talked about.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Impoverished Childhood Diet, January 27, 2000

By	Linda Linguvic (New York City) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This memoir by Frank McCourt 's Irish childhood has been praised to the sky. Not only has it won major acclaim, but everyone I know has loved it. I can see why. It has great characters and tears at your heartstrings. You'd have to be made of stone to not relate to the sad and impoverished childhood of the author, and his matter-of-fact courage acceptance of it.

The one word that stands out when I think about this book is "food", or lack thereof. It's surprising this man is still alive and kicking at the age of 68 when I read about his childhood diet. Mostly small pieces of bread and tea and sugar water for babies' bottles. He yearns for an egg as if it is the most precious thing in the world. And when there is nothing else, he licks the grease off the newspapers that have wrapped fish and chips.

The family lives on the dole. The father is a drunk. And yet I can't hate the father. He comes across as a man with a problem who loves his family even though every penny he has goes to "the drink". There's lack of clothing, unheated living spaces, cruel relatives, illness, and the death of little children. All is sad. And very moving, And real.

I think of my own childhood. More food than I could eat. Electricity. Plumbing. A warm house. A father who supported the family. A mother who wasn't worn out from hunger and overwork. There's a lot to be thankful for.

It's a good book. I have to recommend it. And yet it took me over a week to read because every time I picked it up I kept falling asleep.

I read a lot of books. Some of them pull me right in and I can't put it down till I finish it. That's rare though. I'll abandon others after the first few pages. Mostly I generally look forward to reading what I've selected though. I didn't look forward to reading this and found it a chore to finish.

Perhaps I had heard too many rave reviews and expected more. Maybe it is as simple as that. There's a certain thrill about discovering a book on my own which was missing. However, it seems I'm the only one in the whole world who felt that way. Do read it for yourself though. It's certainly worthwhile.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful, terrible book, December 15, 1999

By	. "Adelie" (Grass Valley, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

I loved this book. McCourt's use of the language is tremendously evocative - you can actually hear the voices speaking as you read. His story-telling is superb - he is able to simultaneously tell a hideous story and roll you on the floor laughing - with tears in your eyes. I thought the passage about his first communion was one of the funniest things I've read in years - in the context of a certifiably hideous childhood.

I have no illusions that the people and events depicted here are in any way representative of the Irish Catholic population in general - this is a memoir, a very personal story, and never claims to be anything other than that. It's probably dressed up a bit - I never entirely trust a "memoir" with direct quotes of lengthy conversations, especially when the protagonist is too young to really remember verbatim statements. But even tarted up, it's a great tale - makes you glad to be a German Jew!

I recommend this book to anyone with an appreciation of fine writing and a keen ear for the nuances and music of language.