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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
Very interesting, enlightening. McCourt writes with lyrical freshness of the hardship's he endured. I don't suppose many people would want to swap places with him. A little depressing, yet sometimes hope breaks through.
One of my favourite autobiographies, and the first paragraph of it is among my favourite words ever written. An Irishman's nostalgic and realistic look back at his childhood.
Listened to this one as an audiobook and abandoned after disc 5 of God knows how many. This is probably one of those medium meets the message scenarios, but man, not the right format for this book for me. There are only so many times you can listen to an alcoholic deadbeat tell his kids to promise to die for Ireland on your already depressing late winter/early spring commute.
I can't believe it took me so long to read this book. It was an interesting read but nothing fantastic. I have a feeling a similar story could be told in many parts of the world, but I still found it overall depressing at times. I will be reading the second book when I've had a bit of a break.
I’ve had this on my TBR for a decade or longer. I love to stories about the Irish. This is definitely a great one for audio as Frank McCourt reads it with all the candor only a Irishman can write and relay. And the ending was the word ‘tis, the name of the sequel. I will be adding that to my TBR soon as I need to hear more of the story of McCourt’s life.
Great book, second time I read it. Contains great short stories.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
I read ‘Tis when I was a teenager, and it’s one of those books that has always stuck with me. I’ve wanted to read Angela’s Ashes for years. I’m glad that I finally got a chance to read it.
Frank McCourt was born in depression-era New York, but poverty and his father’s drinking drove his immigrant family back to Ireland. Life in Ireland isn’t any easier for Frank. He grows up in extreme poverty and faces disease and starvation. His only goal is to become a man so that he can get a job and support his family.
This memoir is pretty bleak. Frank did not have an easy childhood. His hunger, poverty, and unsanitary living conditions led to serious diseases that altered his life and killed a few of his siblings. Even though this book is difficult to read, it’s not completely depressing. There are moments of startling humor and beauty. The writing is very good. It’s blunt and occasionally vulgar. It’s honest without being melodramatic. I could really feel Frank’s desperation to make a better life for himself and his family, and I couldn’t imagine growing up like he did.
This book shows humanity at its best and its worst. Frank's story has a lot of causal violence, but it also proves how kind people can be. One of my favorite scenes is when Frank steals a bag of oranges from a store. The store owner know that Frank and his siblings are starving, so instead of calling the police, the store owner gives the kids a second bag of fruit.
I don’t know very much about depression/WWII era Ireland, so the political and cultural aspects of this memoir are interesting to me. The book is a firsthand account of the conflicts between the Protestants and the Catholics and the English and Irish. Being an Irish Catholic is a huge part of Frank’s identity. I liked reading about someone whose life, experiences, and beliefs are so different from mine.
I enjoyed this book overall, but I have to admit that I was bored for a lot of it. I think the plot is slow, flat, and repetitive. Every time Frank starts to get ahead in life, something tragic happens that knocks him back down. This does help the reader feel Frank’s frustration, but the cycle becomes boring and predictable after a few hundred pages.
If you can get past the repetition, I highly recommend this book. It provides an in-depth look at extreme poverty and makes you grateful for everything you have. I can see why some people consider it a classic and an important work of modern literature.
Frank McCourt was born in depression-era New York, but poverty and his father’s drinking drove his immigrant family back to Ireland. Life in Ireland isn’t any easier for Frank. He grows up in extreme poverty and faces disease and starvation. His only goal is to become a man so that he can get a job and support his family.
This memoir is pretty bleak. Frank did not have an easy childhood. His hunger, poverty, and unsanitary living conditions led to serious diseases that altered his life and killed a few of his siblings. Even though this book is difficult to read, it’s not completely depressing. There are moments of startling humor and beauty. The writing is very good. It’s blunt and occasionally vulgar. It’s honest without being melodramatic. I could really feel Frank’s desperation to make a better life for himself and his family, and I couldn’t imagine growing up like he did.
This book shows humanity at its best and its worst. Frank's story has a lot of causal violence, but it also proves how kind people can be. One of my favorite scenes is when Frank steals a bag of oranges from a store. The store owner know that Frank and his siblings are starving, so instead of calling the police, the store owner gives the kids a second bag of fruit.
I don’t know very much about depression/WWII era Ireland, so the political and cultural aspects of this memoir are interesting to me. The book is a firsthand account of the conflicts between the Protestants and the Catholics and the English and Irish. Being an Irish Catholic is a huge part of Frank’s identity. I liked reading about someone whose life, experiences, and beliefs are so different from mine.
I enjoyed this book overall, but I have to admit that I was bored for a lot of it. I think the plot is slow, flat, and repetitive. Every time Frank starts to get ahead in life, something tragic happens that knocks him back down. This does help the reader feel Frank’s frustration, but the cycle becomes boring and predictable after a few hundred pages.
If you can get past the repetition, I highly recommend this book. It provides an in-depth look at extreme poverty and makes you grateful for everything you have. I can see why some people consider it a classic and an important work of modern literature.
dark
emotional
funny
informative
medium-paced
Utterly tedious. I pushed through expecting it to get better because everyone seemed so impressed by it, but I fail to see how an account of nothing but years of misery and poverty is entertaining or enlightening. Mr. McCourt's early life was clearly awful, but why he felt the need to inflict it upon the rest of us is beyond me.