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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
I don't know how this reads as a book about "poverty in Ireland" which is what the cover blurb stated it was about - but it was an amazing account of childhood; the innocence, the humour, the helplessness and above all the audacity to dream. I did not expect the book to be so blunt, with so much shock value and so much voice. The author interviews at the end of my copy also made for an interesting read. One of the last questions was, what motivates and inspires you. McCourt's answer: the fact that time is running out - that's his biggest motivator.
When I first read this book I would have been about 13 or 14 and I have to admit I didn't like it. I gave it 2 stars and couldn't really remember much about it when I had to read it again in year 12. Maybe it was my teacher or maybe it was being just that bit older but I really got A lot more out of it. I was touched by the characters and it made me laugh and cry on the same page. Talented writing and interesting voice. I am re-rating it 4 stars.
This was sometimes a tough read because of all the Irish gibber gabber. But the overall story was pretty shocking at times with some humor thrown in.
• PAÍS: Irlanda •
Romance autobiográfico de Frank McCourt, “As cinzas de Ângela” narra a infância do autor nos bairros pobres de Limerick, na Irlanda. Filho de emigrantes irlandeses a viver nos Estados Unidos da América, a família de Frank vê-se obrigada a regressar à Irlanda natal nos anos 30, na época da Grande Depressão.
Contudo, a vida na Irlanda revela-se igualmente difícil, com Frank a descrever as duras dificuldades na luta diária contra a miséria e a fome, a relação com um pai alcoólico e uma mãe algo negligente, o peso da violência e de doenças como a tuberculose e o modo como teve de crescer rapidamente para ajudar a sua família a sobreviver.
O livro foca-se brevemente também na temática de Deus e da religião católica, à medida que acompanhamos a história de Frank e, em paralelo, o evoluir da sua fé. Frank é um bom menino católico, que frequenta a igreja todas as semanas e ora todas as noites antes de dormir. Mesmo em noites sem comida e apesar das várias mortes na família com que tem que lidar, Frank sempre acredita em Deus e que tudo acontece por uma razão.
E é essa a beleza da vida de Frank e desta narrativa: apesar de descrever, em pormenor, uma infância duríssima, em condições miseráveis, espartilhada pelos dogmas da Igreja Católica, ao mesmo tempo o autor descreve episódios da sua vida num tom muitas vezes humorístico e terno, de tal forma que damos por nós a apreciar a inocência e pureza de um menino intrigado e confuso com as atitudes dos adultos e do mundo à sua volta. Sem ressentimentos ou mágoas.
”Quando penso na minha infância, pergunto a mim próprio como consegui sobreviver. É claro que foi uma infância infeliz: se tivesse sido feliz, dificilmente teria valido a pena.”
Frank McCourt foi capaz de sobreviver a doenças, fome e pobreza, o que nos remete para a importância de reconhecer o privilégio das condições com que vivemos ao aprender sobre o sofrimento pelo qual outros passaram. Embora trágico e carregado de tópicos pesados, este livro também nos faz sorrir e traz esperança ao relembrar-nos que Frank sobreviveu enquanto que muitas outras pessoas não tiveram a mesma sorte e cresceu para contar a história por aqueles que não puderam.
Romance autobiográfico de Frank McCourt, “As cinzas de Ângela” narra a infância do autor nos bairros pobres de Limerick, na Irlanda. Filho de emigrantes irlandeses a viver nos Estados Unidos da América, a família de Frank vê-se obrigada a regressar à Irlanda natal nos anos 30, na época da Grande Depressão.
Contudo, a vida na Irlanda revela-se igualmente difícil, com Frank a descrever as duras dificuldades na luta diária contra a miséria e a fome, a relação com um pai alcoólico e uma mãe algo negligente, o peso da violência e de doenças como a tuberculose e o modo como teve de crescer rapidamente para ajudar a sua família a sobreviver.
O livro foca-se brevemente também na temática de Deus e da religião católica, à medida que acompanhamos a história de Frank e, em paralelo, o evoluir da sua fé. Frank é um bom menino católico, que frequenta a igreja todas as semanas e ora todas as noites antes de dormir. Mesmo em noites sem comida e apesar das várias mortes na família com que tem que lidar, Frank sempre acredita em Deus e que tudo acontece por uma razão.
E é essa a beleza da vida de Frank e desta narrativa: apesar de descrever, em pormenor, uma infância duríssima, em condições miseráveis, espartilhada pelos dogmas da Igreja Católica, ao mesmo tempo o autor descreve episódios da sua vida num tom muitas vezes humorístico e terno, de tal forma que damos por nós a apreciar a inocência e pureza de um menino intrigado e confuso com as atitudes dos adultos e do mundo à sua volta. Sem ressentimentos ou mágoas.
”Quando penso na minha infância, pergunto a mim próprio como consegui sobreviver. É claro que foi uma infância infeliz: se tivesse sido feliz, dificilmente teria valido a pena.”
Frank McCourt foi capaz de sobreviver a doenças, fome e pobreza, o que nos remete para a importância de reconhecer o privilégio das condições com que vivemos ao aprender sobre o sofrimento pelo qual outros passaram. Embora trágico e carregado de tópicos pesados, este livro também nos faz sorrir e traz esperança ao relembrar-nos que Frank sobreviveu enquanto que muitas outras pessoas não tiveram a mesma sorte e cresceu para contar a história por aqueles que não puderam.
dark
emotional
funny
sad
slow-paced
Good book. Very sad but … what other book features long distance nut busting off the top of a castle? Never to be outdone in that sense. If I talk more about the sad parts of it I’ll cry, so I won’t.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying
Very good. Very hard to read, mostly because of the content. The way that McCourt captures the Irish dialect/syntax is absolutely brilliant.
Endearing novel written from a child's point of view.
The storyline was a sad memoir. I enjoyed the book however it was quite a lengthy read. The way in which the book was written was difficult to follow at times and took concentration. Definitely not one of those books you just pick up and finish in a day. It did get easier to read about halfway thru the book. I enjoyed it but just likely wouldn’t read another just due to the writing style.
I think I am the only person in the world who didn't like "Angela's Ashes" by Frank McCourt.
It's a memoir about a young boy who grows up in poverty stricken Ireland during the Great Depression.
Don't get me wrong, the reasons I disliked it are not the fault of the author at all--but my own inability to truly comprehend what he's trying to say. The book has some pretty thick Irish dialect at times, so I focused a lot on what words were or how they were supposed to be pronounced, and truthfully I just found the book fairly dry. Totally just me though. I am grateful that I don't live in this book, but it just wasn't an enjoyable read to me.
It's a memoir about a young boy who grows up in poverty stricken Ireland during the Great Depression.
Don't get me wrong, the reasons I disliked it are not the fault of the author at all--but my own inability to truly comprehend what he's trying to say. The book has some pretty thick Irish dialect at times, so I focused a lot on what words were or how they were supposed to be pronounced, and truthfully I just found the book fairly dry. Totally just me though. I am grateful that I don't live in this book, but it just wasn't an enjoyable read to me.
I do believe I'm the last person on earth to have ever read this book and everyone but I got the memo that it's brilliant and awe-inspiring and I wish I could write trains of thought without punctuation so majestically as Mr. McCourt.
It's not going to blow anybody's mind to say that I loved this book. It rips your heart out, it really does. When Frank had to lick leftover newspaper from his uncle's fish and chips wrapper, that's how desperately hungry and at the bottom of the barrel he was, my gut wrenched. His poor mother, losing three babies and married to man addicted to the drink and so far gone into the addiction that he can't see (or refuses to see) that his family needs the money for literal survival. Poor Frankie and his brothers, all of them sweet and good and somehow able to be positive in the most desperate of situations, the way only children can. How terrible that his own aunts and uncles and grandmothers treated him with disdain for the sole reason that his mother married a man from the North.
What a tragic childhood.
Yet at the same time, I wonder if Mr. McCourt found his childhood to be tragic. As a child, did he think he had it terribly? He knew his family were dirt poor (literally), he watched as his mother lost three children, stood by her as she weeped over her husband who continued to let his family down, but Frank and his brothers were able to find happiness and light in the darkest of places and times, such is the resilience and power of a child's mind.
If ever there were a book that forced you to be grateful for everything you have, grateful that you have a bed, your own toilet, shoes, food and that you don't have to lick the grease off a newspaper to stave away the hunger, this book is it.
Bring on 'Tis and Teacher Man.
It's not going to blow anybody's mind to say that I loved this book. It rips your heart out, it really does. When Frank had to lick leftover newspaper from his uncle's fish and chips wrapper, that's how desperately hungry and at the bottom of the barrel he was, my gut wrenched. His poor mother, losing three babies and married to man addicted to the drink and so far gone into the addiction that he can't see (or refuses to see) that his family needs the money for literal survival. Poor Frankie and his brothers, all of them sweet and good and somehow able to be positive in the most desperate of situations, the way only children can. How terrible that his own aunts and uncles and grandmothers treated him with disdain for the sole reason that his mother married a man from the North.
What a tragic childhood.
Yet at the same time, I wonder if Mr. McCourt found his childhood to be tragic. As a child, did he think he had it terribly? He knew his family were dirt poor (literally), he watched as his mother lost three children, stood by her as she weeped over her husband who continued to let his family down, but Frank and his brothers were able to find happiness and light in the darkest of places and times, such is the resilience and power of a child's mind.
If ever there were a book that forced you to be grateful for everything you have, grateful that you have a bed, your own toilet, shoes, food and that you don't have to lick the grease off a newspaper to stave away the hunger, this book is it.
Bring on 'Tis and Teacher Man.