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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
I read this book for a summer reading assignment, and loved it! It made doing homework in the summer almost fun. I found it irresistible and I finished it rather quickly.
This book is a memoir by Frank McCourt about his childhood in Limerick, Ireland with his mother, his alcoholic father, and his many brothers. He tells a truly inspiring tale about how someone can come from absolutely nothing and make something of himself through hard work and determination.
I enjoyed this book for many reasons. First, it found this book extremely relatable because of my Irish background. A lot of the quirky things that his family said or did are things that my family would say or do. Secondly, his writing style was incredible. He wrote with a child-like innocence that made it far more believable that a child was telling the story instead of a grown man. His writing style was very relaxed. When quoting people, he didn't use quotation marks and he wrote a lot of run-on sentences. (I know this is a strange thing to notice but he quoted A LOT of people and it deeply impacted the way that the story was read.) It further reinforced the simplicity of the child narrator and made him more likeable.
Finally, McCourt didn't shy away from any part of his life. He didn't sugarcoat anything and he didn't approach his life in a fantastical way. He shared everything with the reader, including the good, the bad, and the ugly. He wrote about everyone and the best and at their worst. He let the reader get a complete view of everyone in his life, and allowed us to form our own opinions of them.
This book has received a lot of criticism for it's negative portrayal of life in Ireland. I don't think that's necessarily fair because how can someone judge another person on their life story they never lived that life? We will never be able to say that we lived McCourt's life, so we will never be able to know what it was truly like. I think the first step to enjoying this book is to realize that while this may be what his life was like, this was not what every Irish person's life was like, and this was not the typical Irish lifestyle.
I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone. I found this book to be an enjoyable read that taught a lot of valuable lessons that every perosn needs to know at some point in their lives.
This book is a memoir by Frank McCourt about his childhood in Limerick, Ireland with his mother, his alcoholic father, and his many brothers. He tells a truly inspiring tale about how someone can come from absolutely nothing and make something of himself through hard work and determination.
I enjoyed this book for many reasons. First, it found this book extremely relatable because of my Irish background. A lot of the quirky things that his family said or did are things that my family would say or do. Secondly, his writing style was incredible. He wrote with a child-like innocence that made it far more believable that a child was telling the story instead of a grown man. His writing style was very relaxed. When quoting people, he didn't use quotation marks and he wrote a lot of run-on sentences. (I know this is a strange thing to notice but he quoted A LOT of people and it deeply impacted the way that the story was read.) It further reinforced the simplicity of the child narrator and made him more likeable.
Finally, McCourt didn't shy away from any part of his life. He didn't sugarcoat anything and he didn't approach his life in a fantastical way. He shared everything with the reader, including the good, the bad, and the ugly. He wrote about everyone and the best and at their worst. He let the reader get a complete view of everyone in his life, and allowed us to form our own opinions of them.
This book has received a lot of criticism for it's negative portrayal of life in Ireland. I don't think that's necessarily fair because how can someone judge another person on their life story they never lived that life? We will never be able to say that we lived McCourt's life, so we will never be able to know what it was truly like. I think the first step to enjoying this book is to realize that while this may be what his life was like, this was not what every Irish person's life was like, and this was not the typical Irish lifestyle.
I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone. I found this book to be an enjoyable read that taught a lot of valuable lessons that every perosn needs to know at some point in their lives.
this book was given to me by my mom who really wanted me to read it and now i'm glad i did. great book!
Un libro che era in casa da molto tempo, nella lista dei libri da leggere dopo aver visto il film. Si svolge quasi tutto in una città irlandese Limerick: umida per via dello Shannon, con fama di essere molto religiosa (ma si va in chiesa solo perché l'unico posto asciutto). Il periodo è dopo la prima guerra mondiale e durante la seconda, con l'indipendenza dell'Irlanda tanto agognata ma con una povertà sociale che deve essere ancora superata. La storia è raccontata in prima persona da Frank e vi avverto: non è mai una storia felice. Nella prima pagina, si dà l'input del romanzo: un'infanzia infelice irlandese è peggio di un'infanzia infelice qualunque. In effetti, bisogna affrontare un po' questo libro con mente aperta, ricordare che è una sorta di autobiografia e non giudicare. I tempi erano quelli che erano e le condizioni disastrose anche. Ci sono dei passaggi in cui “ti si stringe il cuore” ma c'è sempre questo sottofondo di umorismo nero irlandese – che adoro – il quale riesce a strappare un sorriso anche nelle situazioni più nere. Ho scoperto poi che l'autore ha continuato la sua biografia seguendo la sua vita una volta tornato in America. Tentata di sapere la sorte di Frank (buona, mi par di capire), ma credo che cambiando ambientazione non sia la stessa cosa.
this was so tragic but at the same time absolutely hilarious, its amazing
One of the best memoirs I've ever read, not because of its unrelenting harshness of landscape and situation, but because of the grace and humor with which such difficult material is handled. The net effect of reading it is uplifting, for the bright face of courage shines throughout what is an extended lament. A must-read for those who like memoirs or aspire to write them.
medium-paced
"Adeus, Francis. Descansa os olhos e, quando ficarem bons, lê até eles te caírem da cabeça."
What a very sad life. This is the true story of Frank McCourt's life. Born in Brooklyn, and after his parents had a few more kids, back to Irland. The way he describes his family's life, I am surprised any of them survived. His mom had a baby almost every year, couldn't afford to feed what children she had, her husband drank any money that was made, very hard life.
DNF
I wanted to like this, I really did. But I just didn’t enjoy Angela’s Ashes as much as I thought I would. Although I’m impressed by McCourt’s style of writing, the story is quite pessimist and I didn’t enjoy the characters and how they were portrayed. The story felt quite repetitive after a while, which is why I stopped reading.
I wanted to like this, I really did. But I just didn’t enjoy Angela’s Ashes as much as I thought I would. Although I’m impressed by McCourt’s style of writing, the story is quite pessimist and I didn’t enjoy the characters and how they were portrayed. The story felt quite repetitive after a while, which is why I stopped reading.