a book
Angela’s Ashes
Frank McCourt · 1996 · 432 pages
Stunning reissue of the phenomenal worldwide bestseller: Frank McCourt's sad, funny, bittersweet memoir of growing up in New York in the 30s and in Ireland in the 40s. Angela's Ashes is Frank McCourt's sad, funny, bittersweet memoir of growing up in New York in the 30s and in Ireland in the 40s. It is a story of extreme hardship and suffering, in Brooklyn tenements and Limerick slums -- too many children, too little money, his mother Angela barely coping as his father Malachy's drinking bouts constantly brought the family to the brink of disaster. It is a story of courage and survival against apparently overwhelming odds. Written with the vitality and resonance of a work of fiction, and a remarkable absence of sentimentality, Angela's Ashes is imbued on every page with Frank McCourt's distinctive humour and compassion. Out of terrible circumstances, he has created a glorious book in the tradition of Ireland's literary masters, which bears all the marks of a great classic.
recommended by 1 person
sourced from public statements
Sally Field
“Having this memoir opened at my side was like looking at Van Gogh’s Sunflowers and wanting to paint like that. It can’t be done. In the first chapter, McCourt transitions from past tense to present, talking with the voice of the child he once was, comprehending the world through the eyes of that little boy. He uses grammar—or the lack of it—to create the lickety-split rhythm of the Irish dialect, or the Brooklyn or Jewish cadence. It is a deeply moving tale of survival told with humor, raw honesty, and forgiveness. Never a hint of self-pity or bitterness, he stays the optimistic child, growing into the young adult as he sings his song, dances his dance, and tells his tale.”↗