Angela's Ashes

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"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.

Book Description

"When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood."

So begins the luminous memoir of Frank McCourt, born in Depression-era Brooklyn to recent Irish immigrants and raised in the slums of Limerick, Ireland. Frank's mother, Angela, has no money to feed the children since Frank's father, Malachy, rarely works, and when he does he drinks his wages. Yet Malachy-- exasperating, irresponsible and beguiling-- does nurture in Frank an appetite for the one thing he can provide: a story. Frank lives for his father's tales of Cuchulain, who saved Ireland, and of the Angel on the Seventh Step, who brings his mother babies.

Perhaps it is story that accounts for Frank's survival. Wearing rags for diapers, begging a pig's head for Christmas dinner and gathering coal from the roadside to light a fire, Frank endures poverty, near-starvation and the casual cruelty of relatives and neighbors--yet lives to tell his tale with eloquence, exuberance and remarkable forgiveness.

Angela's Ashes, imbued on every page with Frank McCourt's astounding humor and compassion, is a glorious book that bears all the marks of a classic.

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"When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood". So begins the luminous memoir of Frank McCourt, born in Depression-era Brooklyn to recent Irish immigrants and raised in the slums of Limerick, Ireland. Frank's mother, Angela, has no money to feed the children since Frank's father, Malachy, rarely works, and when he does he drinks his wages. Yet Malachy - exasperating, irresponsible and beguiling - does nurture in Frank an appetite for the one thing he can provide: a story. Frank lives for his father's tales of Cuchulain, who saved Ireland, and of the Angel on the Seventh Step, who brings his mother babies.

Customer Reviews:

Angela's Ashes: Irish I was Reading This!.......2007-09-21

Imagine being crammed into a one bedroom home with two siblings, an alcoholic father, an exhausted mother, a flooded downstairs, and the constant threat of tuberculosis, or even worse, death knocking at your door. On top of it all, imagine being so poor that going days without food is normal and an egg can be considered a delicacy. No matter how difficult that is to imagine, it was nevertheless the life of young Frank McCourt.
Frankie grows up in the slums of Ireland where begging is commonplace and children must find jobs at the age of 14 in order to support their entire family. Frankie struggles to overcome his destitute life, the death of three siblings, and a father who drinks away all of the money needed in order for the rest of the family to survive. This is the world that you experience as you begin reading Angela's Ashes, a true-life memoir of Frank McCourt.
Angela's Ashes takes place during the Great Depression where poverty runs rampant through the streets and even the most proud of families is reduced to begging in order to get a simple lump of coal. However, Frankie has the seemingly unrealistic dream of eventually travelling to America and starting his life anew. Throughout the course of the novel you are left wondering how Frankie can gain the physical or mental power to accomplish his goal.
One aspect of the novel which I found very intriguing is Frank's use of "comic relief" in order to keep his otherwise depressing life hopeful and at least somewhat upbeat. Mikey Molloy, a cross-eyed friend of Frank who suffers from "fits" (seizures), is one such example of this sporadic humor. Frank even recounts one time when Mikey fakes one of his fits in order to sneak into the movie theater. "...I'll pretend to have the fit and the ticket man will be out of his mind and you can slip in when I let out the big scream...That's what I do to get my brothers in all the time." Scenes like this really kept me smiling throughout the sadness in Angela's Ashes.
McCourt's writing style also provides a relieving mixture of both comedy and sorrow. At one point, Frankie contracts typhoid fever and describes his experience with the doctor in charge. "It's dark and Dr. Campbell's sitting by my bed...He tilts over on the chair and farts and smiles to himself and I know now I'm going to get better because a doctor would never fart in the presence of a dying boy." Through the innocence and naivety of Frank's voice, I felt as though I could really understand and feel what the author was feeling while recounting his life.
Despite all of the comedy throughout this novel, the author never loses sight of the main aspect of the story: the sorrow. Frank basically has to support his entire family by himself at a very young age because his dad is always at the bar drinking away every penny he earns. From the age of three to nineteen, Frankie moves from one house to the next, and each time the conditions get worse and worse to the point where Frank and his family have to live next to an outhouse which is shared by the entire street they live on. Not only that, but Frank's mother, Angela, has to spend all day scrounging the streets for whatever scraps she can find to help her family survive.
Angela's Ashes has become one of my favorite books. Although I would suggest it to a more mature audience due to some of its scenes, I would still recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about Frank McCourt's struggle growing up in Ireland. I would easily give this book an "A." I never lost interest in the plot no matter how depressing it was and the characters always kept me compelled to learn more about their plight and hardship. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and most importantly this book will make you appreciate what you have and realize that we have it pretty good here in America.

A great read, an even better listen.......2007-09-04

This is one of those rare instances when listening to a book being read is better than reading it yourself. I bought this copy of the book for my daughter, who chose it as her summer reading assignment. Yet the version I treasure is the audiobook, read by the author himself. My daughter would not have read the book if I hadn't played the audiobook in the car. Your imagination can't do justice to that Limerick accent and wry delivery; you are hooked in the first two minutes. A warning: if you listen to it with a young child present, you are likely to have to answer a lot of embarrassing questions.

Of course it's a wonderful book: funny, poignant, heartwrenching... you can keep loading on the adjectives. It has its own music and rhythm as it moves from one small incident to the next, painting a picture of a childhood defined by unimaginable poverty. The narrative moves from a child's acceptance of his circumstances to the adolescent's ruthless determination to find a way out, while never abandoning the family that mean so much to him. And the author manages to accomplish this without a trace of sentimentality, and with plenty of deadpan humor. I would recommend this book - or audiobook - to anyone old enough to cope with its unrestrained language.

Colorful portrayal of life as a poor Irish Catholic.......2007-09-03

McCourt was funny, witty and descriptive in every regard throughout this book. His first person account of being raised in a poor Irish Catholic community makes you glad to be raised in modern times in America. Read the book for an interesting insight into Europe over fifty years ago.

What a Story!.......2007-08-26

I listened to the Recorded Books Unabridged version of this on tape--narrated by the author. What a treat! I'm sure it must have been better than reading it myself. I cried and sometimes I giggled and belly laughed. Many have reviewed the book and most were riveted to it as I was. How I wished I could have scooped up those kids and given them a good life.

'Tis indeed..........2007-07-27

I've meant to read this book for years. Now, however, was the just-right time for it. I cried, despaired, railed in my head, laughed myself silly... In a voice of unflinching honesty and innocence, Frank McCourt details his life as the son of an alcoholic yet sometimes caring father from Northern Ireland and the woman he fell for fresh off the boat from Ireland, Angela Sheehan from Limerick in the south. McCourt takes the reader on a journey from death, poverty and pain in New York City to more of the same in Ireland and back again. Settled simply between the aching hunger, hacking coughs and continual dampness are many universal questions about life, both on earth and after. I am breathless having finished it.

Between the Lines: Letters Between Undocumented Mexican and Central American Immigrants and Their Families and Friends

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poor translation

Between the Lines: Letters Between Undocumented Mexican and Central American Immigrants and Their Families and Friends

Manufacturer: University of Arizona Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Customer Reviews:

poor translation.......2001-11-06

The letters are amazingly interesting if you are fluent in Spanish. However, the translations into English are literal and are unbelievable poor and almost humorous. The premise for the book is a good one, though it would have been much more meaningful had the translations been more accurate. I'd recommend it if you're bilingual and recommend you to skip it if you're not.

The Indo-European Languages (Routledge Language Family Descriptions)

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Great for reference and study
Uneven, but a lot all in one place

The Indo-European Languages (Routledge Language Family Descriptions)
Anna Ramat
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Foreign Languages | Reference | Subjects | Books

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The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World (Oxford Linguistics)
The Semitic Languages (Routledge Language Family Descriptions)
The Uralic Langauges (Routledge Language Family)
The Germanic Languages (Routledge Language Familydescriptions)
The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages

ASIN: 041506449X

Book Description

Not since 1937 has a classic reference work appeared for Indo-European. This new work, however, steps forth to fill a major gap in this rapidly changing field by making full use of the recent achievements in linguistic theory. Useful as both an introductory survey and a reference for advanced students and scholars, the volume provides insight into the variations in the way Indo-European is studied while at the same time presenting a unified overview of Indo-European. The first three chapters provide an important introduction, while the remaining sixteen chapters are dedicated to a subgroup of the Indo-European language family and cover phonology, morphology, syntax and lexicon of each family.

Customer Reviews:

Great for reference and study.......2007-09-22

I had been waiting for this book to be published in paperback for years. I originally checked out this book at my alma mater's library after reading a review in a linguistics journal praising it for its details and its academic accuracy. I am glad I bought this book, as the hardcover version was too expensive. This book is a must for linguistics students, and would suit an introductory course in Indo-European linguistics well.

Uneven, but a lot all in one place.......2005-09-14

Routledge's THE INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES differs from the other installments in its Language Family Descriptions series in dealing exclusively with ancient languages, which are more useful for reconstructing the ancestor of so many of the tongues of Europe and western Asia. It also differs from, for example, the volume on the Uralic languages by not imposing one transcription scheme on all authors, and as a result, the range of opinion here varies between those who have embraced laryngeal theory and those who stick to a postulated schwa.

The work was originally published in Italian in 1993 before appearing in English in 1998. Many of the contributors are obscure Italian linguists, there are only a couple of big names here. Though this is to be a survey of languages, the very first chapter, by one Enrico Campanile, deals with the reconstructed culture of the speakers of Proto-Indo-European and the probable location of their urheimat. I don't trust it much, especially as he thinks there's a reconstructible word for "king" in PIE--and therefore the Indo-Europeans had a monarchy--when many now believe that the word in Indic is a secondary development and the similarity between the Latin and Celtic words can be mere borrowing. The second chapter actually gets into some solid historical linguistics, as it is a presentation of the comparative method and its fruits by Calvert Watkins. Following this are musings by Bernard Comrie on the typological and genetic aspects of Proto-Indo-European. Though he mentions that this or that nearby family has some similarity to IE, I got frustrated by his ultimate failure to say that we should suppose that family X is the closest relative to IE.

There are thirteen chapters on specific languages or branches. Romano Lazzeroni writes on Sanskrit and Nicholas Sims-Williams on the Iranian languages. Werner Winter contributes an article about Tocharian, which is very skimpy but still one of the few places to turn in English literature for neophytes curious about that obscure IE language. Silvia Luraghi gives an overview of the Anatolian languages, Roberto Ajello on Armenian, Henry M. Hoeniswald on Greek, Edoard Vineis on Latin, Domenico Silvestri on the other Italic languages, Patrick Sims-Williams on the Celtic languages, and Paolo Ramat on the Germanic languages. Henning Andersen's article on the Slavonic language is refreshing in its explanation first of the earliest internally reconstructible Proto-Slavonic before considering Common Slavonic. William R. Schmalstieg fails to even mention laryngeals in his contribution on the Baltic languages, hardly a surprise for one who as late as 1985 was proposing the weird alternative theory of monophthongizations. His assurance that the inventory of Proto-Baltic was pretty much the same as that of PIE reminds me of the oft-heard saying that every Indo-Europeanist believes the proto-language was closest to the branch that he has spent the most time in. The last chapter of the book, by Shaban Demiraj concerns the frustratingly late-attested Albanian. Happily, there are plenty of maps throughout.

If you want a quick overview of the Indo-European languages in one source, this book may prove helpful. It certainly has a wider range of opinion than many of the handbooks written by single authors. A downside is the ridiculous price, a result of the publishers providing the book only in library binding and not in accessible paperback like some other installments in this series. Another weak spot of the book is that it is difficult to cover much in so little space, so if you have especial interest in one of the branches, then you may want to get Routledge's volume specifically on that language group, such as THE GERMANIC LANGUAGES, THE CELTIC LANGUAGES, or THE SLAVONIC LANGUAGES.

Francisco Pizarro and His Brothers: The Illusion of Power in Sixteenth-Century Peru

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The Pizarro Tragedy

Francisco Pizarro and His Brothers: The Illusion of Power in Sixteenth-Century Peru
Rafael Varon Gabai , and Rafael Varon Gabai
Manufacturer: University of Oklahoma Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Pizarro: Conqueror of the Inca
The Conquest of the Incas

ASIN: 080612833X

Customer Reviews:

The Pizarro Tragedy.......2001-01-18

This by far is the best work written on the Pizarro Family as a whole. I am glad to see more information written on Gonzalo, Hernando, and Juan Pizarro. Before this book was written most people did not fully understand who Francisco and his brothers were basically about. This book perfectly illustrates who they were and the situations surrounding their fate.

Concepts of Identity: Historical and Contemporary Images and Portraits of Self and Family (Icon Editions)

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Concepts of Identity: Historical and Contemporary Images and Portraits of Self and Family (Icon Editions)
Katherine Hoffman
Manufacturer: Westview Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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Personality | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

The Familial Gaze

ASIN: 0064302113

Amazon.com

Concepts of Identity attempts to expose the fault lines that lie beneath the current debate over definitions of "family" and "family values" by laying out the visual history of family portraits. Katherine Hoffman shows the power that representative images have to define the operative concepts of family, as well as the visual record they create of how families choose to see themselves. Reaching back to ancient Egypt and the Renaissance, though decisively tied to the 20th century, Hoffman directs a critical gaze on familiar pictures, exposing the potential family portraits have to shape our conceptions of family life.

Book Description

Concepts of identity are complex and changing, and in this book Katherine Hoffman examines images of individuals and families from ancient Egypt to the present-more than two thirds of the book covers the twentieth century. Through a comprehensive study of paintings, sculpture, photography, film, television, and other media, Hoffman provides eye-opening insights on the identity of family and self through time and explores what these images say about the attitudes and values of a particular culture.

Dew on the Thorn (Recovering the Us Hispanic Literary Heritage)

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Dew on the Thorn (Recovering the Us Hispanic Literary Heritage)
Jovita Gonzalez Mireles , and Jovita Gonzalez
Manufacturer: Arte Publico Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Woman Who Lost Her Soul and Other Stories: Collected Tales and Short Stories (Recovering the Us Hispanic Literary Heritage)
Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza
George Washington Gomez: A Mexicotexan Novel
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Everything You Need to Know About Latino History: 2003 Edition

ASIN: 1558851755

Book Description

Dew on the Thorn seeks to recreate the life of Texas Mexicans as Anglo culture was gradually encroaching upon them. González provides us with a richidly detailed portrait of South Texas, focusing on the cultural traditions of the Texas Mexicans at a time when the divisions of class and race were pressing on the established way of life.

The Fowler Family Gets Dressed: Frontier Paper Dolls of the Old Northwest Territory

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Fowler Family Series

The Fowler Family Gets Dressed: Frontier Paper Dolls of the Old Northwest Territory
Mary K. Inman , Louise F. Pence , and Norma Lu Meehan
Manufacturer: Texas Tech University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0896724344

Product Description

OUT OF PRINT--NO LONGER AVAILABLE

Customer Reviews:

Fowler Family Series.......2007-05-12

These books are excellent. Great historical value and the clothes and dolls are awesome. I really have enjoyed just reading the books and will enjoy them for years.

The Family Life of Ralph Josselin, a Seventeenth-Century Clergyman: An Essay in Historical Anthropology (The Norton Library)

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Individualized History

The Family Life of Ralph Josselin, a Seventeenth-Century Clergyman: An Essay in Historical Anthropology (The Norton Library)
Alan MacFarlane
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Fire from Heaven: Life in an English Town in the Seventeenth Century
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Medieval Children
The Life and Death of Mary Wollstonecraft: Revised Edition

ASIN: 0393008495

Customer Reviews:

Individualized History.......2003-09-03

It is useful to fill in the gaps of broad historical sweeps with intimate details of individuals who lived in a given era. Such is the niche filled in this book about Ralph Josselin, a seventeenth century clergyman. Josselin's personal diary served as the primary source of information for this study. MacFarlane explains a point is to be made whether people who kept diaries differed from others. His conclusion is "the very fact that he (Josselin) kept a diary suggests that he was slightly exceptional" (p. 11). Josselin was a book man, an avid reader. He wrote "I made it my aime to learne & lent my minde continually to read historyes." From a Christian perspective, Josselin wrote of his work "if the worke bee of God it will prosper, if not it will come to nothing." This slice of history is helpful in that it gives insight unattainable through any other means. I recommend this book to people seeking to know more about a reflective thinker of the 17th century.

Adventures in Ancient Egypt (Good Times Travel Agency)

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Learning Can Be Fun!

Adventures in Ancient Egypt (Good Times Travel Agency)
Linda Bailey
Manufacturer: Kids Can Press, Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Action & Adventure | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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Adventures in Ancient Greece (Good Times Travel Agency)
Adventures in Ancient China (Good Times Travel Agency)
Adventures in the Middle Ages (Good Times Travel Agency)
Adventures with the Vikings (Good Times Travel Agency)
Adventures in the Ice Age (Good Times Travel Agency)

ASIN: 1550745468

Book Description

Adventures in Ancient Egypt mixes fact and fiction for fast, funny and fascinating romps through the past. Kids will love the book's contemporary comic-book look with its zany illustrations, speech balloons and guidebook. Parents and teachers will love the well-researched story lines and solid factual information. In this book, the Binkerton twins, Josh and Emma, and their little sister Libby, stumble into the Good Times Travel Agency and take a once-in-a-lifetime trip back to ancient Egypt!

Customer Reviews:

Learning Can Be Fun!.......2005-10-15

I got this book along with several others for my first grader. We homeschool and are studying Ancient Egypt. We loved this book! This was by far my son's favorite. It is easy to find "photos and facts" types of book on Egypt, but this one adds a bit of fiction and adventure to the mix. It is kind of like the Magic Tree House books, but in a picture book format. The book is an adventure story with factual information listed at the bottom of each page (I guess sort of like Magic School Bus type books too). I will definitely be checking out the others in this series.

Village Justice: Community, Family, and Popular Culture in Early Modern Italy (The Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science)

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Village Justice: Community, Family, and Popular Culture in Early Modern Italy (The Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science)
Tommaso Astarita
Manufacturer: The Johns Hopkins University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

Pentidattilo, in the Kingdom of Naples, 1710. A peasant woman, Domenica Orlando, is brought to trial for the murder by poison of her husband. Tried with her are Anna de Amico, a neighbor who provided the poison, and Pietro Crea, Domenica's alleged lover. During the trial, it is revealed that over the years Anna had helped both Domenica and other village women obtain abortions. After numerous villagers recount the circumstances of both the murder and the abortions, Domenica confesses and all three defendants are tortured. Domenica escapes while awaiting sentencing. Anna receives a fifteen-year prison term whereas Pietro is allowed to go free.

Village Justice: Community, Family, and Popular Culture in Early Modern Italy is an analysis of the society and culture in which Domenica and her accomplices lived. Their trial took place at a time of significant changes within the European judicial system, and historian Tommaso Astarita uses the events in the small village of Pentidattilo to study rural society and culture in Italy in the early modern period. The case demonstrates a legal justice system caught between the state and the church's efforts to regulate popular behavior and local practices and ideas of morality. The case also provides a clear example of how justice operated at the local level, and outlines the difficulty of bringing order and morality to rural communities.

Drawing on primary-source materials from secular and ecclesiastic archives, Village Justice: Community, Family, and Popular Culture in Early Modern Italy is an important scholarly study for social and cultural historians of early modern Italy and Europe.

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