The author begins his memoir with the voice of a narrator: describing people, events, etc. The writing is incredibly honest. It flows from sentence to sentence, paragraph to paragraph, page to page. McCourt puts himself right back into the mind of his younger self, and seems to be talking and thinking just as he would from ages 4 through a young man.
He speaks of his family. His father that couldn't keep his wages in his pocket on pay day, and could not make it home without stopping for a pint (or two) along the way. Yet a man who seemed to understand his young sons, and always had what seemed sage advice and a great love for his children. His mother's suffering, with the loss of children dyeing, trying to make do for her family by begging, and did whatever it took to keep her children warm and fed. He writes quite honestly, about his schooling, his relatives,the many illnesses he and the family went through, his taking to petty thefts to keep from starving, discovering his sexuality, the jobs he had to do, and his great desire to go back to America, where he was born.
The stories are sad, and will tug at your heartstrings, but the humor he uses in describing the sometimes dehumanizing events (having to empty and clean disgusting chamber pots among them) make this a stand out read instead of a woe-is-me theme.The characters jump off the page, you can hear them speak with their thick Irish accents, or in some cases New York. He writes of all the doors that were closed in his face, when he needed help, but you can feel the tenacity with which he continued to move his life forward.
If you're looking for a touching yet nice-to-read book, Angela's Ashes is something you're looking for.
He speaks of his family. His father that couldn't keep his wages in his pocket on pay day, and could not make it home without stopping for a pint (or two) along the way. Yet a man who seemed to understand his young sons, and always had what seemed sage advice and a great love for his children. His mother's suffering, with the loss of children dyeing, trying to make do for her family by begging, and did whatever it took to keep her children warm and fed. He writes quite honestly, about his schooling, his relatives,the many illnesses he and the family went through, his taking to petty thefts to keep from starving, discovering his sexuality, the jobs he had to do, and his great desire to go back to America, where he was born.
The stories are sad, and will tug at your heartstrings, but the humor he uses in describing the sometimes dehumanizing events (having to empty and clean disgusting chamber pots among them) make this a stand out read instead of a woe-is-me theme.The characters jump off the page, you can hear them speak with their thick Irish accents, or in some cases New York. He writes of all the doors that were closed in his face, when he needed help, but you can feel the tenacity with which he continued to move his life forward.
If you're looking for a touching yet nice-to-read book, Angela's Ashes is something you're looking for.
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