Angela's Ashes

Frank McCourt's classic book, the memoir of his childhood, is proof in the pudding that the origin of humor is the suffering of the low-status character. And that’s only one reason why I love it.

He had me at “Above all -- we were wet.” His descriptions of the impossible and undignified conditions of his childhood, where children had absolutely no control over anything and adults were at the mercy of life itself, brought me so close to him that I think I started believing we were actually related and scribbled him into the family tree as a long-lost uncle.… show more.

This Pulitzer Prize–winning and #1 New York Times bestselling memoir was published in 1996 to global success and remains very influential; Angela’s Ashes almost certainly kick-started the massive boom in that genre in Ireland in recent years.

McCourt’s book fascinates me because it is a relatively recent example of what I believe to be the dominant story that the Irish in the Americas have told themselves for quite some time now. That story is one of initial poverty, marginalization, and “not-quite-whiteness” that is inevitably followed by the achievement of assimilation, unquestioned whiteness, and material success.

Born in Depression-era Brooklyn in… show more.

Angela’s Ashes made such an impression on me. It was a real page turner as I followed Frank McCourt through his childhood of poverty in Limerick, Ireland. His mother tries to care for the children in spite of her husband continually drinking away any wages he ever earns. The family has to use boards from the walls of their rent house to burn for heat in the winter. They endure near-starvation and cruelty from both relatives and neighbors. Through the telling of a horrendous upbringing, Frank teaches life lessons. He finds a redeeming quality in his father where he learns… show more.

Poor Frank McCourt has been blamed for the rise of what is derisively called “the misery memoir”. It’s true this book describes kids without shoes, a father who drinks every night until he drops, and a house that floods every time it rains. But for all the misery and poverty, what’s really on offer is an Irish shovelful of poetry, love, and laughter.

Like Fuller’s book, Angela’s Ashes describes a harsh childhood in a lost world, in this case the slums of Limerick in Ireland in the 1930s and 40s. It is altogether a grimmer book, although leavened with wry Irish wit and vivid descriptions of the people and places. The book is beautifully written, but McCourt has been criticized for overdoing the misery and fictionalizing incidents, which raises the question of where to draw the line between fact and fiction in memoirs when you often only have imperfect memories to draw on. I was occasionally shocked when I managed to research an… show more.

I’m a sucker for crazy childhoods, and Frank’s story of abject poverty left my jaw hanging open on nearly every page. But what makes the book amazing is how he manages to tell the story with so much charm and humour, and how he refuses to give up on his family or himself. Frank is truly one of the most resilient humans on the planet.

If you don't mind a good sob by the beginning pages of this magnificent ode to poverty-ridden Limerick, Ireland, then dig right in. I cried when Frank McCourt passed, because his skill in managing to tell such a sad and hopeless tale and keep you rooting for the success of his family is unmatched in the memoir world. 

You will want to pull these children from the pages of this book and bring them into your home. You will want to feed them and clothe them. However, it is McCourt's gift of the gab that will keep you reading, desperate… show more.