Review of Angela's Ashes

Angela's Ashes: Frank McCourt: Number of Pages: 363 Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Review:

Have you ever been so hungry that you felt like you could eat anything just to not feel hungry anymore? Then you get home and look in the fridge and nothing seems to sound good? That’s a first-world problem and one that a person who grew up like Frank McCourt probably would have a hard time relating to.

In the memoir Angela’s Ashes, McCourt describes what it’s like to grow up in extreme poverty in Ireland during Depression and before WWII. After being born in America, Frank’s mother and father lose their daughter to hunger, and this causes them to want to return to their homeland of Ireland. Conditions there are no better, and Frank grows up constantly hungry and surrounded by disease. His mother continues to have more children that they cannot support, and some of them also die. To make matters worse, Frank’s father is an alcoholic who can’t hold down a job. On the rare occasions when he does work, he drinks away his wages at the pub. Even the little the family receives on public assistance gets wasted on booze while the children starve.

The book follows Frank’s childhood growing up in these dire conditions. It’s an interesting read because McCourt uses a child-like voice throughout the book, with language and sentences sort of “growing up” as he gets older in the story. At times, the lack of punctuation can make the book hard to follow at times. The audio version of the book is much more captivating. It is read by McCourt himself in a strong Irish accent. That takes some getting used to, but the voices he uses for the different characters really bring the story to life.

As the book follows Frank’s childhood, we learn much about his character. He is smart and witty as evidenced by his performance in school and his antics, such as when he lies to his parents about dance class. We also learn about his religious fears and devotions, such as the fear that he would go to hell for being conceived out of wedlock, and masturbating or having sex as a teenager. He follows what he is supposed to do, but also questions his own religion at times. Finally, we learn about Frank’s moral ground. He’s willing to steal food, and even money, to eat or make a better life for himself, but overall we get the sense that Frank is just doing the best he can and is truly a good person at heart.

Overall, I would not recommend this book to someone who is looking for rainbows and unicorns. It’s not a positive story. But it is uplifting in that as a reader you see that a person can rise out of even the worst situation. If you’re looking for that type of inspiration, this is the book for you. If you enjoy listening to an Irish accent, definitely download the audio version and learn about Frank’s life in his own words, literally.