Angela's Ashes

By: Frank McCourt, Jeannette Walls - introduction

Narrated by: Frank McCourt, Jeannette Walls - introduction

Length: 15 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

Pulitzer Prize, Biography/Autobiography, 1997

National Book Critics Circle, Biography/Autobiography, 1997

Frank McCourt's Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir, movingly read in his own voice, bears all the marks of a classic. Born in Depression-era Brooklyn to Irish immigrant parents, Frank was later raised in the slums of Limerick, Ireland. His mother, Angela, had no money to feed her children since Frank's father, Malachy, rarely worked, and when he did, he drank his wages. Angela's Ashes is the story of how Frank endured - wearing shoes repaired with tires, begging for a pig's head for Christmas dinner, and searching the pubs for his father - a tale he relates with eloquence, exuberance, and remarkable forgiveness.

Listen to Frank McCourt talk about this book on C-SPAN's Booknotes (7/11/97).

©1997 Frank McCourt, All Rights Reserved (P)1997 Simon & Schuster Inc., All Rights Reserved, Audioworks is an Imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division Simon & Schuster Inc.

Critic reviews

"Frank McCourt is a marvelous writer whose words are made all the better when he reads them aloud..." (Bookpage)

"...one of the best I've heard in years." (The Boston Globe)

"...so good it deserves a sequel" (The New York Times)

"Here we have the stereotypical Irish characters - the drunken poet father; the all-suffering mother; the miserable, hungry kids being turned away by a haughty Church - all made three-dimensional and brought fully to life by both McCourt's language and his loving, intimate narration.... Grim it is - but the tale and its teller transcend the poverty - and so does the listener, who glories in the story and voice from beginning to end." (AudioFile)

One of my all time favorites

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This is such an amazing book. I saw the movie years ago and it is very true to the book. You can never go wrong with this book. It's sad, funny and very deep. Get a hold on your emotions and a box of tissues. Love love love this book.

Great story

heart breaking and heart warming at the same. Anyone who has known what it's like to be poor, I'm not talking about not being able to afford the newest gadget poor but not being able to afford to eat will relate to Frankie. Those who don't know what it's like, may gain some insight into that world.

I want more!

Would you listen to Angela's Ashes again? Why?

Yes, I love how the story brings me to a different world.

What did you like best about this story?

How the story developed, and how I wanted it to not end.

What does Frank McCourt and Jeannette Walls - introduction bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The language: voices, dialect, slang. No way would I get that experience without hearing it.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The moment where Frank experiences his first love, without even knowing. The ignorance/unknowing, simply by the way they were raised in those days.

Any additional comments?

Is there a book that talks about the rest of his live?!

I Didn't Think It Was To Dark!

Would you listen to Angela's Ashes again? Why?

I'll have to wait until I need to be reminded how good we have it, each time I started to feel overwhelmed by our depression, over taxed and under paid, I'd read alittle more about his childhood and realized that if he could make it work I can do the same.

Great true story. Coming of age in Ireland.

During the '40s. Growing up in poverty while dreaming of coming back to America. Well performed by the author.

I couldn't stop listening!

Having the author narrating the book made it so much better, involved emotions and pulled me into the story!

Beautiful

I'd heard that many Irish were upset over this book due to some possible imbellishments of the truth. I'd say take the book for what it is a memoir from the p.o.v. of Frank McCourt. His father told them wild stories, it's not hard to see the apple stayed close to the tree.

I loved this book!

This was one of the best audio books I've listened to. The narration was great. It was well written. The words created strong mental images.

an excellect story

one of the most enjoyable books I have listened too. I would recommend it to everyone. A story of desperate poverty and determination told with humour by the author.

Fabulous Book!

I can't believe I waited so long to read this book but it was worth the wait. The story brings out so many emotions, it makes you sad then angry, and then you might smile for a moment. I fell in love with Frank and his life and immediately rented the movie but found it to be a fraction of the book. After I finished Angela's Ashes I read it again, making sure I didn't miss anything and then went on to read his next book, 'Tis.
What struck me most about Frank's life is that it was only about 80 years ago when he was born and that there was such poverty in a civilized country. This book makes you feel grateful for so many things.
This book moved me and made me thankful. I thought Frank was perfect as the narrator and couldn't imagine anyone else telling this story. *****