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)

Longtime listener, first review

Frank McCourt's narration is mesmerizing... makes you love Frankie like a son or brother and care about each day of his family's life as it plays out through desperate poverty. This reading is a window into how Irish Catholic honor and shame blanket every detail of individual, familial, community life. This is one of the best listens I've heard.

Loved it

This book had me on the edge of my seat as it spun a tale of innocence and poverty.

One of the best

I read this book in print, then listened to it on audio tape. And once saw I saw it on Audible had to buy it yet again!. Do yourself a favor and listen to this book.

One of the Best!!

This book is great, I really felt like I was walking on the streets of Limerick with Mr McCourt. I truly felt like I was listening to a story being told by a young boy no an older man. You could still hear the innocents in his voice as he laid out the story. He really give you the since of how bad things were in the thirties during the Great Depression. You feel the people's pains and hardships as if you are experiencing them for yourself.

Heartbreaking and Courageous

This is a powerful story, told by the author. I only wish it could have been longer. Frank McCourt brings you right into his life.

Heartbreaking Story of Neglect

This is a great story with an even better performance by the author. There is some language and sexuality throughout and some question the veracity of McCourt's story but it's worth your time nonetheless. If you have children, it'll inspire you to be a better father or mother. It'll also inspire you to be a better sibling. And it'll give you insight into the Catholic Church.

...and How Frank McCourt rose from those ashes!

Beautifully written, vivid and poignant. It is amazing that such a difficult story could be told without bitterness or self-pity. It is a window into struggle, allowing me to know a little of a place I have no desire to go!

I tried reading this book a couple of times, but found it so depressing, I had to stop. Listening to McCourt read it, himself, brings the book to life and with a slightly lighter touch, with a little humor, even, that I had completely missed in reading it myself.

Still, the story is a little depressing. As outstanding as the story and performance are, the overall is a little less so. Although I wouldn't listen to this a second time, I'm glad I listened the first -- and I'll probably listen to 'Tis at some time in the future.

A good story about another time and place.

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

Yes. It was interesting the way the reader made the book express the emotions and difficulty of this young boys' life.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Angela's Ashes?

Some of the times the boys were trying to find food for the family and the things they went through to manage to go to school when they had no clothing or shoes.

What does Frank McCourt bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

It is the way he expressed the emotions of the story.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I just can not do that.

To be expected...

As with all his stories, Mr. McCourt has written another masterpiece with Angela's Ashes. Nothing more to say...except "read it"!

Incredible Book

I adored this book. It was incredible. One of the best I have ever read. It was both hilarious and incredibly sad. Because it is written from the viewpoint of a child, it is an awesome panorama of the thoughts of a child and the enormous forgiveness they are capable of.