Angela's Ashes

De: Frank McCourt

Narrado por: Frank McCourt

A Pulitzer Prize–winning, #1 New York Times bestseller, Angela’s Ashes is Frank McCourt’s masterful memoir of his childhood in Ireland—now with a new introduction by Patrick Radden Keefe.

“When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood.”

So begins the luminous memoir of Frank McCourt, born in Depression-era Brooklyn to recent Irish immigrants and raised in the slums of Limerick, Ireland. Frank’s mother, Angela, has no money to feed the children since Frank’s father, Malachy, rarely works, and when he does he drinks his wages. Yet Malachy—exasperating, irresponsible, and beguiling—does nurture in Frank an appetite for the one thing he can provide: a story. Frank lives for his father’s tales of Cuchulain, who saved Ireland, and of the Angel on the Seventh Step, who brings his mother babies.

Perhaps it is story that accounts for Frank’s survival. Wearing rags for diapers, begging a pig’s head for Christmas dinner and gathering coal from the roadside to light a fire, Frank endures poverty, near-starvation and the casual cruelty of relatives and neighbors—yet lives to tell his tale with eloquence, exuberance, and remarkable forgiveness.

Angela’s Ashes, imbued on every page with Frank McCourt’s astounding humor and compassion, is a glorious book that bears all the marks of a classic.

Expected More

The narration was excellent, but the story line was mediocre. I expected more of a plot - vice the day to day struggles the author and his family encountered. The ending left me asking the question ... what path Frank follow after his encounter with the "bad women".

have always loved this book

read it the first time as a sophomore in highschool and I loved it. the author paints a vivid picture of his childhood. when I listened to it on audible, I did not like the author's reading of the story. for some reason, it sounded robotic and dull at times.

Delightful narration, story of survival and hope.

What made the experience of listening to Angela's Ashes the most enjoyable?

I loved that I was hearing the author's narration because then I knew I was hearing it as it was intended. Plus, he was a marvelous story teller.

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

His feeling of being doomed for being human - masturbation, having sex.

Which scene was your favorite?

No favorite.

Any additional comments?

Some people say that it's bleak and maybe that is true if reading the book, but I don't see how anyone could feel this novel was bleak when heard through the author's voice.

He also has that rare talent of being in touch with his inner child - remembering what it's like to think and feel like a child.

omg!

I'm in love with the narrator's voice. the story, is so incredible. memoirs narrated by the writer are probably my favorite genre. but mr. mccourt... wows me! I love his use of repetition to drive the humor in or the point down... I laughed, cried, gagged, and just couldn't stop until I was done. I'm so glad I can listen to this over and over. I'm thinking in Frank's voice. I can't wait to dive into his other books. and I can't wait to make this one of my Pulitzer choices for the year in my book club. why have I waited so long to read this?

Amazing

The narration draws you into the story. It was a true page turner. The authentic accent of the narrator makes you feel as if you're experiencing everything that's being read. Loved this book