Angela's Ashes - Tearful (Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt)

Member Name: Ghareth

Product:	Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt
Date:	15/08/09 (18 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Emotive, good language, great biography, hard to put down.

Disadvantages: Sometimes too gloomy, but nothing i would change.

Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt

I found it a very easy book to get into as it starts vividly in a well-written style that immediately grabbed my interest, I like the cover and the blurb makes me want to read on. I was captivated!

The main character is obviously Frankie McCourt, at the start of the book he's 5 and at the end he's in his late teens. There is also Frank's brother Malachy, Frank's mother Angela, who shows strength and determination throughout the book. Frank's irresponsible drunkard father, who spends his dole money at the pub and is full of broken promises, but who Frankie loves despite it all, Aunt Aggie, Uncle Jack; who is Angela's highly religious mother, Michael; Frankie's young brother who features a little in the book, Frankie's other twin brothers Oliver and Eugene, Little Alfie, another brother who is still only young at the end of the book and Frankie's only sister, who dies tragically as a baby and more.

The book starts "Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood. Worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood." this is a such a gloomy beginning and its not really a very cheerful tale at all as he tells of growing up in Ireland, his useless drunken father, dealing with grief and death, living in squalor, and the guilt he feels due to his religion. But despite all this, there are some comic parts and the result is am up and down rollercoaster read, one moment heart-wrenchingly sad, the next warm and entertaining.

This book does have some upsetting moments, and quite a lot of sexual content towards the end, the language itself is not very complicated and most people could give it go even the younger teens, a compelling read; check it out.

Summary: Try the book and see if you like it, i would recommend for early teens +