Tis - Frank McCourt

'Tis rejoins Angela's Ashes with McCourt on board MS Irish Oak, bound for New York, in 1949. The 18 year old Frank still has 'bad eyes' but the American Dream is warm in his heart. Using the conversational and humorous prose style that was evident in Angela's Ashes McCourt shares with us his new life in America. We follow him through his various professions: hotel porter, soldier, etc., until he settles on his true vocation, that of a teacher. We are introduced to the young man's self-consciousness, desires and aspirations along a road that was sometimes harsh and wearying, needing grit and tenacity to succeed, thankfully ...  Read the complete review

"Few will be able to resist this pacey and fluent sequel....In post war New York, McCourt moves through work as a longshoreman, a spell in the army, to night-school, to become a creative writing teacher encouraging kids to 'write about what you know' - the same policy that has led him to belated international celebrity....McCourt's gift lies not simply in having lived through interesting times, but in having developed his skills as editor and narraotr to produce two fine and moving slices of a past that is not simply Ireland's but everyone's" Guardian (back cover of 'Tis) After I'd read Angelas Ashes, I couldn't ...  Read the complete review

Frank McCourt's tale of childhood, 'Angela's Ashes', was a huge literary success, selling over 6 million copies within the first 3 years of release. In a bid to follow on from this success, comes 'Tis', the second part of McCourt's autobiographical trilogy. Published in 2000, Tis picks up where Angela's Ashes left off; leaving Ireland and heading back to the USA, it charts the adventures he gets upto along the way. Much of the story follows his stint in the US army, where he is pressured into sexual escapades with refugee women (a strange part of the book). The best bit of the book is when he visits Ireland again, all dressed up in his military ...  Read the complete review

*WARNING- there is a warning at the end of this opinion* After reading Angela’s Ashes, which I enjoyed immensely, I suggested to my wife that she might like to read it too. She doesn’t read much at all, she claims she is too busy “cleaning up after you lot!” and holding down a demanding job leaves her with little enough time without wasting it with her nose in a book! (She’s a philistine is my wife) However, one of her jobs required her to sit through the night with an old lady, in between nursing and looking after the old ladies welfare she had time to kill, she asked me to look out a book for her to read whilst ...  Read the complete review

Tis is the follow up to Angela’s Ashes. It is the story of Frank McCourt’s journey to the United States of America from the poverty of Ireland. Despite the fact that he was a penniless immigrant with no real education, Frank managed to once again triumph over adversity, and after a brief interlude in the army, he ends up attending the New York University where he manages to qualify as a teacher. Tis is not quite so harrowing as Angela’s Ashes, but it is equally as powerful. I thoroughly enjoyed it. ...  Read the complete review