Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt > Reviews > Angelas Ashes

Author's product rating:   

Degree of Information	High
How easy was it to read / get information from	Very easy
How interesting was the book?	Compelling
How useful was it?	Very useful
Would you read it again?	Absolutely
Value for money	Good

Advantages:	A wonderfully written heart wrenching story
Disadvantages:	Based on true story and is true of our modern history

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I have both read the book and seen the film of this story but have found the book is the best version of this true story. The book goes into alot more detail than the film and you get more of an insight of the true feelings and emotions of the main character - Frank McCourt a young boy growing up in a poverty stricken Ireland within a family that consists of a drunken father who squanders their little come by money on alcohol and a depressed and worn out mother who has resort to begging and ultimately sexual favours to support her family. He has to endure the hardship and indignity that goes along with this and watch the heartache unfold as his mother loses her children to starvation and illness as a direct result of the poverty that they daily face.

Although this could have turned out to be a sombre heavy going book he has managed to lighten the mood with many humourous moments which are told with great wit. Even though they are still a result of the poverty they suffer who can help but laugh at the image of stamping and banging a mattress outside late at night and the comments that drunken passerbys give as a form of advice.

Its hard to believe that there was so much suffering across such a wide span of people in such modern times as it is set within the great depression. Even more surprising is that he seems to hold no bitterness towards ireland, the authorities or even his parents but holds them all in his heart as dear and tells his story in a compassionate yet matter of fact way.

On the whole it is quite a sad tale and there are quite alot of deaths packed within the pages but you are compelled to read on as the first few lines hook you and you are left unable to put the book down until you are finished. Both the book and the film brought tears to my eyes on more than one instance but i cant say if it is that i am oversensitive or if it is the heart warming yet heart wrenching story that grabs at me.

You feel for him from the start of the book all the way through to the end and may even wish for a happy ending. I dont want to give any more away but would suggest that everyone reads it for themselves. It is one of those books that is very well written and will capture your heart and mind. I found that i had to read it in one day as i couldnt wait to find out what happened next and i was so captivated by the way it was written as well as the story.

Its one of the few books that i can still remember months after reading it and yet can read from cover to cover again and again without feeling bored. The story has so much to offer that each time you read it you learn different things and get new meanings from his poignant yet uplifting approach.