Continues the sometimes harrowing tale of the author's youth as he immigrates from Ireland to the United States, joins the Army, goes to college, and begins building a life.
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'Tis is the sequel to Angela's Ashes, by Frank McCourt. It is autobiographical and tells us the large majority of his adult life. We pick up the story as he arrives in New York. Throughout the novel we see McCourt work in the lobby of a hotel, have frequent problems with antagonistic bosses and landords, and generally struggle to survive. Later in the book we watch McCourt progress thorught the army - he's fortunate not to be sent to war - and he finds that life as a clerk in the army is not quite what he expected. He constantly struggles with women - in the book he marries has children and subsequently breaks up with his dream wife. We learmn of the successes in the bar trade of his brother Malachy but are sadly confronted with the death of both his mother and father - near the end of the book. McCourt also describes his first steps in the teaching world - having obtained his qulaifications and successfully landing a temporary job, replacing another teacher who has left. The theme of teaching is re-visited in McCourt's latest autobiography installment 'Teacher man'.
I found the book very enjoyable, it followed on in much the same style as Angela's Ashes, but was not quite so depressing, as we begin to see him make a success of his life, rather than constantly struggling. The book seems to be incredibly honest, and recounts not only his experiences but his thouhgts very accurate. In some places however, the meaning is unclear (especially as he seems to have an aversion to speech marks), which will break up the otherwise flowing book. The language is often a little bleak, and difficult to read, as there is little variation throughout the book - I do not advise reading Angela's Ashes and 'Tis back to back as they will merge into one single book, which is a little boring by the end.
These books are available from Amazon: Angela's Ashes - £6.39 'Tis - £6.39 Teacher Man - £3.99
(While in stock - prices correct at time of writing)
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