Angela’s Ashes is the 1997 Pulitzer Prize winning memoir of an Irish-Catholic childhood of the life of Frank McCourt. A recounting life of abject misery, poverty and torment which young Frank could only observe, borne by his mother Angela.
The book recounts surprising number of details through the eyes of a child born in America, the Land of the Free, but withheld by the depths of Depression, forcing the family in the plunge of Limerick, back home in Ireland. McCourt describes as to what he perceives the plight of his siblings on the steps of heaven, a constantly out-of-work over zealous patriotic inebriated father, apathetic kin, an indifferent town and the endurance of it all by one Angela, Frank’s mother.
The book is widely Frank McCourt’s memories in his early years and it not only reflects in his writings but also in a strong empathetic feeling generated as a reader towards his early days. Throughout the tragedy which can be called his life, his mind reflects, nay meanders, towards a silver lining. Be it in stealing apples or getting the proud satisfaction finding work in his adolescence.
Moreover, the grim tale encompasses definitions of what can bring the odd smile to the readers face. The book in all its subtlety is satirical at times. To think a boy in his youth can conjure why Jesus Christ was not born in damp Limerick, lest he died of the consumption, tells you why Frank McCourt can bring out the sun amongst the dark side that were his childhood years and more impudently it set about his literary skills to blossom.
The book was adapted as a movie in 1997 and although notable facets of his life are truncated, the core of this book has been captured and its essence flows in the dull and dreary scenes embossed forever on the readers mind. Read it and smile with an odd tear in your eye.
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