Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt

Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt

"When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all." So begins the legendary memoir of Frank McCourt, a story that famously chronicles what he calls a "miserable Irish Catholic childhood." Born in Depression-era Brooklyn to recent immigrants and raised in the grueling slums of Limerick, Ireland, Frank’s upbringing was defined by extreme poverty and the shadows of a father who drank away his meager wages. Yet, amidst the hunger and the casual cruelty of 1930s Ireland, there is a thread of lace—the beautiful, beguiling stories Frank's father told him of Cuchulain and the Angel on the Seventh Step. Angela's Ashes is a stunning testament to survival, told with a voice that is at once heartbreaking, exuberant, and remarkably forgiving.

Why You’ll Love This Book

This is more than just a story of poverty; it is a monument to the human spirit. While the circumstances—begging for a pig's head for Christmas dinner or using rags for diapers—are devastating, McCourt’s writing is filled with a desperate humor and lyrical beauty that makes it impossible to put down. If you appreciate memoirs that are "funny and forgiving" while tackling the most difficult aspects of life, this Pulitzer Prize winner is an essential read for your shelf.