| This is a fine, fine story told by a man looking back on his childhood. His view is sharp, unblinking and longing for things to have been different. His voice is strong, his memories are harsh, yet tinged with the warmth of love and hope. I heard thee Audible version. I did not read the print version. In 13+ hours Frank McCourt reads his own book. In 13 hours we hear/see/feel and know dire poverty, a longing to belong to another or better class of poverty. We hear the pain in the young boy's voice as he tries to make sense of his wayward, loving, funny, supportive father. We hear the pain of the man-child recognizing his mother's desperate straits.
We learn about all the players in this comedy he called his childhood. All the while, the big pink elephant dwells in the family's midst, some side-stepping it, some succumbing to it. We suffer for his mother, for his lost siblings, for the loss of a real father. We rejoice in young Frances' accomplishments -- stealing, lying, and generally getting over -- just to survive. Yet the main theme of this tremendous treatise on dysfunctionality is that of Frank's father, Malachy. We love him, hate him, pity him, loathe him and try to understand why Angela tolerates it all. And through young Frankie's burning, sick eyes, we see a desperation that cannot go away. The children grow up not questioning their lot in life, though Frankie's thoughts are ever clear and demanding. Somehow through all the neglect and borderline abuse that Frankie survives, he is polite, kind and knows his place. He is a true Catholic, reared in the old ways of repentence, shame and forgiveness. He can sin and when he is able to, confess and then be redeemed, knowing he will slide again and repeat the cycle. The peripheral characters in his story are as strong and shaping as his absent father and unconscious mother. They shape him. Alcoholism abounds in his world and it too shapes him.. without saying it, it is the omnipotent pint that shapes his views, his mores, his goals. Frank stumbles into adolescence wiht a bang. He is ill, his eyes are horrific, but his sight is clear, his voice is strong and his will to "go to America" prevails. America represents his infancy, when there was hope in Angela's heart, when Malachy reluctantly claimed Frankie as his son, yet lived his "Northern Irish" life as if Frankie was not there. America beckons young Frances whose real first name is NOT Frances, because life in Ireland was so, so bad. During his years between 14 and 19 he longed for and saved for America, knowing America would change his life. He was a minor criminal, far beyond stealing to survive. He was able to save money and eat and do all sorts of things separate from his hungry mother and siblings and felt no remorse. Already he was becoming Malachy's offspring. Frankie would do whatever he had to do or wanted to do.. to pursue his dream --- in this case, America. Frank's father Malachy wanted only enough money to drink and declare his love of country. Malachy never wanted a family; his ready made family came as a result of a momentary dalliance with young Angela in America. Though they had six children, Malachy never accepted his role as father or provider. Angela reluctantly took on her role as bearer of children, but not one time, not once in the entire book did I hear the words love from either parent or any child. This was a life of obligation. Children were born, children died. Sometimes they ate, sometimes they starved. No matter how little money or food (the babies had sugar water instead of milk), Malachy Sr. had his pint(s) of Guiness. While Frank studies his childhood with a poignant view of his pains and privations, he has warm, loving memories of moments with each of his family members. He loves the time in front of the cold fire place with his father, who is fatherly at those morning meetings. There are the moments on the stairs of their first apartment, the long walks in the country stealing apples and milk, all those wonderful things he recalls. But Frank's eyes look for America as his salvation. Ironically, his eyes are his major physical weakness. We wonder at the end… what about his eyes? Frank does get to America and is welcomed by a great event that proves right off the boat that America is the land of opportunity. In summary, it is a long, longing and profound look at a life, a country, a time of life and a perspective that rings true and truly harrowing all at the same time. I came to cheer Frankie on in his exploits, while wincing in discomfort as I realize that these are the traits he will take with him into adulthood and to America. How honest will Frank be in his lifetime, will he become an American criminal too? These are the elements that make for good stories, strong characters that create a “need to know” in the reader. Throughout the book I came to realize that had I read this book when I was a young parent, my children would have turned out differently today. I would have been more restricting, given them less and taught them more. Frank's family got by on virtually nothing -- and nothing within a community of little more than nothing. Someone described one of their apartments as resembling Calcutta. They were poorer than dirt and they had no way out. Read this story with joy and anticipation. The pay-off is slow and agonizing, but in retrospect it is there. | ||
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Plot & Themes Kids: - general coming of age story Ethnic/Relig. of subject (inside) Gender/Class story? - story of lower class Job/profession/poverty story Yes Kind of living: - general poverty story Family, hate Yes Struggle with: - Father The difficult family member - blames for things that go wrong Family, love Yes Special relationship with - mother Ethnic/regional/gender Yes Subject of Biography Gender - Male Profession/status: Setting Europe Yes European country: - Ireland Century: - 1930's-1950's Writing Style Book makes you feel? - concerned How much dialogue in bio? - significantly more descript than dialog |
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