Angela’s Ashes
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- This article is about the book. See Angela’s Ashes (film) for the film.
 Cover of Angela's Ashes |
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| Author | Frank McCourt |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Scribner |
| Released | September 5, 1996 |
| Pages | 368 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0684874350 |
| Followed by | 'Tis |
Angela’s Ashes is a memoir by American author Frank McCourt, and tells the story of his childhood. It was published in 1996 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1930, McCourt is the eldest son of Malachy and Angela McCourt. He is joined by brother Malachy in 1931, twins Oliver and Eugene in 1933, and a sister, Margaret, in 1934. After the death of his sister Margaret when she was only a few weeks old, his parents move the family back to their native Ireland, where his younger twin brothers both die within a year of the family's arrival and where Frank's youngest brothers, Michael (b. 1936) and Alphie (b. 1940) are born.
Life in Ireland, and specifically life in Limerick City, in the 1930s and 1940s is described in all its grittiness. The family lives in a hovel on a dirt lane and share one outdoor toilet with all their neighbors. Although his father teaches the children Irish stories and songs, he is an alcoholic and seldom finds work, and so they live on unemployment ("the dole") or charity. For years the family subsists mostly on bread and tea.
Frank's father finally gains employment during World War II at a defense plant in Coventry, England. In this situation, he finds it easy to drink away most of his wages, and only once does he send any money back to the struggling family in Ireland. Their mother is destitute, as there are not many jobs for women at the time. Angela's sister and her widowed mother begrudge any help they have to give her, because they disapprove of her husband, mostly because he hails from Northern Ireland and therefore he has a strange accent and what Angela's family calls 'the odd manner.'
In the damp, cold climate of Ireland, the children have only one set of ragged clothing each, patched shoes and no coats. Frank develops typhoid and chronic conjunctivitis. Sometimes Frank and his brothers have to scavenge for lumps of coal or peat turf for fuel, or steal bread to survive. The family are finally evicted after Frank yanks out wall beams to burn for winter heat, causing the roof to collapse. The family is forced to move in with a distant relative who treats them poorly. Teenage Frank finds various means to save money and is finally able to realize his dream of returning to America. The story ends as he sails into Poughkeepsie, New York, to begin a new life at the age of nineteen.
[edit] Series
McCourt followed Angela’s Ashes with two more autobiographical works: 'Tis and Teacher Man.
[edit] Awards and recognition
Angela’s Ashes won several awards, including the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography and the 1996 National Book Critics Circle Award (Biography).
[edit] Adaptations
The memoir was adapted to a feature film Angela’s Ashes in 1999, starring Emily Watson and Robert Carlyle. It was released by Paramount Pictures (in the US) and Universal Studios (outside the US through its joint venture with Paramount, United International Pictures).
[edit] Trivia
The book was part of the writing curriculum for students at Stuyvesant High School during the early 21st century, the same school where Frank McCourt had previously taught as an English teacher.
[edit] External links
- Book Discussion at the Glendale Community College English Department website
- Reading Group Guides on Angela's Ashes
