'Tis a Great Book

Angela’s Ashes: A Memoir by Frank McCourt

First memoir! How exciting. I love being introduced to new genres of literature. It makes my heart happy, especially when I love it. Frank McCourt’s first memoir focuses on his childhood of growing up poor in the lanes of Ireland. He takes us on a heartbreaking journey of growing up in the worst poverty that any middle class American can imagine. I hear of children starving in America because of their parents poor decisions, but this goes beyond a level of poverty and need that I have not seen the intimate details before.

Angela’s Ashes being my first Memoir I had to do a little research about the genre. I needed to know what makes this type of writing different from an autobiography. The closest definition that I found is that a Memoir only talks about a certain span of time in a person’s life written in first person usually and has a beginning and an end. An autobiography is from birth to old age. I absolutely loved McCourt’s insight and writing style. The book was interesting and fun to read from page 1 to page 460 (!).

This was my great friend Claire’s first pick for book club. She chose well and we are thinking that this may be the only book that all members have liked. The library has the next 2 memoirs by McCourt, ‘Tis and Teacher Man. I am going to continue the story. Its ironic how someone can let you into the intimate details of his life and I will never meet him or let him know about me, it’s like a one sided friendship. What avid reader can stop in the middle of the story? I feel as if I know Frankie on such a personal level that I will probably miss him if I don’t continue. I will put it on my long list of books to read!

Have you read a Memoir before? What have you read and did you like the style? Let me know, I’m interested to see if other memoirs are as great as this one. Keep reading my friends!