Would you settle for a pig's head on Christmas?

Angela’s Ashes   by Frank McCourt 

This book was recommended to me by my English teacher, and it was one of the best books I have read. The three books Angela’s Ashes, ‘Tis, and Teacher Man are Frank McCourt’s memoirs that describe his life-struggles from begging for food in Ireland to moving to America and becoming an English teacher.  The book was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1997.

     Angela’s Ashes depicts McCourt’s childhood in Limerick living in an impoverished one-room  apartment  with his mother, a number of siblings ( most of which die at some point) and a father who is a drunk and who rarely brings any money home to feed his family. The book is capturing because it is written from a child’s perspective with all the silly wonderings and questions we have had as children, some of which we never dared to ask adults and so they remained unanswered, but nevertheless questions which expose the irony and hypocrisy of adults around us and “their “ world. McCourt’s narrative style is straightforward which makes the book easily-read, but at the same time it is multi-layered since it contains many witty comments and observations. 

     But besides being interesting because it reveals a whole new world to us: a different culture, a different mentality and such poverty and non-human conditions most of us could never imagine living in, what makes this book truly exceptional is knowing that these are real people, that these were their real lives, and , most importantly, that Frank McCourt survived. 

Therefore, if you have got a day or two with nothing to do, go to your nearest library, pick up Angela’s Ashes and read it. I promise you won’t regret it.