a man named Frank

Fun Quote of the Day:

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." - Benjamin Franklin
* found in the online pages of Alaska Amber Brewing Co.

Yesterday, I finished reading Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt. I know, I know I'm a gazillion years behind the rage of this book, which won a Pulitzer in 1997. (In my defenese, that was the year I student-taught, graduated from college, and started my first year of full-time teaching--so I have valid excuses for being a little behind in my reading. Although, I did start reading it once. I think I just wasn't in the frame of mind to read it then, nor finish it in time to return to the library.)

I don't claim to have read a plethora of Pulitzer books, but I have read a number of memoirs and can appreciate the strengths of this book which make it stand out from other memoirs.

First, honesty. McCourt does not have to dramatize his personal story, because it has very real gritty and tragic facts. It is what it is. The telling of the history moves swiftly with just the right amount of detail. McCourt, I can imagine, checked facts and details with his brothers and perhaps other relatives, as needed to maintain accuracy. (I haven't researched the writing process behind his memoir, so I may be wrong--but I suppose the answer might be found here.) I don't recall the memoir saying things like, "To the best of my memory..." or other disclaimers. Undoubtedly, when you've endured Ireland the way McCourt has you either have an excellent memory (tragedy being a powerful glue), or you have a bad memory in order to block out the pain and protect the psyche. I believe McCourt has an excellent memory, especially since he recounted many of his childhood anecdotes for his students throughout his career as a high school English teacher.

Second, realistic voice. McCourt uses a narrative voice in his first memoir that isn't one of the enlightened adult looking back, using lyrical prose to dazzle the reader and sensationalize scenes. Rather, the succinctness of the narrative is believable as an adult-voice, and also that of the young McCourt, using present tense--to tell the story as if only a few days or hours removed from the events being described. Juvenile, but not childish. Kids like McCourt grew up fast in order to survive. The language used, word choices and not just the dialetic/slang, is what grounds this authentic, trustworthy voice. My favorite term he uses: "the excitement". I also enjoyed the unflattering and blatantly honest way he describes his experiences growing up Irish-Catholic. The emptiness, his fascination with the stories of the saints, the hypocrisy.

And the third strength (which I sort of mentioned above), is the succinct, concise re-telling. In 363 pages, he recounts his life up to age 19. (The only other memoir I've read which covers as many years is Lillian Helman's.) It's consistently engaging because it's not overloaded, long-winded, or otherwise drawn out with redundant, unneccesary details. And regarding page 364...did McCourt have the idea for his second memoir in mind before his first one went to press, or was the second titled Tis because of page 264? Just a question I have.

So, that's my short review. I think this book would be a hoot to listen to on tape, but I think I've heard just enough Irish brogue to get a sense of it...och.