From the Washington Post:
Frank McCourt, who melted the hearts of millions of readers with "Angela's Ashes," a lyrically poignant memoir of his poverty-stricken Irish childhood, died of melanoma July 19 in New York. He was 78.
Mr. McCourt was a retired teacher in his mid-60s when he wrote "Angela's Ashes," an unflinching and unforgettable account of his family's misery in Limerick, Ireland, in the 1930s and 1940s. It was his first book, published in 1996, and immediately won critical acclaim and a vast readership.
The memoir received the Pulitzer Prize and stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for 117 weeks, including 23 at No. 1. In a review, Washington Post book editor Nina King wrote, "This memoir is an instant classic of the genre."
I'm ashamed to confess that I have not read Angela's Ashes, but I intend to remedy that as soon as possible. The reason that I didn't read the book is that I thought I couldn't bear it. Reading about suffering children takes a heavy toll on me. The images of pictures and verbal descriptions stay with me long after I read the stories.
May Frank rest in peace and rise in glory.
Image from Wiki. H/T to The Lead for the link to the story.
Thanks Mimi, for putting this up. For what it's worth, I highly recommend your reading Angela's Ashes.
ReplyDeleteSusan, I ordered Anglea's Ashes today, along with a couple of other books that were on my list. I'm sure that once I start reading, I won't be able to put it down.
ReplyDeleteAngela's Ashes was a phenomenal book. I found his narration of a PBS special called the "Historic Pubs of Dublin" really good too.
ReplyDeleteCiss, I'm looking forward to reading it, although I'll probably need to take breaks from the misery from time to time. His story is one of overcoming adversity despite his squalid childhood experience.
ReplyDeleteI think that the remarkable thing about Angela's Ashes is that it is just told. The anger one would expect is not there. It's all the more effective that way. He was angry for years, but left it behind before he wrote the book.
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