This is Frank McCourt’s second memoir and it covers McCourt’s time in America from young adulthood to middle age. I felt it was nearly as good as Angela’s Ashes.

When I read Frank McCourt’s writings I observe so much tenderness and wisdom mixed in with his anger. Anger over his poverty, his squinty eyes, and his Irish brogue.

These themes in his writing may come from his age. He’s unafraid of what people might think of his younger self and he has the perspective of the passage of time. He was sixty four when he published Angela’s Ashes and four years later ‘Tis was published. That’s a lifetime to ponder a memoir about your youth.

I can’t help but thinking of another great writer named Norman Maclean who also published his first book well after 60. There is also tremendous wisdom and tenderness in Maclean's writing.

5 stars. While this memoir’s setting isn’t quite as exotic as his first book, his insights about adapting to a new country and NYC moved me greatly.

This is an amazing and a motivational book that has inspired me these past few months being a junior. What makes this book inspirtational is how at every event in McCourt's life he finds the positive sides or tries to find something humorous within the event. This has taught me that no matter what life throws me at I can achieve, nothing is a major deal. I was really able to connect to McCourt in this book more than the first, Angela's Ashes because this story took place in New York, and in my neighborhood. McCourt mentions the area I live in and the Church I go to, having these images in my head made the story seem closer to home. What really kept the story interesting for me is how descriptive McCourt is in his writing, mentioning specific neighborhoods, bars, schools which allowed me to really connect to this book especially since I live in New York. What also made the story fascinating is all the ordeals that McCourt has went through in his life, every chapter was a cliffhanger with me not being able to see what happened next. I didn't like how McCourt kept going from one story in his life to another because it made the book very suspensful. For example, I couldn't wait to see what happened to his relationship with Alberta and what would become of the relationship with his father. Overall, this is an amazing book that I believe every one can learn life lessons from and find some sort of connection with McCourt.

Ci sono giornate eccezionali in cui la discussione di una poesia apre la porta a una luce bianca abbagliante e tutti capiscono i versi e capiscono di aver capito e quando la luce si smorza ci sorridiamo come viaggiatori al ritorno da un'avventura.

Con Frank McCourt accade esattamente lo stesso. Seguirlo per le strade di New York è come sbirciare in una stanza rimasta chiusa per decenni, lasciandovi entrare un fascio di luce.
Il suo passo incerto e goffo si fa più solido con il rincorrersi dei decenni, così come la sua parlata. Eppure Frank è sempre Frankie. C'è sempre la sua arguzia: scorre come una linfa nascosta agli occhi dell'interlocutore ma sulla pagina sfocia in riflessioni esilaranti. C'è sempre il suo racconto continuo che grazie all'essenzialità della punteggiatura dà l'impressione di scorrere, amalgamarsi, vivere. Forse questa è una delle caratteristiche che più amo della sua prosa: il saper raccontare gli altri come se raccontasse se stesso. L'uso del discorso indiretto, la totale assenza di virgolette con cui imprigionare i personaggi nei loro dialoghi, il fraseggio libero ma conciso: tutto si traduce in un gomitolo di vite che confluiscono nella stessa materia, la memoria e il cuore di Frankie. Sebbene l'autore si sia cimentato nell'autobiografia, il risultato è un'opera corale di straordinaria vivacità.

Sarebbe inutile ripercorrere la trama, non posso levarvi la delizia della lettura. Ciò che importa è sottolineare quanto questo libro possa essere fondamentale per un adolescente moderno. Io ho scoperto Frankie come si scopre un caro amico. Sarà perché aveva più o meno la mia età quando è arrivato a New York o che si è ritrovato a muovere i primi passi con la goffaggine che ritrovo in me nelle grandi occasioni della vita. Il momento in cui trovi il primo lavoro, la paura di fare una brutta impressione, l'ansia di non sentirti accettato per ciò che sei dalle persone delle quali desideri la stima. Anche il lettore grazie a Frank diventa un membro del coro. Ci sembra quasi di avvertire bruciore agli occhi e di sentire la morbidezza dei riccioli neri sulla testa.

Le ricchezze che si possono ricavare dalla lettura sono davvero infinite: dalle riflessioni sull'insensatezza del razzismo e su quanto possa essere pesante un'identità che si indossa con scomodità; dalle perplessità sull'amore a quelle sul sesso; dalle stoccate inflitte agli scioperi degli anni '60 alle sfuriate contro i continui lamenti delle classi agiate, incapaci di apprezzare la propria fortuna. Neri, bianchi, portoricani, irlandesi, italiani, giovani, donne di mezza età, padri e madri allo sbando e giunti al termine del loro percorso, ragazze innamorate della schematicità di una vita monotona, classi medio-alte imprigionate nei rituali della buona società: questi i personaggi che vorticano attorno a Frankie, che lo erodono come un vento a volte gentile, altre tumultuoso.

"Non avete voglia di scrivere della vostra vita per la generazione ventura?" Frankie, meno male che questa voglia ti è venuta.
E quando la luce si smorza ci sorridiamo come viaggiatori al ritorno da un'avventura.

This is the sequel to Angela's Ashes (and where the family finally does put their mother's ashes to rest). Again, the brilliant Irish-American storyteller narrates his life about coming to America and becoming an English teacher, using words as artfully as a modern day Shakespeare to spear our emotions.

I enjoyed this sequel to "Angela's Ashes", because of Frank McCourt's ability to recollect dialogue, and his way of writing the words so well that you can just HEAR the Irish accent while you read.

It is so amazing and inspiring to see where Frank comes from, the slums of Ireland, with his essentially single mother to college, eventually graduate school, & later a teacher in New York City. It's a long road out of the slums & out of his own head of fears, limitations, & low self esteem to the place where he is able to make something of himself..

One thing about Frank as an author is that he tells the truth, even if it's ugly and shows his own flaws. I struggled with him drinking too much & repeatedly visiting the Irish pubs, especially after growing up WITHOUT his alcoholic father who couldn't prioritize his wife & children ahead of his addiction for drink & abandoned them all to poverty & a life of misery. It was hard to read about Frank stopping for a beer after school, & then one beer turns into a nine hour binge, and then oh well what's one more when the wife is already going to be pissed, so what's the use... I couldn't help but think Frank was possibly self sabotaging his life & relationships. While I appreciate honesty, I'll offer my own: I am disappointed with Frank for this drinking, & if it weren't for that, I would have easily given the book 4 stars.

What I love about Mr McCourt is that he never fails to make me laugh out loud, even in the midst of the grimmest material. He is funny! I laughed a lot.

I also have a great respect for the language, cultural, and financial struggles that immigrants have when they first come to this country.

I was skeptical about reading this memoir after having a hard time getting into Angela's Ashes in high school, but I really enjoyed this read. Maybe that's because I could relate to McCourt more in this book- as a teacher, as someone trying to find purpose in their early adult life, navigating relationships and friendships and work. I found his take on veteran teachers versus rookie teachers interesting to read... I think there's still a certain amount of truth to the relationship between years in the classroom and cynicism, as well as the relationship between administration and teaching staff. I'd be very interested in reading his book about his experiences as a teacher. I find that I really enjoy McCourt's writing- "write simple". It's conversational and easy to read. He writes like he is recounting observations to a friend, which makes for a very enjoyable read.

Frank McCourt's first book, Angela's Ashes, was incredible in its descriptions of an unbelievable poverty experienced within living memory in a Western European country. The impact of the continuation of McCourt's life story could hardly fail to pale in comparison. I felt that his descriptions of his miserable life at a succession of pitiful jobs and in the army dragged on too long. I was irritated by the continual harping on about how fortunate the Americans were, with their electricity, hot and cold running water and cooked food, about how beautiful they all were. It didn't matter what happened to McCourt, good or bad, he was always moaning about how unlucky he was to be Irish, have bad eyes and teeth. None of these things seemed to hold back his brothers, it was just Frank and his dismal view on life and his inability to stay away from the drink. Even when the beautiful Mike / Alberta falls for him, he continues to jeapordise his happiness by his miserable attitude and apparent need to argue and his stubbornness. When his mother arrives on the scene, it is clear where he got his aptitude for seeing the darker side of life; they were a pair made in heaven, well-matched in their ability to be ungracious and ungrateful. Perhaps the reason this grated with me so much was because I have recently read The Adventures of Augie March describing life in a poor Jewish family in Chicago, with an overlapping timeframe, and they were living in similar poverty and squalor; this was by no means the exclusive fate of Irish immigrants and McCourt suggests is was.

It wasn't until the second half of the book that it really came to life for me. McCourt's descriptions of his teaching at the vocational college on Staten Island and later at community college and an upper-class high school in Brooklyn were fascinating, sometimes hilarious and probably ring true for all teachers of teenagers. The way Frank won students over to his side, or at least got them discussing books, even if they weren't the books on the syllabus, was wonderful. His reverse psychology which resulted in an entire class enthusiastically acting out five of Shakespeare's plays was amusing and inspiring. The fact that he could become a teacher at all, having never gone to high school in Ireland himself, is both proof of 'the American dream' and a sad indictment on the American education system of the time, especially considering McCourt's extreme poverty when starting out as a teacher, unable to pay his way in life and certainly unable to save.

On the whole, I enjoyed this book, although I never warmed to the author himself. Perhaps if I heard these stories told by the man himself as a self-deprecating comic over a pint of beer, I would appreciate it more. It was also a shame that he didn't paint longer portraits of some of his friends, many of whom seem to have been real characters, such as Horace at the docks and his neighbour Virgil Frank. In fact, the whole book seems to be rather self-centred, and this is what lowers my rating. Entertaining, but not memorable enough.

https://booknation.ro/recenzie-o-tara...

An enjoyable read that tells the story of struggle, a colliding of worlds and the life experiences of Frank McCourt. It offers a bit of everything, humour, thought provoking sentiments and a realisation of how different and difficult life can be for others.

A beautiful memoir of liminal spaces - ocean liners, military service, first jobs, college. McCourt is a vivid writer, a wry memoirist. He paints a full portrait of life in mid-century New York with all its attendant joys and sorrows. The chapters about his finding his way as a new teacher are poignant.

This book is so good. I love Frank McCourt and how he infuses humor into even the most depressing scenes from his life. I got this book not knowing it is a follow up to Angela's Ashes, so I'm glad I got it before Teacher Man. Anyway, it starts where Angela's Ashes leaves off, with his arrival in New York and covers about 25-30 years from there. I really liked reading not only about his journey and many misfortunes in the city, but also the 1950s-60s city itself. And as an educator, I was interested to see the parallels between his experiences teaching high school and college back then and mine teaching college today. Honestly, students haven't changed much at all. I thoroughly enjoyed this book start to finish.

90sI feel real mixed about this book. There continues to be poverty and complex relationship dynamics, all understandable considering the author's background. But as the book develops, it seems to leave the author, the main character behind. He joins the army, gets new jobs, learns more about America and the culture, wrestles with identity, his heritage, his family, but he doesnt seem to change or grow. He is still quick to speak angrily, treats his first wife poorly, even on their wedding day, drinks frequently and wants the "excitement " (aka sex) with other women before and after marriage. He speaks harshly to his mother regularly. There are times he admits he feels ashamed and wishes there was a way to be clean, but the moments are fleeting. All of these things are, again, human and understandable. But I was hoping for some healing, resolution, some positive choices and inspiring moments. I enjoyed reading the book and see some value in the authors work, but it was informative rather than personally inspirational. Again, not every book will inspire me, but this book left me feeling frustrated.