I have finally finished the trilogy, written by the great Frank McCourt. It's crazy that he made a whole career out of writing about his life. What's even crazier is that this book, unlike the first, Angela's Ashes, or the third, Teacher Man, doesn't actually tell much of a story at all, but may be my favorite of the three. I drum it up to the humor. There are times in this book when Frank McCourt is just being reminiscent of some of the livelier characters in his life, and he still makes it super compelling. Something like getting a degree in English is an adventure in Frank McCourt's world, and it was an adventure I enjoyed traveling on. A skilled writer and a phenomenal teacher-by how he tells it. A great book, overall.

Only slightly less depressing than his first memoir of his early life ‘Angela’s ashes’. Frank grew up to have a really hard time in his early adulthood trying to make it in America but he finally got educated and had a daughter which seems to be his only reprieve. His poor mother continues to have a miserable life and at the end they spread “Angela’s ashes” back in Ireland as her dying wish. Idk if I’d read the third book

This true story, is touching and certainly lends clarity on how difficult it is to come to another country as an immigrant and survive. So many time he was told to "stick with his kind". Here we are 70 years later, and those biases are still alive and well, unfortunately. An interesting, often sad tale.

I picked this up immediately after n  Angela’s Ashesn, as I wasn’t yet ready to end my relationship with Frank. He had crossed the Atlantic, fled a life of poverty, and I wanted to see him thrive, wanted to see the underdog win.

The contrast to life in Ireland is clear, but the heartbreak is that he doesn’t win. He leaves the hardships of Limerick only to meet new struggles in New York. He falls into drinking habits which mirror his father’s, he struggles to find a job, to fit into American social customs, he longs to become educated yet feels inadequate to the other students when he finally achieves a place. He’s self-deprecating, a fish out of water, and lost.

All of these factors contributed to a sharp decline in my loving feelings for Frank. He becomes bitter about his childhood, resents his family for either their past struggles or present success, creates tension between himself and others, all due to his desire to be better, to be a class above. Although all of these feelings are natural and understandable, there’s nothing redeeming about Frank in his words, and in his blame.

Although older here, Frank’s narrative is still styled in a similar way of the naïve boy living in Limerick. This makes him sound mostly idiotic rather than endearing, and was an irritation throughout the pages. The man sees horrendous things, experiences life-changing things, yet he still describes them as though he’s a young boy. There was something not quite right about this, and I almost felt as though he was trying to capitalise on the success of Angela’s Ashes, rather than giving a true, mature account.

It’s a truthful and bleak sequel, though I was desperately disengaged by the narrative, non-specific vignettes, and a general distaste for Frank’s choices. Where Angela’s Ashes was a tribute to a mother who did everything she could so her children could survive, with love always, ’Tis is just an account of how each of them vilified her for it.