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Angela's Ashes: A Memoir

Frank McCourt

Angela's Ashes: A Memoir, written by Irish author Frank McCourt, was published in 1996. This book won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 1997. The memoir covers the childhood and early adulthood days of the author in Brooklyn, New York and Limerick, Ireland.

Francis McCourt is the oldest son born to Malachy and Angela McCourt in Brooklyn, Newyork in 1930. He had four siblings including a sister who dies seven weeks after birth. Following the tragedy, the family moves back to Ireland, where Frank's two brothers also die within a year. Frank's yungest brothesr, Michael and Alphie are born there.

Life in Limerick, Ireland during the 30s and 40s is described in all its grittiness. The family live in a dilapidated, unpaved lane of houses that flood regularly. The McCourts' house is in the farthest part of the lane, near the only outdoor lavatory for the entire lane. Malachy Sr. teaches the children Irish stories and songs, but he is an alcoholic and seldom finds work. When he does, he spends his pay in the pubs. His family is forced to live on the dole since he cannot hold down a paying job for long due to his drunkenness. The father will often pick up and spend the welfare payment before Angela can get her hands on it to feed the starving children. For years the family subsists on little more than bread and tea. They are always wondering when their next real meal would be and whether the kids would have shoes for school. Despite all the hardships, many passages of the story are told with heartfelt humor and charm.

Frank's father eventually finds a job at a defense plant in Coventry, England, yet he sends money back to his struggling family in Ireland only once, squandering the rest. As there are few jobs for women, their mother is forced to ask for help from the Church. Sometimes, Frank and his brothers scavenge for lumps of coal or peat turf for fuel, or steal bread to survive; they also occasionally steal leftover food from restaurants at the end of the day. Angela's mother (a widow) and sister are reluctant to help her because they disapprove of her husband, as he is not from Limerick, and they felt he has the "odd manner" about him. To make up for his father's failure to support the family, Frank starts working as a messenger delivery boy when he is fourteen. He gives some of his earnings to his mother to feed the rest of the children, and the rest he saves for his planned return to America. Schooling for Frank ends at the age of thirteen, as it does for most of the poor boys in the lanes of Limerick. Though both his teacher, Mr. O’Halloran, and a librarian tell Frank to continue his schooling, he wants to begin working "like a man."

The McCourt children have insufficient clothing and shoes despite the continual rain, and suffer in the damp, cold climate of Ireland. Frank develops typhoid and is taken to hospital, where for the first time he has adequate food and warmth. Later, he gets a job helping a neighbor who had leg problems; he delivers coal for the neighbor, a job he is proud of and wants to continue even though it exacerbates his chronic conjunctivitis. The family is finally evicted after they take a hatchet to the walls of their rented home to burn the wood for heat. They are forced to move in with a cousin of Angela's who treats them badly and eventually forces a sexual relationship on Frank's mother, Angela. When Frank and Angela go to the Christian Brothers to inquire about further schooling for Frank, they slam the door in his face. A few days after his 14th birthday, Frank starts his first job as a telegram delivery boy for the post office. The wry wit of Frank's narration clearly shows that he has the capacity to rise above this job, but circumstances stop him progressing.

Frank is encouraged to take the postman test at the post office, but decides not to and instead begins delivering newspapers and magazines. To earn extra money toward his voyage to the United States, he also writes threatening collection letters on behalf of a local moneylender. When the moneylender dies, Frank takes money from her purse and throws her ledger of debtors into the river. Thus, through a combination of scrimping, saving, and stealing, Frank eventually does get enough money to travel to the U.S. The story ends with 19-year-old Frank arriving in Poughkeepsie, NewYork, ready to begin a new life in the country of his birth.

Namaste

Prabir