Angela's Ashes

By: Frank McCourt, Jeannette Walls - introduction

Narrated by: Frank McCourt, Jeannette Walls - introduction

Length: 15 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

Pulitzer Prize, Biography/Autobiography, 1997

National Book Critics Circle, Biography/Autobiography, 1997

Frank McCourt's Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir, movingly read in his own voice, bears all the marks of a classic. Born in Depression-era Brooklyn to Irish immigrant parents, Frank was later raised in the slums of Limerick, Ireland. His mother, Angela, had no money to feed her children since Frank's father, Malachy, rarely worked, and when he did, he drank his wages. Angela's Ashes is the story of how Frank endured - wearing shoes repaired with tires, begging for a pig's head for Christmas dinner, and searching the pubs for his father - a tale he relates with eloquence, exuberance, and remarkable forgiveness.

Listen to Frank McCourt talk about this book on C-SPAN's Booknotes (7/11/97).

©1997 Frank McCourt, All Rights Reserved (P)1997 Simon & Schuster Inc., All Rights Reserved, Audioworks is an Imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division Simon & Schuster Inc.

Critic reviews

"Frank McCourt is a marvelous writer whose words are made all the better when he reads them aloud..." (Bookpage)

"...one of the best I've heard in years." (The Boston Globe)

"...so good it deserves a sequel" (The New York Times)

"Here we have the stereotypical Irish characters - the drunken poet father; the all-suffering mother; the miserable, hungry kids being turned away by a haughty Church - all made three-dimensional and brought fully to life by both McCourt's language and his loving, intimate narration.... Grim it is - but the tale and its teller transcend the poverty - and so does the listener, who glories in the story and voice from beginning to end." (AudioFile)

Thank you Frank McCourt!

The draw of this book has everything to do with the writer's incredible talent for colorful and moving story telling, and a writing style that comes alive with McCourt's uncomplicated and free flowing Irish accented narration. Frank McCourt's amazing life story is a not just a must-read, but a Classic.

Double your pleasure

I'm sitting here having just finished listening to the book, trying to organize my thoughts for this quick review. It's tough, though, as McCourt's lyrical prose -- and masterful narration -- are ringing so loudly in my head that everything else is eclipsed.

I can guarantee, absolutely, you won't be disappointed in the time you invest to sit through ANGELA'S ASHES (unless, of course, you're from the north, or some kind of a presbyterian).

Fun Fiction Tale for this Non-Fiction Lover

As a regular non-fiction reader, I was delighted by this story and found myself very eager to get back in the car to listen to more. The autobiographical nature and the author reading his own work really gave this selection the "real" story that I prefer in non-fiction. My only criticism is that the story ended rather abruptly, leaving me in a state of severe withdrawal. I do not like to read books and then see the movies, or vice versa, as I feel I blur the author's original intentions, but I find myself really craving to see this movie. I have since figured out that the author continues his tale in the book "Tis." I won't be able to download that fast enough.

Great story about a life I would never want...

Frank McCourt is a fabulous writer and a superb narrator of his own story. Unfortunately, his story is so depressing that I simply can't give it a five star rating. Growing up in Ireland where the Catholic Church seems to influence every aspect of life creates an atmosphere of oppression and lost hope. Having a father who is a drunk and and a mother who keeps having children with no real way to care for them adds to the depression of the story. Yet other reviewers talk of Mr. McCourt's forgiveness, which I do not understand nor see. Great writing. Great narration. Horrible story. Thanks anyway, but I think it's time for another romance novel...

A story of despair and truimph

This book is one of the best I've read in years. However, one must be prepared for the painful story the author tells about his life. I know I felt very lucky for my childhood when compared to Frank McCourt's.

However, the shining star of the book is Frank himself. He overcame the odds and wrote a wonderful narrative to a story of adversity, sorrow, and ultimately triumph.

Fascinating

This was a wonderful book. Very warm and endearing read in the author's lovely brogue. I was so captivated that I couldn't leave the story and got his next book Tis and brother Malachy's book "A Monk Swimming"

A Must Listen

McCourt is one of those rare authors who is also a great audio-book reader (Stephen King is another, by the way).

This is a classic; a great piece of Irish literature that is also very entertaining.

Both my parents grew up in 1950s Limerick (McCourt's hometown) and the characters and events ring true. This one deserves all the awards it has received.

His follow up, 'Tis' is worth listening to as well, though it's set mostly in the States and doesn't have quite the impact of this, his first book.

In the top 3% of what I've listened to.

What can I say about this book that has been said by 100's of others here. Terrific, EPIC novel. Loved to hear the author tell the story. I know how he said ok, I don't know, in his small lilting voice.
LOVED IT, I think you will to.

Hauntingly troubling

The voices from the past remain almost too vivid after the read. Poverty, drunkenness and squalor are but a part of life for the family. You can smell the stink of the privy. Not a fun read...an enlightening and troubling one.

Funny and Heartwarming

My best friend growing up was in a big Irish family and aside from the poverty (his dad did work at the post office to support 9 kids!) my life with this family was similar in the comedic aspects of the story. Beautiful to hear Frank McCourt sing the old Irish drinking songs. My only regret is that I took so long to get into this book!