My friend Mae recommended Angela’s Ashes to me and warned me that
it was a difficult read. I accepted the challenge without any knowledge of the
story background. It was disappointing to discover that there is no summary on
the back cover, but I decided to take a chance and read it. Something that is
very intriguing to me is the surplus of awards and prizes it has won and the
great reviews it received. I discovered that this story takes place in Ireland
because a review on this memoir includes, “Frank McCourt’s lyrical Irish voice”
(Mary Karr). Due to the praise for this novel, I am anxious to start it.
Judging the book by its cover, it appears to be about the author, Frank
McCourt’s childhood living in poverty. This is the impression I get because the
cover includes a picture of a young boy with dirty clothing and no shoes. The
book most likely outlines the struggles of growing up as a pauper of Ireland
during McCourt’s time. This is not the ordinary, trite plot line of a hard
childhood. There is something eclectic and fascinating about the setting in
Ireland because I am not very familiar with this country. Reading deeper into
the title, I assume that Angela is one of McCourt’s family members, possibly a
sister or mother. Referring to the “ashes” in the title, I can infer that this
family member dies. I did not commit to this book before I read the first
page. Its a somewhat easy read but includes advanced vocabulary.
WORD COUNT: 259
