phunter22's review against another edition
5.0
Listened to this a couple years ago. I don't know why I never recorded it on Goodreads. Loved it. A truly heartbreaking story read by the author himself.
joyshak's review against another edition
4.0
Much better than I thought it was going to be. Good story.
cilie's review against another edition
slow-paced
4.0
Frak McCourt narrates his own memoirer to perfection; He speaks a distinct Irish but does other dialects, like American and British, and he sings quite nicely when relevant.
The story of McCourt's childhood in deep poverty is a heart breaking one, but also one full of love and kindness, hope and dreams. It reads like a novel with a narrative voice that develops slowly as Frank gets older. The characters spring of the page and come to life; some you hate, some you love and some break your heart.
The story of McCourt's childhood in deep poverty is a heart breaking one, but also one full of love and kindness, hope and dreams. It reads like a novel with a narrative voice that develops slowly as Frank gets older. The characters spring of the page and come to life; some you hate, some you love and some break your heart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Mental illness and Violence
Minor: Vomit
leona_omahony's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
gfinlayson111's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
5.0
reggiepack's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.25
jenmat1197's review against another edition
4.0
This is the story of the author's childhood. Starting from his short time as a small child in America, and then his middle and teenage years in Ireland. One tragedy after another befalls his family. He grows up extrememly poor in Ireland with many siblings and an absentee father. They barely have enough money to feed themselves and cloth themselves and the ups and downs he and his family experienced are astounding. His drem is to save enough money and move to America. Frank weaves a story of how he and his family barely survived a father who barely worked and drank his wages away, and how hard it was to just stay alive.
This was a really depressing story. It is well told, however, and that helped. I could picture where he grew up - down to the smell and desparation. It is a raw, heartbreaking story and makes me thankful for the childhood I had. I know I am late to the game reading this one, and I have never seen the movie. I am glad I finally pulled it from my TBR pile.
This was a really depressing story. It is well told, however, and that helped. I could picture where he grew up - down to the smell and desparation. It is a raw, heartbreaking story and makes me thankful for the childhood I had. I know I am late to the game reading this one, and I have never seen the movie. I am glad I finally pulled it from my TBR pile.
lisbethduke's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.75
kelseyann's review against another edition
5.0
I don't think I've ever seen such humor come out of such poverty.