Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt gives you an insight of how a family, surrounded by poverty, lived in the late 1930’s in Limerick, Ireland. It is extremely sad to see how his family survived off of nothing except fried bread and tea. You can’t help but feel sorry for him as he experiences things most young children won’t ever have to face. Three of his siblings tragically die as toddlers, and he describes how he and his family cope. Although the book is very sad and tragic, it is inspiring and loving.
The beginning of the book was very difficult to read. Coming from a young child’s point of view, it is very biased and doesn’t give you much information because he does not understand things himself. Frank sees many things happening in the world, but doesn’t quite get why they’re happening or what the purpose is for how adults react to them. He looks at things differently than most people would in certain situations. Nothing exciting happens for most of the book. I am not very fond of how the first couple of chapters play out. Frank starts off with seven people in his family: his two parents and four brothers and a sister. By the end of the second chapter, two of his brothers and his sister are killed by sickness. You begin the book with a depressing vibe and have a long way to go with sad feelings before it gets happier.
As time goes on, and Frank gets older, he starts to see the city of Limerick in a brand new perspective. Towards the end of the book, it was easier to figure out what was going on with him and his family. You could read the book in a whole new way then at the beginning of the book. He comes from somewhat of a happier point of view. Although he still writes in a dark tone, it’s lighter than the first part.
With the book beginning with a sad tragedy, it is nice to have a happy ending. You begin to feel hope for Frank and his family as fulfills his lifelong dream. It is a hard goodbye for Frank and the reader because you have begun to feel so attached to the member of the McCourt family. It is easy to see how he uses his tragic childhood to become a successful adult.