McCourt, a retired NYC school teacher finally wins the lottery with his humorous and gritty memoir, Angela’s Ashes. Like any good story teller, McCourt draws the reader in with a tale a woe: a alcoholic father, a jobless mother, too many babies to feed and hardly any social services in sight. Growing up first in New York and then in the slums of Ireland McCourt fights to feed his family, get an education and have a little boyhood fun. Faced with the wrath of his mother and the Catholic priests McCourt finds his way in and out of sticky situations. With an almost completely absent father the young McCourt must rely on his Catholic education and the boys on his lane to teach him the finer points of becoming a man. Although McCourt’s goal, to provide for his family, seems simple he’s fighting against “class distinction” – being from the Limerick Lanes. With the unexpected help of his mother’s stingy sister who buys him a new suit -- he’s able to land a job delivering telegrams. On the side he gets employed as the local money lender’s assistant – he uses his linguistic skills to write threatening letters to delinquent accounts – his friends and family. Although the life of an impoverished Irish child is grim McCourt’s excellent storytelling and humor keep readers holding on for the next chapter as young Frankie eventually comes of age and sets sail for America.
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