[Book Rant] Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt

I had been meaning to read Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt for such a long time. I'd heard so many good things about it. I finally got around to it and after nearly a month, I eventually finished it and gave it three stars on Goodreads.

At first, I thought, 'hmmmm, this is interesting and different from my usual fare of paranormal romance that's for sure'. While I don't hate it, I don't see what all the fuss has been about either. It is emotionally compelling; I'd give it that much. I wanted to both cry and hit inanimate objects numerous times. I felt so much for Frankie, his family and their troubles and harsh lives of poverty. Angela's Ashes takes first place for the Saddest-Freakin'-Book-I've-Ever-Read!

But for some reason, I couldn't help but continue to feel pretty lukewarm towards it as I read. I kept on reading mainly because I get home too exhausted from work to remember to throw a new book into my bag and Angela's Ashes happened to be the only book in my bag and I read on the train. Yet, that's not the only reason. Something kept pulling me back in, stopped me from abandoning the novel completely.

What was it? The language. McCourt's writing style and the Irish lilt so intimately intertwined kept me hooked. It was like reading poetic music, or musical poetry. It was simply beautiful.

My feelings towards the novel warmed up considerably when I came across the Best Line I Have Ever Read in Any Work of Literature:

"Shakespeare is like mashed potatoes, you can never get enough of him."

 Whaat?! Two of my  most favorite things in the world in the same sentence? Bliss.

While, I liked McCourt's narrative voice and the plot/story, I felt it to be too long and too detailed. I couldn't believe that I was on page 300 and Frankie was only 11! Could he grow up any slower? I felt like I was reading a really loooong list of twitter stats minutely chronologizing someone's life.

Possibly my issue is that it's meant to be a memoir and I think of memoirs having a more story-like quality with a driving plot. While Angela's Ashes read more like an autobiography. In the end, my investment in lil Frankie McCourt and my need to know how he ended up forced me to keep reading. I was hooked on the raw honesty of all of the characters, especially Frankie.


I will also be adding the sequel Tis to my To-Be-Read list. I don't want to miss 19-year-old Frankie's adventures in the Big Apple.

Huh. Maybe I need to change my Goodreads rating. It seems I like Angela's Ashes a lot more than I thought. This book rant is a whole lot more positive than negative, isn't it?