Book Club Book Review: Angela's Ashes By Frank McCourt

The pressure was on at Book Club this month because it was my turn to pick the book for us girls to read.

Initially I picked a modern thriller but then changed my mind and went for this classic novel which has been on my must read list for years (and sitting on my bedside table collecting dust for way too long!). It received mixed reviews at Book Club and scored an average of 6/10.

Here is my book review of the May Book Club pick  Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt

This is a memoir of Frank McCourt told through his eyes as a young baby through to his early teens.

Set from the 1930's in the Depression the McCourt family move from Brooklyn USA to Limerick, Ireland their native country.

This memoir is of the daily life and struggles Frank and his family faced growing up in poverty, dealing with sickness, constant hunger and poor living conditions.

This was a very sad and depressing read except that it was also filled with humour and lightheartedness. The writing is brilliant in that it didn't dwell on what they didn't have, they just got on with living, and day by day and year by year Frank and his family persevered.

I learnt a lot about the schools, churches, religion, prohibition and the war and how it affected Ireland.

I recommend this book to everyone but especially the younger generations so they know of the struggles generations faced before.

I give this book 4 stars out of  5

Jarrah Jungle's Star Rating:

1 Bad - I'd rather eat brussel sprouts topped with anchovies than read this again
2 Not Good - I'd rather watch paint dry than read this again
3 Ok - I'm sitting on the fence - its not great but not terrible either
4 Good - I'd give up a bottle of the worlds best champagne for this read
5 Great - I'd pass up a date with Johnny Depp for this read

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[Image via Dymocks]