Frank McCourt’s debut is an entertaining and sad memoir of his life in destitute Ireland.
| Author: | Frank McCourt |
| Publisher: | HarperCollins GB, 26 March 2018 |
| ISBN: | ISBN-10: 0007205236 ISBN-13: 978-0007205233 |
| Characteristics: | 432 pages, Paperback; 12.9 x 2.9 x 19.8 cm. |
| Source: | Street library (?) and returned. |
| Date Read: | 3-Oct-2025 |
After having seen the movie Angela’s Ashes, I was looking forward to reading the book behind it. As expected, there’s more detail, and more frustration with how bad the father was at being a parent. I recall one example where he brings home a box of chocolates for the family at Christmas, only to have consumed most of them on the way home. This scene was in the movie and the book.
Angela’s Ashes is a much better read than the sequel ‘Tis, which just doesn’t have the same charm.
Malachy Senior is a chronic alcoholic, and his family suffers for it. I recall reading that it started after he returned from active wartime duty as a soldier. Once he tries to get social support, but it was denied because his service was with the “wrong” side. It’s difficult for outsiders to Ireland to understand why this matters.
Malachy is capable of being a reliable and skilled worker, but there’s the inevitable upset and he goes back to the bottle for solace.
This and other disasters go on for the whole story, and it can get depressing after a while. At one stage they make it to America, and you think all their problems are over, but then they return to Ireland! After this Frank is determined to return to America, for his best chance at success.
Favourite Quotes
Some parts of the book were so good, I just had to copy them.
Frank’s Literary Talent
Very early on Frank showed a unique and endearing way of communicating the way he experiences life in a very Catholic Ireland.
All right, read it.
This is my composition. I don’t think Jesus Who is Our Lord would
have liked the weather in Limerick because it’s always raining and the Shannon keeps the whole city damp. My father says the Shannon is a killer river because it killed my two brothers. When you look at pictures of Jesus He’s always wandering around ancient Israel in a sheet. It never rains there and you never hear of anyone coughing or getting consumption or anything like that and no one has a job there because all they do is stand around and eat manna and shake their fists and go to crucifixions.
Anytime Jesus got hungry all He had to do was walk up the road to
a fig tree or an orange tree and have His fill. If He wanted a pint He
could wave His hand over a big glass and there was the pint. Or He
could visit Mary Magdalene and her sister, Martha, and they’d give Him His dinner no questions asked and He’d get his feet washed and dried with Mary Magdalene’s hair while Martha washed the dishes, which I don’t think is fair. Why should she have to wash the dishes while her sister sits out there chatting away with Our Lord? It’s a good thing Jesus decided to be born Jewish in that warm place because if he was born in Limerick he’d catch the consumption and be dead in a month and there wouldn’t be any Catholic Church and there wouldn’t be any Communion or Confirmation and we wouldn’t have to learn the catechism and write compositions about Him. The End.Mr. O’Dea is quiet and gives me a strange look and I’m worried
Angela’s Ashes, page 206.
because when he’s quiet like that it means someone is going to suffer.
He says, McCourt, who wrote that composition?
I did, sir.
Did your father write that composition?
He didn’t, sir.
Come here, McCourt.
I follow him out the door, along the hall to the headmaster’s room.
Mr. O’Dea shows him my composition and Mr. O’Halloran gives me
the strange look, too. Did you write this composition?
I did, sir.
Irish Poverty and Sanitation
The following quote captures the dreadful hygiene situation in Ireland for young Frank, yet he describes the situation in a humorous way which softens the dire situation.
We fight the rats and we fight the stink from that lavatory. We’d like
to keep our door open in the warm weather but you can’t when people are trotting down the lane to empty their brimming buckets. Some families are worse than others and Dad hates all of them even though Mam tells him it’s not their fault if the builders a hundred years ago put up houses with no lavatories but this one outside our door. Dad says the people should empty their buckets in the middle of the night when we are asleep so that we won’t be disturbed by the stink.The flies are nearly as bad as the rats. On warm days they swarm to
the stable and when a bucket is emptied they swarm to the lavatory. If Mam cooks anything they swarm into the kitchen and Dad says it’s disgusting to think the fly sitting there on the sugar bowl was on the toilet bowl, or what’s left of it, a minute ago. If you have an open sore they find it and torment you. By day you have the flies, by night you have the fleas. Mam says there’s one good thing about fleas, they’re clean, but flies are filthy, you never know where they came from and they carry diseases galore.We can chase the rats and kill them. We can slap at the flies and the
Angela’s Ashes, page 211.
fleas and kill them but there’s nothing we can do about the neighbors and their buckets. If we’re out in the lane playing and we see someone with a bucket we call to our own house, Bucket coming, close the door, close the door, and whoever is inside runs to the door. In warm weather we run to close the door all day because we know which families have the worst buckets. There are families whose fathers have jobs and if they get into the habit of cooking with curry we know their buckets will stink to the heavens and make us sick. Now with the war on and men sending money from England more and more families are cooking with curry and our house is filled with the stink day and night.
Hope for Young Frank
In the library one night, he
The librarian says, You have to go home now, the rain is stopped, and when I’m going out the door she calls me back. She wants to write a note to my mother and she doesn’t mind one bit if I read it. The note says, Dear Mrs. McCourt, Just when you think Ireland is gone to the dogs altogether you find a boy sitting in the library so absorbed in the Lives of the Saint he doesn’t realize the rain has stopped and you have to drag him away from the aforesaid Lives. I think, Mrs. McCourt, you might have a future priest on your hands and I will light a candle in hopes it comes true.
l remain, Yours truly, Catherine O’Riordan, Asst. Librarian.
Angela’s Ashes, page 286.
Conclusion
The book is a great read. The depressing situation is helped immensely by Frank’s wonderful writing style. In the final chapter as Frank departs for America, he leaves the reader with this touching stanza about his mother’s love.
A mother’s love is a blessing
Angela’s Ashes, page 358.
No matter where you roam.
Keep her while you have her,
You’ll miss her when she’s gone.
Summary of Angela’s Ashes, by Frank McCourt
Angela’s Ashes is Frank McCourt’s unforgettable memoir of his childhood in the slums of Limerick, Ireland. After his family returns from America during the Great Depression, Frank grows up amid grinding poverty, constant hunger, illness, and the chaos created by his father’s alcoholism. His mother, Angela, struggles to keep the family alive, often relying on charity, neighbours, and sheer endurance.
Despite the bleakness, McCourt tells his story with humour, sharp observation, and deep compassion. He captures the contradictions of Irish Catholic life—its guilt, rituals, and small mercies—as well as the resilience of children who learn to survive through imagination and stubborn hope. As Frank grows older, he becomes determined to escape the cycle of poverty and carve out a future beyond Limerick.
The memoir ends with his long‑dreamed‑of departure for America, setting the stage for the next chapter of his life in ’Tis.
Themes in Angela’s Ashes
1. Poverty and Survival
The memoir is a stark portrait of grinding poverty in Limerick. Hunger, illness, and deprivation shape every aspect of the McCourt children’s lives, yet their resilience becomes a quiet form of defiance.
2. Family and Responsibility
Angela’s struggle to keep her children alive — often alone, often humiliated — sits at the emotional centre of the book. Frank also grapples with the burden of being the eldest son in a collapsing household.
3. Alcoholism and Its Consequences
Malachy Sr.’s drinking drains the family’s income and stability. His charm, stories, and occasional tenderness clash with the devastation he causes, creating a painful contradiction Frank must navigate.
4. Religion, Guilt, and Shame
Catholicism permeates daily life. Confession, sin, purity, and guilt become constant companions, shaping Frank’s understanding of morality, sexuality, and self-worth.
5. Childhood Innocence and Imagination
Despite the bleakness, the children find moments of humour, mischief, and wonder. Frank’s curiosity and storytelling instinct become tools for survival.
6. Hope and Escape
The dream of America — distant, romantic, and almost mythical — becomes Frank’s guiding light. The memoir builds toward his determination to break free from the cycle of poverty.
Notable Anecdotes from Angela’s Ashes
1. The Return to Ireland
After the death of Frank’s baby sister in America, the family returns to Limerick, only to find conditions even worse than what they left behind.
2. Life in the Leaky Lane House
The McCourts are forced to live in a damp, flea‑infested house where the upstairs floods every time it rains. It becomes a symbol of their hardship — and their grim humour.
3. Malachy Sr. Drinking the Wages
Week after week, Frank’s father disappears with his pay, returning home singing patriotic songs while the children go hungry. These scenes become a tragic rhythm of Frank’s childhood.
4. Angela Begging for Coal and Food
Some of the most heartbreaking moments involve Angela seeking charity from neighbours, priests, and the St. Vincent de Paul Society to keep her children warm and fed.
5. Frank’s Illness in the Hospital
His long stay in the fever hospital becomes a rare period of comfort — clean sheets, regular meals, and books — giving him a glimpse of a different kind of life.
6. Early Jobs and Small Victories
Frank takes on odd jobs: delivering telegrams, writing threatening letters for neighbours, and eventually working for the post office. Each job becomes a step toward independence.
7. Saving for America
Frank secretly saves money from his wages, determined to escape Limerick. His departure — both triumphant and bittersweet — closes the memoir and leads directly into ’Tis.
Featured image: Phil Evenden.
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