About this title: From the author of the million-selling Angela's Ashes -- the most keenly anticipated sequel of the decade Angela's Ashes was a publishing phenomenon. Frank McCourt's critically acclaimed, lyrical memoir of his Limerick childhood won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics' Circle Award, the Royal Society of Literature Award and the Los ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Date Published: 09/1999
ISBN-13:9780684848785ISBN:0684848783
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 368 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Date Published: 09/1999
ISBN-13:9780684848785ISBN:0684848783
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 368 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Date Published: 09/1999
ISBN-13:9780684848785ISBN:0684848783
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 368 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Date Published: 09/1999
ISBN-13:9780684848785ISBN:0684848783
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 368 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Date Published: 09/1999
ISBN-13:9780684848785ISBN:0684848783
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 368 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Date Published: 09/1999
ISBN-13:9780684848785ISBN:0684848783
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 368 p. Ex-Library expected imperfections. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Date Published: 09/1999
ISBN-13:9780684848785ISBN:0684848783
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 368 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Date Published: 09/1999
ISBN-13:9780684848785ISBN:0684848783
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 368 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Date Published: 09/1999
ISBN-13:9780684848785ISBN:0684848783
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 368 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Date Published: 09/1999
ISBN-13:9780684848785ISBN:0684848783
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 368 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Date Published: 09/1999
ISBN-13:9780684848785ISBN:0684848783
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 368 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Date Published: 09/1999
ISBN-13:9780684848785ISBN:0684848783
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 368 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Date Published: 09/1999
ISBN-13:9780684848785ISBN:0684848783
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 368 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Date Published: 09/1999
ISBN-13:9780684848785ISBN:0684848783
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 368 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Date Published: 09/1999
ISBN-13:9780684848785ISBN:0684848783
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 368 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Date Published: 09/1999
ISBN-13:9780684848785ISBN:0684848783
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 368 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Date Published: 09/1999
ISBN-13:9780684848785ISBN:0684848783
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 368 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Date Published: 09/1999
ISBN-13:9780684848785ISBN:0684848783
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 368 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Date Published: 09/1999
ISBN-13:9780684848785ISBN:0684848783
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 368 p. read more
"(Previously published in BookLove blog) - After Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes, one of the bleakest books I've ever read, I wasn't sure what to expect from 'Tis. Frank McCourt was born in New York City , but moved back to Ireland with his family as a small child. The fact that young Frank, at the age of 19, was able to escape extreme poverty in Ireland and move to New York City is an accomplishment by itself. Within several days of arriving, he receives the first of many warnings about the evils of drink and is urged to become acquainted with the New York Public Library - by a bartender. After a period of time working as a janitor at the Biltmore Hotel, the Korean War begins, and within weeks McCourt receives his Army draft notice. After basic training in New Jersey , McCourt is sent to a dog training unit in Germany and avoids combat. Within several weeks, he is selected for Company Clerk training. After his military obligation ends, McCourt returns to New York City and labor in the warehouses on the New York City waterfront.
McCourt's descriptions of Army life are hilarious, but throughout the first half of the book there are several somber themes that surface again and again. McCourt is extremely naïve about women, wants to break free of the stifling variety of Catholicism that he grew up with in Ireland , and early on after arriving in New York realizes that education is his only way out of a life of manual labor. McCourt also learns very quickly that in the United States , extreme racial divisions have replaced the class divisions of Ireland .
This reviewer thought it remarkable that from the time of his arrival in New York City onward, McCourt repeatedly encounters individuals (sometimes rank strangers) who recommend works of literature and encourage his initial ambivalence about pursuing education. I guess you could call them literary angels.
McCourt eventually overcomes his ambivalence about education and starts a college degree at New York University - without a high school diploma. After graduation, McCourt lands his first teaching position at a Vocational High School on Staten Island . Over the next decade or so there's an interesting contrast in the book between Frank, pursuing a career in education, and Malachy McCourt, the younger brother who purchased a bar, is still deeply immersed in Irish culture, and has a drinking problem. McCourt earns a Masters degree from Brooklyn College and better jobs follow, but throughout the book he effectively describes the pull of Irish immigrant culture - where he doesn't really fit anymore - versus his ambition to live a "normal" middle-class American life.
McCourt has a great idea for detail, society, and the randomness of life, and describes a journey out of poverty that is hard for most readers to imagine."
"Tis is the continuation of the story begun in Angela's Ashes, taking off right where Angela's Ashes ended - with McCourt landing in America to begin his new adventure in the Land of Opportunity.
While Angela's Ashes focused a great deal on the overwhelming poverty of the McCourt family, 'Tis instead focuses on the differences McCourt notices between Ireland and America. In addition, there are a great many stories about the mistakes he makes in his early days and his constant yearning for Something Better. We see him struggle through many menial jobs, many with humorous stories to accompany them, and eventually he makes it to college and his Something Better - even though he isn't sure it was worth it once he's got it.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book for two reasons. First, McCourt has a great sense of humor about the way things went for him and how things have turned out. His stories will make you cry with laughter at some points because these are all stories that would have made someone say at the time: "You'll laugh about this later. You may not think so now, but you'll laugh."
Secondly, I really bonded with McCourt's character. Here I am, reading this book in my first days in Istanbul, noticing all the differences between my new home and the United States, while reading about how McCourt went through the same thing even though he was moving to a country that supposedly speaks the same language. There are a number of times he comments on the different uses of words between American English and Irish English. But it wasn't only the moving abroad point that got to me. I find myself questioning the purpose of my education and what I'm really going to do with my future, much in the same way that the young McCourt did in this memoir.
McCourt is a true story teller and he'll make you laugh. Also, he fills in some of the background information that you'll need if you haven't read Angela's Ashes, so it's not absolutely necessary to read it before picking up 'Tis (but I highly recommend it!). Definitely a book to be picked up.
Side Note: I saw at the end of the book that Frank McCourt's brother Malachy has his own book, A Monk Swimming, which was co-authored by Frank and deals with Malachy's struggles with alcoholism and his years as a playboy and actor in New York City. I think I'll be picking it up as soon as I can find an English Bookstore here."
"Years ago, I read "Angela's Ashes" and enjoyed it, then bought the sequel "'Tis" and read through that as well. At the time, I didn't enjoy it as much as McCourt's first memoir. That was my main impression of the book over the years - not as good as "Angela's Ashes."
A few weeks ago, Frank McCourt passed away. That very night, I decided to re-read "'Tis" a few years after having read the book the first time. I wanted to honor the recently departed, refresh my memory of the story and see if my memories of the experience held up. Also, I re-read "Angela's Ashes" a couple years ago. It was time to take "'Tis" for a spin.
Well, after reading this book another time, I remember why I didn't enjoy it the first time. Frank writes far too much about the miseries of his life instead of the good times. He comes across as weak, insecure, pitiful and just plain unlucky. Maybe it's just all too much after the heavy story of "Angela's Ashes."
Thankfully, we are saved by his tales of his early teaching days in Staten Island. He found his students as strange as they found him. He doesn't seem to take great joy in teaching either, but at least his stories are interesting. It's also fascinating to read about his unusual teaching methods and his attempts to reach his students. One particularly moving passage comes on a school day during St. Patrick's Day.
Another good thing about the book is, simply, that we get more of Frank McCourt's writing. His language, his style, his references back to people and events of his childhood, all serve to comfort the reader. Frank McCourt can tell a story, even if the story is rarely all that uplifting.
Other fascinating things about the book are Frank's adventures as a father, especially compared to his own father, and all the characters he meets along the way. Landlords, co-workers, army buddies, his first wife - all are larger than life characters who are not made up in Frank's head. They were all real people with real stories, crazy as those stories might seem.
If Frank had focused more on those crazy stories and less on feeling sorry for his younger self, his second memoir might have fared better. As it is, I'm just thankful that Frank put it all down on paper for the world to read."
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