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July 1, 2006
Frank McCourt Part 2: Tim's Take
So...continuing the theme...here's Tim's ideas on Frank McCourt. Enjoy!
I’ve started reading Angela’s Ashes, recommended by Joanna who recently discovered his writings. I’ve seen the movie version several times and love it but I’ve never considered reading the book until now. Joanna’s has also read ‘Tis and Teacher Man. I was quite skeptical when I read some critiques of the book saying that McCourt could be compared with such writers as James Joyce. Now that I’m reading the book, I have to say that I've never read something so tragic that is also so hilarious. A few excerpts for the book and movie:
The classic opening: "When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood."
Grandma to young Frankie: "You have enough dirt in your ears to grow potatoes."
Frankie to priest in confessional: "Bless me father, for I have sinned. It's been a minute since my last confession."
Frankie: "Oh, America. Where no one has bad teeth and everyone has a lavatory."
School teacher: "Stock your mind, it's your house of treasure, and no one in the world can interfere with it. Fill your mind with rubbish, and it'll rot your head. You might be poor, your shoes might be broken, but your mind, your mind is a palace."
Frankie in the hospital: [Reading Shakespeare is] "like having jewels in my mouth when I say the words. If I had a whole book of Shakespeare they could keep me in the hospital for a year."
Literature | By Tim and Jo | 10:07 AM
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