'Tis
by Frank McCourt
Published by Flamingo
'Tis
is the sequel to 'Angela's Ashes', where Frank McCourt takes up
the story of his life as he arrives in America, nineteen years old,
without a high school diploma. He doesn't know how to dance and
he doesn't know to ask a girl to dance - how could he after growing
up in Limerick? The same black humour is evident in this book as
was in his previous book, but I felt that his story could have been
just as effectively told in one volume. This is a bleaker book than
'Angela's Ashes' because here his personal sense of bitterness and
anger against the world is very evident.
He
was drafted into the U.S. army at the beginning of the Korean War
and after initial training was posted to Germany. He is excellent
at describing the petty-mindedness and tedium of the cold war American
army and the regular punishments he gets because he is never prepared
to obey without question. Following his discharge from the Army
he goes to night school on the G.I. bill and qualifies as a teacher.
His relationship with his mother continues to be a difficult one
and his never hides his bitterness against his father and blames
him for the misery of his childhood. Frank McCourt carries a huge
chip on his shoulder and nourishes an inferiority complex because
of his deprived upbringing even when he has become successful and
settled in America. One could almost feel sorry for him that he
cannot let go of the gloom and doom of his past. Overall I found
this a depressing book to read because every cloud has the opposite
of a silver lining and the few silver linings quickly become tarnished.
Reviewed
by Marie, a Clare County Library staff member. |