An Irish Catholic Memoir

» Laughman - An Irish Catholic Memoir

Hi Audrey,

A very enjoyable review of Frank McCourt's book. Just a few points:

At the time about which he is writing, it was not at all unusual for a couple to lose several children as diseases such as TB and typhoid were rife. In itself, the loss of a child would not be enough to break a marriage - particularly in staunchly Catholic Ireland of the time.

Malachy McCourt's actions simply rteflect the fact that he was a hopeless alcoholic - a very sick man.

Again, in the moral climate of the time in Catholic Ireland, it would have been extremely difficult for Angela to leave her husband. She would have been blamed for the breakup of the marriage and her children would very likely have been taken from her and placed in institutional 'care'.

As for her relationship with Laman Griffin, she did what she felt she had to do to keep a roof over her children's heads.

Like yourself, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, although I found parts of it extremely distrssing, (especially the deaths of his siblings).

Cheers,

-- posted by Laughman

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» katrinko - Re: An Irish Catholic Memoir

Audrey,
This was a terrific review of Angela's Ashes. I enjoyed reading it. I must be one of the few humans on the planet who has not read the book. I'm adding it to mylist of must-reads. I look forward to future articles about one of my favorite subjects. Thank you...
Laughman,
I appreciated the additional insights you provided in your post. Thank you.

Marie

-- posted by katrinko

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