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'Tis

Author: Frank Mccourt
Publisher: HarperPerennial
Category: Book

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Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

8 reviews
Sales Rank: 7716

Media: Paperback
Edition: New Ed
Pages: 512
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 4.8 x 1.3

ISBN: 0007205244
EAN: 9780007205240
ASIN: 0007205244

Publication Date: October 3, 2005
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available

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Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Every bit as good as Angela's Ashes January 14, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

It's very rare a sequel to an autobiography is anywhere near as good as the first,but this flows straight on from Angela's Ashes in exactly the same detailed evocative prose.
Frank's life as a naive just off the boat Irish man in New York is every bit as fascinating as his poverty stricken childhood in Ireland.
There's a touch more humour and a touch less misery but the tale is still full of interesting characters.

5 out of 5 stars

I thought had inner turmoil! January 17, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful

Not being the reading type I felt compelled to reading this book after seeing it in my library.
I had seen the film Angela's Ashes and it seemed to tally with tales from and about my Irish Grandparents. I just had to follow the Author on his journey.
McCourt had an unbelievable naivety about the world as a young man finding his feet in New York that mirrored my own, and his constant agonising about each action and its consequences struck a chord with me.
It was like reading about myself one generation before.

More than that though,how Frank McCourt writes is like a window on his world,like an interesting autobiography.

I love the idea that he doesn't paint himself better than he is, you know that certain causes have only one outcome and still he tells the story- even though he looks a chump.
Hats off to the man!

Simon Meech

5 out of 5 stars

Tis a Triumph December 11, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

The sequel to Angela's Ashes is an enchanting tale of what happens to Frank when he leaves the grimy, depressing slums of Limerick as a young man and travels on his own to America in search of a new life. 'Tis avoids the self pitying, sanctimonious tone of many memoirs of people who have toiled their way to fame, and, despite being a sequel, the book stands alone magnificently and is a totally rivetting read.
Frank's experiences in America, ranging from being a scorned cleaner in a hotel, an array of roles in the army, and various manual jobs, and his fight to better himself by going to college, are depicted in vivid, glorious detail, and there are numerous hilarious incidents, and colourful characters who grasp the reader's attention tenaciously and don't let go. Some of the scenes had me doubled up with laughter, in particular, the occasion when Frank tries to surreptitiously eat a slice of pie in the cinema, the time a pal of his is trying to dump a frozen joint of meat, which ends up being hauled away as a suspected accident victim, and Frank's wonderful and unconventional wedding.
Frank's transformation from a spotty, awkward,rotten-teethed, conjunctivitis-ridden boy to a confident young man is mesmerising, and the rites of passage of a young man discovering the world, sex, love and himself are painted with a beautifully light touch.
'Tis is a thoroughly hypnotic read, with moods and emotions spanning the whole gamut from fascinating insights through moving scenes to wonderfully entertaining anecdotes. McCourt manages to transform the everyday to an art form. This is a hard book to put down.

5 out of 5 stars

The Irish.. at home in New York December 7, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I'm not sure what it is, other than abject poverty, that makes the Irish migrate. But everywhere I come across them, I'm glad of it.

Frank McCourt has that uncanny knack for self-hypnosis which enables him to step back into his own personal history and write, with the hindsight of age.. of the freshness of youth.

As a young man, I worked in Oxford, at a place that was more or less a refuge for Irishmen abroad. I was taught how to milk a goat by a Kerryman... at a time when I most needed it.

All of the guide books I ever read, said avoid Limerick, and every book that Frank McCourt has ever written screams 'Go there !'.

This book takes you in the footsteps of young Frankie McCourt arriving in a foreign country, that is really his ancestral home.

It captures the uncertainty and unquenchable enthusiasm of youth.

3 out of 5 stars

NOT AS GOOD AS ANGELA'S ASHES November 14, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

After reading Angela's Ashes I couldn't wait to pick up `Tis to hear of Frank's adventures in America but I was rather disappointed. It was quite a depressing book (at least Angela's Ashes had hope) and I got fed up of hearing about his pussy eyes and him having `the excitement' (feeling randy). Also, I found the writing was a little confusing because there were no speech marks in any of the text, therefore his thoughts and his spoken word couldn't easily be distinguished at times. All in all, if you've read Angela's Ashes leave it at that, it's a bit of a slog when he goes to the other side of the pond.