Book #2: 'Tis

Honestly, I love Frank McCourt. He writes like no one else -- he doesn't care about run-on sentences or quotation marks or any of that business. He just writes. And he is awesome. His first memoir, Angela's Ashes, is about Frank's childhood in 1930's Ireland with an alcoholic father and a proud mother (Angela, for whom the book is named). 'Tis picks up where Angela's Ashes leaves off -- Frank's teenage years, during which he moves to New York City to find work and a better life.

After moving to America, Frank was quickly drafted in the United States Army and served in Korea. When he returned, he worked several odd jobs and managed to put himself through college with the G.I. Bill. He is reunited with his Irish family on several occasions, including the father who abandoned him. 'Tis describes all of these adventures, as well as his first marriage. It's an amazing story of an equally amazing man.

My favorite part of this memoir, though, is the portion that describes his first job as a college graduate -- teaching high school. Frank had always wanted to be a writer, and as a shy, awkward Irishman, teaching teenagers was not a job he desired. As he becomes accustomed to the job, however, he is able to reach his difficult, unruly students at a New York vocational school in a way that no other teacher has ever been able to reach them. As an educator, it's a wonderful story to read. You can't really use his techniques exactly, as the rules of the education game have changed quite a bit since the 60's, but the concept and the dedication can still be there. Frank McCourt is absolutely one of my heroes, and for any of my fellow educators out there, I would recommend this. I dare you to read it and not fall in love with Frank enough to want to go back and read Angela's Ashes.

From a non-educator's perspective, this is a still a great story. Practically any reader would be sucked into Frank's endearing personality and heartbroken by all of the bad hands he is dealt in life. This is one of those books that's even better because it's true. I can't wait to pick up his next memoir, Teacher Man, for obvious reasons. Unfortunately, it looks like this will be it from Frank McCourt, as he passed away last summer at the age of 78. Truly a wonderful man, and the reason that 'Tis was so great. Like I said, though, I'm a bit biased.

In case anyone is interested, here are a couple of my favorite interviews with Frank McCourt on the topic of educating teenagers:







Read January 8, 2010 to January 30, 2010

4/5 Stars

--C