《安琪拉的灰烬》以幽默生动的笔法描述了一个贫民窟孩子成长与奋斗的感人经历。面对贫穷、挫折、苦难，作者迈考特则选择以乐观进取的精神与命运抗争，实现了自己的梦想，成为美国青年一代心目中自强奋斗的偶像。
这本书字里行间充满了苦难，但是它不叫人绝望，主人公在成长着，在拼命地吸吮着苦难的乳汁成长。这成长的历程是无坚不摧的。尽管弗兰克与他的兄弟们在物质上非常贫穷，但他们总是很快乐，有很多渴望，很多梦想，很多激情，感觉很富有。令全世界无数读者为之感动。
该书平凡人的故事深深打动了数以千万的读者，并因此获得了普利策文学奖等多项大奖。本书雄踞《纽约时报》畅销书榜长达117周之久。美国《好书》杂志评论说，“这本书的成功靠的是真心被感动的读者的口口相传”。
安琪拉的灰烬-作品简介
这是一本好书；在中国当下的语境中（到处弥漫着庸俗的享乐主义），它就更是一本好书了。——著名学者、作家 曹文轩
此书能使我们中国的数量大得惊人的穷孩子们，从自己的母亲身上，发现天使的影子……——著名作家 梁晓声
我是从下午开始读这本书的。躺在床上读，读完后是凌晨四点。合上书本，我发现有两滴冰凉的眼泪挂在腮边。
我很奇怪，这本书字里行间充满了苦难，但是它不叫人绝望。我细细地琢磨着这个原因，她像有些明白了。主要公在成长着，在拼命地吸吮着苦难的乳汁成长。这成长的历程是无坚不摧的。——著名作家 高建群
教人珍惜幸福、激人迎难而上的内蕴，与引人入胜的叙事、流畅优美的文笔一起，构成了《安琪拉的灰烬》让人久读不厌的魅力。——著名文学评论家 白烨
《安琪拉的灰烬》堪称近年来少见的具有影响力而又兼具人文风格的回忆录！——《纽约时报》
很少有一本书能像《安琪拉的灰烬》这样能以苦中作乐、感伤而又不失乐观积极的精神感动读者。这本书的成功靠的不是夸大词的宣传，而是真心被感动的读者的口口相传。——美国《好书》杂志
一旦翻开这本精彩动人的书就不能歇手，非要看到弗兰克的童年结束为止。——《辛德勒名单》作者托马斯·肯尼利
【内容提要】
《安琪拉的灰烬》以幽默生动的笔法描述了一个贫民窟孩子成长与奋斗的感人经历。面对贫穷、挫折、苦难，作者迈考特则选择以乐观进取的精神与命运抗争，实现了自己的梦想，成为美国青年一代心目中自强奋斗的偶像。
这本书字里行间充满了苦难，但是它不叫人绝望，主人公在成长着，在拼命地吸吮着苦难的乳汁成长。这成长的历程是无坚不摧的。尽管弗兰克与他的兄弟们在物质上非常贫穷，但他们总是很快乐，有很多渴望，很多梦想，很多激情，感觉很富有。令全世界无数读者为之感动。
该书平凡人的故事深深打动了数以千万的读者，并因此获得了普利策文学奖等多项大奖。本书雄踞《纽约时报》畅销书榜长达117周之久。美国《好书》杂志评论说，“这本书的成功靠的是真心被感动的读者的口口相传”。
Plot summary
Born in Brooklyn, New York on 19 August 1930, Frank McCourt was the eldest son of Malachy and Angela McCourt. Frank McCourt lived in New York with his parents and four younger siblings: Malachy, born in 1931; twins Oliver and Eugene, born in 1932; and a younger sister, Margaret, who died just a few weeks after birth, in 1935. Following this first tragedy, his family moved back to Ireland, where the twin brothers died within a year of the family's arrival and where Frank's youngest brothers, Michael (b. 1936) and Alphie (b. 1940), were born.
Life in Ireland, specifically life in Limerick City, during the 1930s and 1940s is described in all its grittiness. The family lived in a dilapidated, unpaved lane of houses that regularly flooded and where they shared one outdoor toilet with all their neighbors. Although his father taught the children Irish stories and songs, he was an alcoholic and seldom found work. When he did find work, he spent his pay in the pubs. His family was forced to live on the dole since he could not hold down a paying job for very long due to his alcoholism. The father would often pick up and spend the welfare payment before Angela could get her hands on it. For years the family subsisted on little more than bread and tea. They lived in fear of eternal damnation for not praying or doing devotions as often as prescribed by Roman Catholic Church authorities. Despite all the hardships, many passages of the story are told with wry humor and charm.
Frank's father eventually found a job at a defence plant in Coventry, England, yet he sent money back to his struggling family in Ireland only once. As there were few jobs for women at the time, their mother was forced to ask for help from the Church and the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. Sometimes, Frank and his brothers scavenged for lumps of coal or peat turf for fuel or stole bread in order to survive. Angela's mother (a widow) and sister refused to help because they disapproved of her husband, mostly because he was from Northern Ireland.
In the damp, cold climate of Ireland, each child had only one set of ragged clothes, patched shoes, and lacked a coat. Frank developed typhoid and was hospitalized. Later, he got a job helping a neighbor who had leg problems; he delivered coal for the neighbor and as a result developed chronic conjunctivitis. The family was finally evicted after they took a hatchet to the walls of their rented home to burn for heat. The family was forced to move in with a distant relative who treated them very badly and eventually forced a sexual relationship on Frank's mother, Angela. As a teenager, Frank worked at the post office as a telegram delivery boy and later delivered newspapers and magazines for Eason's. He also worked for the local money lender, writing threatening demand letters as a means to save enough to finally realize his dream of returning to the United States. When the money lender died, he found her hidden money, and threw her ledger of debtors into the river. The story ends with Frank's sailing into Poughkeepsie, New York, ready to begin a new life at age nineteen.
Awards and recognition
Angela's Ashes won several awards, including the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography, the 1996 National Book Critics Circle Award (Biography) and the 1997 Boeke Prize.
Controversy
Many in Limerick have claimed that McCourt's recollections of the city are inaccurate. In an interview in 2000, Richard Harris took McCourt to court over his attitude toward Limerick and the citizens of the city.
这本书字里行间充满了苦难，但是它不叫人绝望，主人公在成长着，在拼命地吸吮着苦难的乳汁成长。这成长的历程是无坚不摧的。尽管弗兰克与他的兄弟们在物质上非常贫穷，但他们总是很快乐，有很多渴望，很多梦想，很多激情，感觉很富有。令全世界无数读者为之感动。
该书平凡人的故事深深打动了数以千万的读者，并因此获得了普利策文学奖等多项大奖。本书雄踞《纽约时报》畅销书榜长达117周之久。美国《好书》杂志评论说，“这本书的成功靠的是真心被感动的读者的口口相传”。
安琪拉的灰烬-作品简介
这是一本好书；在中国当下的语境中（到处弥漫着庸俗的享乐主义），它就更是一本好书了。——著名学者、作家 曹文轩
此书能使我们中国的数量大得惊人的穷孩子们，从自己的母亲身上，发现天使的影子……——著名作家 梁晓声
我是从下午开始读这本书的。躺在床上读，读完后是凌晨四点。合上书本，我发现有两滴冰凉的眼泪挂在腮边。
我很奇怪，这本书字里行间充满了苦难，但是它不叫人绝望。我细细地琢磨着这个原因，她像有些明白了。主要公在成长着，在拼命地吸吮着苦难的乳汁成长。这成长的历程是无坚不摧的。——著名作家 高建群
教人珍惜幸福、激人迎难而上的内蕴，与引人入胜的叙事、流畅优美的文笔一起，构成了《安琪拉的灰烬》让人久读不厌的魅力。——著名文学评论家 白烨
《安琪拉的灰烬》堪称近年来少见的具有影响力而又兼具人文风格的回忆录！——《纽约时报》
很少有一本书能像《安琪拉的灰烬》这样能以苦中作乐、感伤而又不失乐观积极的精神感动读者。这本书的成功靠的不是夸大词的宣传，而是真心被感动的读者的口口相传。——美国《好书》杂志
一旦翻开这本精彩动人的书就不能歇手，非要看到弗兰克的童年结束为止。——《辛德勒名单》作者托马斯·肯尼利
【内容提要】
《安琪拉的灰烬》以幽默生动的笔法描述了一个贫民窟孩子成长与奋斗的感人经历。面对贫穷、挫折、苦难，作者迈考特则选择以乐观进取的精神与命运抗争，实现了自己的梦想，成为美国青年一代心目中自强奋斗的偶像。
这本书字里行间充满了苦难，但是它不叫人绝望，主人公在成长着，在拼命地吸吮着苦难的乳汁成长。这成长的历程是无坚不摧的。尽管弗兰克与他的兄弟们在物质上非常贫穷，但他们总是很快乐，有很多渴望，很多梦想，很多激情，感觉很富有。令全世界无数读者为之感动。
该书平凡人的故事深深打动了数以千万的读者，并因此获得了普利策文学奖等多项大奖。本书雄踞《纽约时报》畅销书榜长达117周之久。美国《好书》杂志评论说，“这本书的成功靠的是真心被感动的读者的口口相传”。
Plot summary
Born in Brooklyn, New York on 19 August 1930, Frank McCourt was the eldest son of Malachy and Angela McCourt. Frank McCourt lived in New York with his parents and four younger siblings: Malachy, born in 1931; twins Oliver and Eugene, born in 1932; and a younger sister, Margaret, who died just a few weeks after birth, in 1935. Following this first tragedy, his family moved back to Ireland, where the twin brothers died within a year of the family's arrival and where Frank's youngest brothers, Michael (b. 1936) and Alphie (b. 1940), were born.
Life in Ireland, specifically life in Limerick City, during the 1930s and 1940s is described in all its grittiness. The family lived in a dilapidated, unpaved lane of houses that regularly flooded and where they shared one outdoor toilet with all their neighbors. Although his father taught the children Irish stories and songs, he was an alcoholic and seldom found work. When he did find work, he spent his pay in the pubs. His family was forced to live on the dole since he could not hold down a paying job for very long due to his alcoholism. The father would often pick up and spend the welfare payment before Angela could get her hands on it. For years the family subsisted on little more than bread and tea. They lived in fear of eternal damnation for not praying or doing devotions as often as prescribed by Roman Catholic Church authorities. Despite all the hardships, many passages of the story are told with wry humor and charm.
Frank's father eventually found a job at a defence plant in Coventry, England, yet he sent money back to his struggling family in Ireland only once. As there were few jobs for women at the time, their mother was forced to ask for help from the Church and the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. Sometimes, Frank and his brothers scavenged for lumps of coal or peat turf for fuel or stole bread in order to survive. Angela's mother (a widow) and sister refused to help because they disapproved of her husband, mostly because he was from Northern Ireland.
In the damp, cold climate of Ireland, each child had only one set of ragged clothes, patched shoes, and lacked a coat. Frank developed typhoid and was hospitalized. Later, he got a job helping a neighbor who had leg problems; he delivered coal for the neighbor and as a result developed chronic conjunctivitis. The family was finally evicted after they took a hatchet to the walls of their rented home to burn for heat. The family was forced to move in with a distant relative who treated them very badly and eventually forced a sexual relationship on Frank's mother, Angela. As a teenager, Frank worked at the post office as a telegram delivery boy and later delivered newspapers and magazines for Eason's. He also worked for the local money lender, writing threatening demand letters as a means to save enough to finally realize his dream of returning to the United States. When the money lender died, he found her hidden money, and threw her ledger of debtors into the river. The story ends with Frank's sailing into Poughkeepsie, New York, ready to begin a new life at age nineteen.
Awards and recognition
Angela's Ashes won several awards, including the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography, the 1996 National Book Critics Circle Award (Biography) and the 1997 Boeke Prize.
Controversy
Many in Limerick have claimed that McCourt's recollections of the city are inaccurate. In an interview in 2000, Richard Harris took McCourt to court over his attitude toward Limerick and the citizens of the city.