Challenge Corner discussion

The sequel to Frank McCourt's memoir of his Irish Catholic boyhood, Angela's Ashes, picks up the story in October 1949, upon his arrival in America. Though he was born in New York, the family had returned to Ireland due to poor prospects in the United States. Now back on American soil, this awkward 19-year-old, with his "pimply face, sore eyes, and bad teeth," has little in common with the healthy, self-assured college students he sees on the subway and dreams of joining in the classroom. Initially, his American experience is as harrowing as his impoverished youth in Ireland, including two of the grimmest Christmases ever described in literature. McCourt views the U.S. through the same sharp eye and with the same dark humor that distinguished his first memoir: race prejudice, casual cruelty, and dead-end jobs weigh on his spirits as he searches for a way out. A glimpse of hope comes from the army, where he acquires some white-collar skills, and from New York University, which admits him without a high school diploma. But the journey toward his position teaching creative writing at Stuyvesant High School is neither quick nor easy. Fortunately, McCourt's openness to every variety of human emotion and longing remains exceptional; even the most damaged, difficult people he encounters are richly rendered individuals with whom the reader can't help but feel uncomfortable kinship. The magical prose, with its singing Irish cadences, brings grandeur and beauty to the most sorrowful events, including the final scene, set in a Limerick graveyard. --Wendy Smith

Parts 1, 2, 3
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Frank talks a lot about the priest being gay, how he's not gay and so he got into the military, remarks from soldiers ("Are you a fairy?"). He has a way of writing observations without really stating opinions, but it's interesting to see what he remembers and what he was observing. (hide spoiler)]

Parts 4, 5, 6
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I remember reading an article about how difficult it is to get out of poverty in America. The article stated that it is nearly impossible for a child born poor to break out of the cycle of poverty. Going to classes while working, not being aware of the social cues from peers or how to talk to professors, having a background that makes him different from those around him... Frank is living proof of the challenges of pulling yourself up into a different economic class. It makes me so happy that he pursued his education and published books and was able- hopefully- to break out of that cycle of poverty. (hide spoiler)]

Parts 7, 8, 9
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I hope Frank finds the girl for him- and one that doesn't pity him for his background or for being Irish, but one who appreciates his work ethic and romanticism. (hide spoiler)]

Parts 10- end
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Teaching is definitely not for the feint of heart. It's interesting to hear his take on the philosophies of the veteran teachers versus the young teachers. I enjoyed this book more than Angela's Ashes ... probably because I could relate to him a lot more in this book than with his experiences growing up impoverished in Ireland. I love his writing style- "write simple". It's very conversational and easy to read. (hide spoiler)]