“Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood. Worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood.” No book review of Angela’s Ashes is complete without quoting these opening lines, because in them lies the promise of an engaging and poignant story. Frank McCourt’s memoir of his childhood takes you to the damp slums of Limerick where you look in the houses of the poorest of the poor. The descriptions of the living…
