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7858
@7858.eth
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Angela’s Ashes
Frank McCourt tells the story of growing up in a poor, dysfunctional family in Brooklyn and Limerick.
The author’s grace, humor, and empathy elevate this book above the standard crop of poverty porn memoirs, even those that share its S tier writing and storytelling.
It’s mystifying to me how someone could so effectively convey that much pathos, despite having clearly matured and recovered so completely.
But somehow he manages to, and the result for the reader is that you feel McCourt’s pain deeply, but without the emotional hangover that often accompanies this type of book.
I think part of it is that the Irish as a culture are especially well equipped to process sadness and misery. But there’s something singular about McCourt, even in that cultural context.
Your heart breaks as you see Frank coming to understand his dad’s “odd manner,” but you don’t feel like offing yourself after.
The audiobook is read by McCourt, strongly recommended.
Five stars, a masterpiece. 1 reply
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The Two Towers
JRRT packs two separate books into one volume.
The first is the story of everyone other than Frodo, Sam, and Gollum. Merry and Pippin get captured by orcs, escape, meet the ents, and go with them to Isengard to fight Saruman. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli follow hot on their heels, meeting the riders of Rohan and a resurrected Gandalf on the way. And then the good guys all smash up the bad guys at Helm’s Deep. Peak LOTR.
The second book is the story of Frodo, Sam, and Gollum advancing the ring roughly from Moria to Mordor. That’s the slowest, weakest section of the entire series. I think the whole series, but this book in particular, would benefit from heavy abridging.
I’m not going to try to sell anyone on reading this. You probably already know if you should. It’s fantasy canon, outside the world of recommendation and rating.
I will say that my boys still fight imaginary orcs many months after finishing these, so they’re definitely still relevant. 4 replies
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