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'Tis: A Memoir |  | Author: Frank McCourt
Publisher: Scribner
Category: Book
List Price: $16.00
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Seller: thrift_books
Rating:  610 reviews
Sales Rank: 9487
Media: Paperback
Pages: 368
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.9
ISBN: 0684865742
Dewey Decimal Number: 974.7100491620092
EAN: 9780684865744
ASIN: 0684865742
Publication Date: August 28, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
'Tis a blessing that the author narrates his own work. McCourt follows up his Audie Award-winning performance in Angela's Ashes with another brilliant reading as he chronicles his return to post-World War II New York. Like all good storytellers, McCourt has good stories to tell; 'Tis pulses with grim adversity and quiet triumphs--character-shaping moments that gain the listener's empathy. What makes McCourt a great storyteller is his ability to give these moments just the right amount of humor and perspective. His lyrical tones are wise but not weary; he's survived life's challenges to tell his tale. And while it may be trite to credit McCourt's verbal skills to his Irish heritage, these war stories were undoubtedly polished amongst friends in the pubs. 'Tis is Grammy material, and a perfect example of how an author's voice can enhance the written word. (Running time: 6 hours, 4 cassettes) --Rob McDonald
Product Description
Frank McCourt's glorious childhood memoir, Angela's Ashes, has been loved and celebrated by readers everywhere for its spirit, its wit and its profound humanity. A tale of redemption, in which storytelling itself is the source of salvation, it won the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Rarely has a book so swiftly found its place on the literary landscape. And now we have 'Tis, the story of Frank's American journey from impoverished immigrant to brilliant teacher and raconteur. Frank lands in New York at age nineteen, in the company of a priest he meets on the boat. He gets a job at the Biltmore Hotel, where he immediately encounters the vivid hierarchies of this "classless country," and then is drafted into the army and is sent to Germany to train dogs and type reports. It is Frank's incomparable voice -- his uncanny humor and his astonishing ear for dialogue -- that renders these experiences spellbinding. When Frank returns to America in 1953, he works on the docks, always resisting what everyone tells him, that men and women who have dreamed and toiled for years to get to America should "stick to their own kind" once they arrive. Somehow, Frank knows that he should be getting an education, and though he left school at fourteen, he talks his way into New York University. There, he falls in love with the quintessential Yankee, long-legged and blonde, and tries to live his dream. But it is not until he starts to teach -- and to write -- that Frank finds his place in the world. The same vulnerable but invincible spirit that captured the hearts of readers in Angela's Ashes comes of age. As Malcolm Jones said in his Newsweek review of Angela's Ashes, "It is only the best storyteller who can so beguile his readers that he leaves them wanting more when he is done...and McCourt proves himself one of the very best." Frank McCourt's 'Tis is one of the most eagerly awaited books of our time, and it is a masterpiece.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 610
 Tis Not Angela, Nor Should It, Or Could It Be November 25, 1999
taking a rest
99 out of 104 found this review helpful
Angela's Ashes was a unique accomplishment on many levels. Tis was doomed before it ever came out because it would suffer by comparison. However, this is still a great read by an interesting man who has great sensitivity to dialogue, and makes some stinging social observations with great subtlety. The books cannot be compared unless you have strong feelings about the skill the writer had, or did not have in either volume. Is the language rougher, yes, this is a man describing his life, not a child. Does he have opinions that are black and white, with little room for gray at times, yes. Part of the problem with moving from one book to the next, is that the memories of a child, and terrible memories at that, are a powerful force to draw you in, and cause one to feel great sympathy and pain for the child. Then the child becomes a man, and it's much more difficult to carry the same empathy from the first book to the second. In fact I don't think it is possible. If you have read neither book, read this first, and then Angela's Ashes. The books change dramatically when you do. The harsh criticism of the man becomes infinitely more complex and difficult if you learn of the childhood that was his formative years. Most autobiographies, or biographies cover a life, not pieces of a life that in this case are still unfolding. The abrupt change from book one to book two is caused, I believe, because they are bound separately. If he had covered the same period in his life with a single book it would have been more comfortable for the reader. I am glad that he did break his life up, as Angela's Ashes will forever remain a book that will gain the title of a "Classic". Book one was brilliant, it was the author's first, it won The Pulitzer, it one other awards, it is about to be shown as a major motion picture. There is no one that can follow that act #1. Frank McCourt is a great writer who I wish had come to us sooner. I hope he lives to be a hundred so I may selfishly read as much as possible of what he writes.
You can hear his voice May 24, 2000
Brekkie
16 out of 17 found this review helpful
I was excited when this book came along because it meant that I could revisit Frank and continue hearing his facinating story. I think the brilliance of it is the narrative in which it is written. You hear his voice in every sentence; you hear him as he spoke in whatever stage of his life he was in. It's just a wonderful read and, although his story is mostly a string of tragedies posing as birthdays gone by, it's a story of hope. Hope because despite all he had been through he still managed to become what he wanted to be and has succeeded. And to do that and still retain a sense of humor is amazing. Saying anything more about the actual book's contents would do a browsing customer a great injustice. This is just simply a book you have to buy. That is, of course, AFTER you order and read Angela's Ashes.
Tis' will touch your heart December 9, 1999
M. Tosko
15 out of 16 found this review helpful
I appraoached Frank McCourt's sequel to Angela's Ashes with trepidation, believing it would be tough for this book to come close to the power and understated beauty of its predecessor. However, beginning Tis made me feel like I had never put Angela's Ashes down. This is a wonderful book in its own right, and anyone who enjoyed Angela's Ashes won't want to miss this. The setting is different but the narrative voice and expression are the same. We see McCourt wrestle with the difficulties of teaching literature to high school kids, which seems to be much more difficult for him than it was to initially survive in America on his own as a young immigrant. There are many passages in this book that I found myself reading over and over, or aloud to anyone in the room there to listen. I simply loved this book and can't wait to see what McCourt will come up with next.
Fantastic book! March 1, 2000
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
I don't understand why so many people seem to see Frank a failure as a teacher. As a teacher myself, I understand exactly what he went through in the schools. His "humor" and "irreverence" towards his students & their "attitudes" is very typical of all teachers--good and bad, and anyone who thinks it isn't, is very out of touch with our American education system. His description of his students was very realistic, and I got the impression that he was a very effective teacher, considering that the majority of kids in this country today have to be "entertained" in order to be "taught." I would be interested in hearing some reviews from his former students? How about it? Are you out there?
The Dream You Wish You Hadn't Woken Up From October 27, 2000
Kira Christie (St. Louis, MO USA)
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
I thought 'Tis was a magnificent book and a great complement to Angela's Ashes. Frank McCourt has many strengths. He has the ability to incorporate dialogue into his story and keep the flow extremely smooth. When reading 'Tis I felt like McCourt and all of his friends were acting out their lives in front of me. The images McCourt created were so vivid. Even though McCourt and I come from different backgrounds I could relate to many of his feelings, his uneasiness with dancing, his approach to education. I felt like his feelings were so honest, he included the "good" and "bad" things he felt, from being faithful to his mother to the women at the refugee camp. 'Tis is a story about human nature, with none of the facts or feelings left out, it is painfully honest. McCourt's humor is also unmistakable, his Irish blood shines through his writing! I enjoyed reading about his teaching experiences. I am a student, and I was reminded that teachers have families, pasts, and lives as well as their students. On completing the book, I read a review by Robert Sullivan (Vogue) that was a perfect example of how I felt throughout the book "...funny, sad as hell, written with sentences that seem to come from the dream you wish you hadn't woken up from..." The book's ending disturbed me in that I am still hungry to find out the next chapter of McCourt's life. I'm wondering what happened after Stuyvesant, what happened to Alberta? Maggie?
Showing reviews 1-5 of 610
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