This is a true story told through the eye's of the young Frank McCourt.
It starts out with meeting of Angela and Malachy (Frank's parents) in America, where both have gone to start a new prosperous life.
However, on their first meeting Angela falls pregnant (with Frank) and Malachy is pressured into marriage by Angela's relatives.
Here begins the struggles of the McCourt family and even after they move back to Ireland, things do not improve.
The harsh truths of this gripping tale are hard to take in at times and you cannot quite believe that families lived the way the McCourts did.
They become very familiar with death, yet even this is not enough to make Malachy McCourt fight for the best for his family, and he proves himself time and time again to be a selfish drunk!
Your heart goes out to Angela and the children and I think that once you have started to read this book you just have to carry on as it leaves a sad, heavy weight in your heart, which you hope will be lifted on the next page.
A truely gripping story, though not a happy one, well-written and beautifully told!