'Tis: A Memoir | 
 enlarge | Author: Frank Mccourt
Publisher: Scribner
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  586 reviews
Sales Rank: 40283
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 368
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.8
ISBN: 0684865742
Dewey Decimal Number: 974.7100491620092
EAN: 9780684865744
ASIN: 0684865742
Publication Date: August 28, 2000
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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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| Customer Reviews: Read 581 more reviews...
 Darker than the first September 13, 2008
Frank McCourt once again takes us on a tour of his life, this time from the age of nineteen to his fifties. As with Angela's Ashes, his storytelling is quintessentially Irish, and the reader can almost hear his brogue as he tells his tale. Again, this book is full of Irish humor and sensibility, but is much darker than its prequel, Angela's Ashes. I fully expected to love this book as much as Angela's Ashes, but I had a difficult time coming to terms with the way Frank McCourt presents himself as well as his mother this time around.
Certainly, Mr. McCourt is not in this world to live up to my expectations, but I was so disappointed to learn that he had let alcohol grab hold of him even after describing how his drunken father had made his childhood and his mother's life such a misery. There's no real explanation of how he became an author - his writing is treated as an aside to everything else going on in his life, is seldom mentioned and is never discussed in detail. On the other hand, his teaching career is discussed vividly, but is a sad treatise on American education and I came away feeling as though it was a job he despised.
At long last, there is a reference to the title of his childhood memoir, something that I expected in that book but never materialized. The titles of the two books might have been better off swapped.
C.A.Wulff - author of Born Without a Tail www.yelodoggie.com
 A sometimes whiny yet heart-breaking sequel August 14, 2008
Oh my word. I don't know what most reviewers are talking about. Tis is a true gift to readers who're interested in the author's life. Angela's Ashes had more poetry while Tis has more modern day cynicism being caged to a life imposes. In transparent words, this is the book where McCourt grows up in the USA. It's about his odd and awkward days of longing for women and wondering why he was the odd one out, about days when he wanted to be disconnected from his family and despite not being poor, the author finds himself in another predicament of missing Limerick, Ireland.
Frank McCourt is my favourite author. I don't know about writing styles because I've never read many books but Tis truly broke my heart a few times and it made me laugh out loud atleast six times. In my opinion, it is a bit criminal to say that this book is better than Angela's Ashes but I must admit I enjoyed reading this even more.
Do me a favour and ignore all the negative reviews. Arm chair critics wouldn't know better.
WWII era America August 12, 2008
I thought Tis was a better read than Angela's Ashes. Being an American born in 1970, I can not relate to Ireland circa 1925 (it was apparently an awful place - move on). However, I found McCourt's historical accounts of WWII America to be fascinating reading. Americans were so openly racist back then toward every group imaginable. If anyone can claim a reason for America's greatness, it's her ability to change for the better, although Iraq is a bad example. But then again, GW Bush actually lost those two elections, so we tried. I suppose there will always be material for books, like Tis, about ugly Americans who despite themselves turn out to have functioning hearts. A sincere thank you, Frank.
Very enjoyable follow-up memoir August 2, 2008
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
Frank McCourt wrote "'Tis" as an obvious follow-up after the success of "Angela's Ashes". This second memoir is less visceral and dramatic, perhaps because it does not deal with memories of a childhood in poverty. Nevertheless, it is still engrossing and emotionally moving, full of humor and sadness, revealing the deep family feelings and the individual self of the author.
Starting with his arrival in New York City at the age of 19, McCourt describes his first shocking experience with the priest at the hotel (I could not stop laughing, although, sadly, this is not something to be taken lightly), which led to his first janitorial job in a hotel lobby. His struggle for money to sustain himself and send enough to his mother in Limerick led him to work at the docks, where he met a plethora of people and started experiencing the true New York diversity. In his pursuit of education, he discovered the library, but could not even imagine a way to get a college degree...until he was drafted to serve in the Korea war.
Never actually sent to Korea, Frank spent his army time in Germany instead, first working with dog training, and then as a clerk. He became a skilled typist, which allowed him to get a clerical job back in New York City. Another benefit of serving in the military was his entitlement to go to the university. Despite his lack of high school diploma and massive inferiority complex, Frank got a degree in English and became a teacher. In college, he met a beautiful girl, Alberta, who later became his wife (perhaps he viewed her as a challenge? A woman epitomizing everything American?). I loved his descriptions of problems with students and the school system, the family perturbations a little less so - but, all in all, "'Tis" is a great book, which reads very well and is hard to put down. I enjoyed it as much as "Angela's Ashes": in a little bit different way, but I did not expect it to be the same - the period of Frank's life here is that of a young man, and he focuses more on his personal development and experience, not so much on his family (which, anyway, is an eternal presence). Is it a typical route an immigrant could follow at that time, or highly personal? I think it is both, in a way...
I like McCourt's language, the flow of his sentences like a story told at the fireplace, his sensitivity and eye to detail. I enjoyed his view of the New York City, too.
I assume will read the third part, "Teacher Man", with equal pleasure and I am looking forward to it.
"Tis--by Frank McCourt June 18, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
I ordered this book USED/GOOD CONDITION. It came in Very good condition. I was very pleased and will not hesitate to order a used book again.
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