The book Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt is a book of inspiration in a way. The whole entire book is depressing but the main character, Frank McCourt, did everything he had to do to survive. He always did what he believed in. There were times when he sinned, but he did what he thought was right. He always stuck up for himself, and it paid off at in long run.
The story takes place in Ireland. His father, Malachy, was an alcoholic looking for a job. He always did try hard to get a job but couldn't, and when it came to the family's little money that they had, he would spend it all on booze. This made me upset to see the McCourt family struggling to survive and see the father spend all of their money to get drunk. .
Frank had a little brother also named Malachy along with twins that both die at a very young age early on in the story. Frank was surrounded by death all of the time. It seemed like every time he got close to someone they would end up dying. Frank and his family were very strong Catholics. They live in horrible conditions, it makes me thankful for everything that I have.
Frank and his brother Malachy were picked on constantly at school for their appearance. Frank always stuck up for himself and his brother, it was sad to read about this. One of the only times I felt that Frank enjoyed himself was when he snuck into the movie theatre. Frank was a very smart kid who loved to read, the library even let him stay after it closed to let him read. This was the only time in the book that people were nice to him and showed him some respect.
The story got even more depressing when the father goes to England for work and the children have to start providing for the family. They do and the father sends no money and eventually comes home with no money because he of course drank it away. This is when Frank decides to save up his money and buy a boat ticket to America. It was good to see that Frank didn't want to rely on his father anymore and that he has made a goal.