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A Monk Swimming
 
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A Monk Swimming (Paperback)

by Malachy McCourt (Author)
3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 304 pages
  • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd; New edition edition (2 Aug 1999)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0006531156
  • ISBN-13: 978-0006531159
  • Product Dimensions: 20 x 12.9 x 1.9 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 230,159 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Slapped with a libel suit after an appearance on a talk show, Malachy McCourt crows, "If they could only see me now in the slums of Limerick, a big shot, sued for a million. Be jesus, isn't America a great and wonderful country?" His older brother Frank's Pulitzer Prize- winning memoir, Angela's Ashes, took its sombre tone from the bleak atmosphere of those slums, while Malachy's boisterous recollections are fuelled by his zestful appreciation for the opportunities and oddities of his native land. He and Frank were born in Brooklyn, moved with their parents to Ireland as children, then returned to the US as adults. This book covers the decade 1952-1963, when Malachy roistered across the US, Europe and Asia, but spent most of his time in New York City. There his ready wit and quick tongue won him an acting job with the Irish Players and a semi-regular stint on the Tonight show hosted by Jack Paar. And his friendships with some well- heeled, well-born types , who shared his fondness for saloon life, bankrolled him in an East Side saloon, which may have been the first singles bar. He chronicles those events--and many others--with back-slapping bonhomie. Although McCourt acknowledges the personal demons that pursued him from his poverty-stricken childhood and destroyed his first marriage, this is on the whole an exuberant autobiography that pays tribute to the joys of a freewheeling life. --Amazon.com


Review

'One of the funniest books I've ever read. Everyone should rush to buy it' Irish News 'A drunken exhilarating version of the American dream' The Observer 'One grows to like Mr McCourt for his honesty, sympathise with him for his struggle! and laugh and sweat with him when the authorities seem to be closing in! a funny, oddly winning book' New York Times
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Customer Reviews

24 Reviews
5 star:
 (7)
4 star:
 (5)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (7)
1 star:
 (5)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.1 out of 5 stars (24 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Not every Irish Man has the 'gift of the gab'!, 11 Aug 2004
After reading 'Angela's Ashes' and the sequel 'Tis' I felt pleasantly surprised when I discovered that Malachy McCourt had also published an autobiography. Prerhaps naively I assumed that 'A Monk Swimming' would somehow fill my craving for more laughs that'Angela's Ashes' provided! Yet, Malachy McCourt writes with an air of arrogance, and an all too common and frankly, a distaseful contempt for the English, which is far too prevalent among many Irish Writers. One example of this ocurrs in the preface when he shows 'gratitude' to the English "who for five-hundred-years stuffed their language down our throats, which we regurgitated with glorious chourus"! Not in your case Malachy! If his swipes at the English were not bad enough, he seemed determined to complicate his syntax, which was so confused at times, that I failed to follow what was going on! All in All, if you feel compelled to read this book, then by all means do, and form your own opinion because I am interested to see what other people make of it.
If you want a great autobiographical read, why not try Kathleen Dayus who combines humour with tragedy so astutely, that it makes her books gripping reads.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Dismal, 5 April 2001
By A Customer
Having read Angelas Ashes and Tis by Frank McCourt I decided that maybe Malachy McCourt could offer something of similar literary genious. I have never been so dissappointed!! It may be unfair of me to review this book as the writing style annoyed me so much I read little more than the first 50 pages.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars A disappointment, 4 Jul 2003
By A Customer
I bought this book after the cripplingly funny "Angela's Ashes", written by McCourt's brother.
I admit I haven't read the whole of "Monk Swimming". I simply couldn't find the interest after a chapter or two. It was painful, a sort of display of professional Irishness. With a bit of subtlety, this can be humorous (as in "Ashes"), but without it, it's simply tedious.
Admittedly, however, it is difficult to maintain humour for any distance. The companion volume to "Ashes", 'Tis, came nowhere near the almost brutally funny earlier volume.
Is McCourt perhaps trading on the family name? I don't know - or care very much. The title, as far as I can judge, is perhaps the funniest part of the book. Anyone with an RC education, above all with an Irish tinge, will recognise the reference.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars my favourite book
i can't put my finger on why, but I love this book. The story is genuinely interesting and in parts it is very funny. I would recommend this book to anyone!
Published 1 month ago by Mr. T. Coverdale

1.0 out of 5 stars Once I started this, I found it hard to pick it up
Let me begin by saying I am Irish. I don't know who the target audience for this book was, maybe the IRA fundraisers in the US? His rants against the Brits are so outdated... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Chris Parsons

4.0 out of 5 stars Yes, different from Frank
Malachy McCourt tells his story in a much different tone of voice than his older brother. Like Frank, he raises a smile in his readers but it's a cheeky one. Read more
Published 21 months ago by MYB74

2.0 out of 5 stars "Drunk" does not equal "clever" (or indeed "funny")
A very boring book about a drunk Irish bloke who thinks it is funny to go on a four day drinking bender when his kids are born. Read more
Published on 30 Jan 2006 by Mr. Simon Watson

5.0 out of 5 stars laugh-out-loud funny
It's a rare thing for me to laugh aloud from a book, but Mr McCourt managed it. some great scenes and one-liners in here. Read more
Published on 11 Jul 2005

4.0 out of 5 stars He must have kissed the Blarney Stone ...
Malachy McCourt's collection of yarns about his early years in the States make a hilarious read. Irreverent, boisterous and shrillingly anti-British, he regales us with tale... Read more
Published on 13 May 2002 by charlettday@hotmail.com

2.0 out of 5 stars Definitely put-downable
Entertaining, but technically not very well written as a book. McCourt would have done better to write these vignettes as short stories. Read more
Published on 2 May 2001

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting
i found this book to be very captive. It was very witty through out it and showed great inside to the mans head. Makes good reading.
Published on 27 Feb 2001

1.0 out of 5 stars 1 Star too many.
I cannot express how much I hated this book. The writing style made me want to throw it across the room, if I wasn't afraid of hitting someone I might have done just that... Read more
Published on 16 Jan 2001

2.0 out of 5 stars not as good as his brothers book
I was a bit dubious about this book as some people had expressed comments. I read Angelas ashes in 24 hours and loved it. I liked this book but not a patch on it. Read more
Published on 6 Jan 2001

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