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Singing My Him Song
by
Malachy McCourt, bestselling author of A Monk Swimming, shares the extraordinary story of how he went from living the headlong and heedless life of a world-class drunk to becoming a sober, loving father and grandfather, still happily married after thirty-five years.
Bawdy and funny, naked and moving, told in the same inimitable voice that left readers all over the world won ...more
Bawdy and funny, naked and moving, told in the same inimitable voice that left readers all over the world won ...more
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Paperback, 264 pages
Published
October 16th 2001
by Harper Perennial
(first published October 3rd 2000)
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A disappointment. I wanted it to be another Angela's Ashes. It was not. But that's the failure of my expectation; others may enjoy this. Only be warned -- Malachy is not Frank, and does not write as well.
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Frank's less talented brother explains again and again why he's not such a bad chap despite drinking too much and neglecting his kids until the last chapter.
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I don't care what anyone else says. Malachy McCourt is just a good a writer as his Pulitzer prize-winning brother. His powers of description transport you right into the scene. Mostly it's a hoot, but he weaves in his battles with his dark demons in just the right balance.
I knew the book was about Malachy's recovery from alcoholism, so I was expecting more about the Twelve Steps, which I've become a fan of recently. There wasn't as much about it as I'd hoped, but what the narrative lacked in qu ...more
I knew the book was about Malachy's recovery from alcoholism, so I was expecting more about the Twelve Steps, which I've become a fan of recently. There wasn't as much about it as I'd hoped, but what the narrative lacked in qu ...more
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He ain't his brother, that's for sure.
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A sequel that's better than the original
Malachy McCourt has written an occasionally captivating look at the last forty years of his life that is replete with self reflection, without wallowing in self pity. Furthermore he shows that he can convey his tale in a terse, lyrical prose that shines more brightly than virtually anything he wrote in "A Monk Swimming". The passages that describe his careers as actor and radio talk show host and his involvement in the successful effort to close Staten Isl ...more
Malachy McCourt has written an occasionally captivating look at the last forty years of his life that is replete with self reflection, without wallowing in self pity. Furthermore he shows that he can convey his tale in a terse, lyrical prose that shines more brightly than virtually anything he wrote in "A Monk Swimming". The passages that describe his careers as actor and radio talk show host and his involvement in the successful effort to close Staten Isl ...more
Would recommend: Not really
I picked up Singing My Him Song while I went through my Frank McCourt streak, but this memoir was hardly satisfying. Some of the anecdotes were interesting, but I didn't perceive much coherence between the sections, and I was annoyed that I couldn't figure out the origin of the title. ...more
I picked up Singing My Him Song while I went through my Frank McCourt streak, but this memoir was hardly satisfying. Some of the anecdotes were interesting, but I didn't perceive much coherence between the sections, and I was annoyed that I couldn't figure out the origin of the title. ...more
This, book 2 of Malachy McCourt's memoirs, had a decidedly different tone than that of the first. Much more subdued. Oh, make no mistake, there are plenty of typical Malachy stories, but there must have been a lot of soul searching during the two years between the publishing of the two books. The roller coaster ride that has been his life has certainly had its share of low lows and this was the book that delved into some of the dark recesses where these memories had been hidden.
From reading revi ...more
From reading revi ...more
This book is a fast read and is well written, but I didn't like it. This is the first book that I have read by Malachy McCourt. I have read two of his brother's books Angela's Ashes and Tiz. I wanted to give Malachi a chance, but his book has a almost pompous, arrogant tone to it. He basically only cares about himself and whines about having no money, not seeing his kids etc. No thanks.
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So glad I followed Malachy through his second book, Singing My Him Song, but I strongly encourage fellow book lovers to read his brilliant, A Monk Swimming, before embarking on Him Song. It took 233 pages (of 244) for me to finally breathe comfortably when Malachy accepts the simple truth that "wherever you go, there you are . . . acceptance of myself as I am this day, and gratitude to whoever or whatever put me here." Thank you, Mr. McCourt for sharing your life story with me. You are an inspir
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Singing My Him Song is the sequel to A Monk Swimming, and Malachy is the brother of Frank McCourt... Now Malachy is a bit older and wiser, and finally confronts his alcohol problem... The whole atmosphere is kind of self critical, cos the book is about the journey from a bad life to a good one, and it is written from a point of view where Malachy has realized how stupid he was... All in the entire sequel is just as good as the first book, but stil not as good as Frank's books. The brothers kind
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Actually I got a third of the way through and was ill. The story of his life. Interesting? No. Written well for an uninteresting book? No. Egomaniac, super over the top senseless liberal lunatic? Yes. Really and truly a sorry actor/politician wannabe. Horrid father, alcoholic, and an important person in the New York set of the 1950's to present. Because he had a beer with Richard Harris or he passed Gloria Vanderbilt at a beer hall. I mean really terrible book. Really. Terrible. Book. What a was
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The second book from Frank McCourt’s younger but wilder brother, who was a minor celebrity in New York in the days of live television (and who later became a soap actor). A hard drinker and saloon-keeper, he had all sorts of mad stories in the first book. This one shows the flipside of chronic alcoholism and his fight to sobriety, which is fine as far as it goes, but he’s not introspective enough to make it feel universal. Probably should have stayed in his shrink’s notebooks.
The follow-up, which brings us up to today, to A Monk Swimming. Much easier to read, or less tragic: he gets a grip on his alcoholism & his marriage in this one. Finally.
It's interesting that I liked his second book better, while I preferred his brother's first book (Angela's Ashes) over his second. Maybe it's because it seems that Malachy has come to terms with life more completely than his brother, at least when comparing the two 'second' books. ...more
It's interesting that I liked his second book better, while I preferred his brother's first book (Angela's Ashes) over his second. Maybe it's because it seems that Malachy has come to terms with life more completely than his brother, at least when comparing the two 'second' books. ...more
Another notch in my McCourt brothers book saga...and I loved it...as always. Probably that Irish thing, but I loved the stories and flowery words and that you almost have to have a Thesaurus handy to get through it. The brutal honesty about oneself, the historically self deprecating tone of Irish humor. On to read the History of Ireland as told my Malachy to round out my March Madness of Irish reading!
Well, I disagreed with a lot of what he had to say sometimes, but that's ok. It's good to expand your horizons a little, and McCourt's book is interesting at least. (I haven't read Angela's Ashes yet, so I can't and won't compare him to his brother.) It was a pretty good read, and at times very witty.
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Another great book by the McCourt brothers! If anyone is going to read something by these two for the first time I'd definitely read Angela's Ashes first by Frank McCourt as it kind of starts the whole story out for you and gets you sucked in. After reading Ashes I just had to know everything I could find out about the rest of their family life.
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I wanted this to be good. And because I felt like I knew him from his brother's Angela's Ashes, I kept rooting for Malachy to tell me a good story. But it just didn't happen. I gave up about half way through.
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I love the books by the McCourt brothers! I was especially fond of Frank McCourt's writing, and this book made me think a lot more positively of Malachy McCourt! I'm really tempted to try to find some of his movies or TV shows! I feel like I know him now!
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Gave it a couple of chances, but could not get through the writing style, or was the author too distant from his recovery as an alcoholic -- or too close? I jumped through the chapters, browsing for bits that I liked and flagged this one :unfinished business so I can get if off my bookshelf.
Enjoyed, Malachy's honesty and humor dealing with his mistakes and conquests. Bits of his brutal childhood leaked into adulthood but he plugged on. Learning from what didn't work, his later life gave him love and contentment.
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McCourt's description of the difficult battle he had in overcoming the twin demons of alcoholism and his less-than-perfect childhood did not ever quite engage me. My native distrust of memoirs may be to blame.
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If you've read Angela's Ashes, you must read Tis. It's so amazing to see the other brothers story of his life. He was so completely different from Frank, and the lifestyle he lived was so crazy!!
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Malachy is no shirk of writer also. Brilliant verbal play remind me of the Wodehousian heritage of both McCourt brothers.
I love Malachy McCourt, and wish he had written 20 more books. His style, his humor, and his amazing storytelling ability makes this book well worth the effort.
Something beautiful in the way he writes...
Another amazing book by a McCourt brother. I can't get enough of these guys!!
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Kind of self-indulgent. Hate to compare, but I like brother Frank's style better. The second Malachy McCourt installment made me appreciate his work so much more.
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I liked this one better than A Monk Swimming. It seemed less forced. However, I still prefer "the other McCourt brother."
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Not quite the writer his brother, Frank, is. Still, it's a good read about his own journey through poverty, immigration, alcoholism, and search for self.
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Malachy Gerard McCourt is an Irish-American actor, writer and politician. He was the 2006 Green party candidate for governor in New York State, losing to the Democratic candidate Eliot Spitzer. He is the younger brother of Frank McCourt.
Malachy McCourt also wrote two memoirs titled A Monk Swimming and Singing my Him Song, detailing his life in Ireland and later return to the United States where de ...more
Malachy McCourt also wrote two memoirs titled A Monk Swimming and Singing my Him Song, detailing his life in Ireland and later return to the United States where de ...more
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“The first item on a spiritual agenda is that I am not what I do, that I am what I am, and therefore I am a walking miracle, on a daily basis.”
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