I read that book when it first came out and I must say I enjoyed it, the vicious attacks on the Church not withstanding. He has a knack for writing from the child's eye. I still smile when I think of his father coming home in the middle of the night, waking up the boys, lining them up like soldiers in the kitchen, and making them swear to die for Ireland. As I recall, he gets a little confused because he had just sworn in catechism class to die for Holy Mother Church. Oh man, such weighty demands for a young boy!
It saddens me though, to see how literature has become so politicized. This book, while it is good writing, is really a veiled political tract. I don't believe him when he describes certain actions and attitudes of the priests in Ireland, particularly the Christian Brothers. He obviously hates them with a passion and this book was a chance for him to ventilate.
James Joyce attacked the Church in a similar way in Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. But at least Joyce did it in a way that was humorous and fun to read. For example, there is a part in the book when one of his Jesuit teachers comes in to teach the class about hell, or Hell, as Catholics say. This very vivid Jesuit description of Hell goes on for seven pages and describes in great detail the torments, odors, time span, etc. of being in Hell. It is LOL funny.
McCourt can't touch writing like this. Joyce attacked the Church with gusto, but he always kept in mind that this is literature. McCourt, like so many modern writers allow political concerns to taint his writing. We all lose when art of any kind is politicized. I don't think we'll ever get great literature as long as contemporary political concerns are emphasized.
CharleyMane (the guy formerly known as Charles Hennessey) |
