Product Description

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. Bejesus, isn't America a great and wonderful country?" His older brother Frank's Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir, Angela's Ashes, took its somber tone from the bleak atmosphere of those slums, while Malachy's boisterous recollections are fueled 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 States as adults. This book covers the decade 1952-63, when Malachy roistered across the U.S., 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, a semiregular stint on the Tonight show hosted by Jack Paar, and friendships with some well-heeled, well-born types who shared his fondness for saloon life and bankrolled him in an East Side saloon that 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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #998019 in Books
• Published on: 1999-06-02
• Format: Bargain Price
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Amazon.com 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. Bejesus, isn't America a great and wonderful country?" His older brother Frank's Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir, Angela's Ashes, took its somber tone from the bleak atmosphere of those slums, while Malachy's boisterous recollections are fueled 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 States as adults. This book covers the decade 1952-63, when Malachy roistered across the U.S., 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, a semiregular stint on the Tonight show hosted by Jack Paar, and friendships with some well-heeled, well-born types who shared his fondness for saloon life and bankrolled him in an East Side saloon that 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.

From Library Journal
Taking up where brother Frank left off, McCourt recounts his early days in New York. The title comes from McCourt's youthful misunderstanding of the phrase amongst women in the Hail Mary.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Coat-tailing the success of brother and performance partner Frank McCourt, author of Angela's Ashes (1996), Malachy weighs in with his own memoir, recounting his raucous early days in the U.S. Picking up after the childhood so vividly described in Angela's Ashes, A Monk Swimming (a mishearing of the Hail Mary phrase "Blessed art thou amongst women") recounts the unlikely tales of Malachy's serendipitous success as an actor and a bar owner after arriving in New York penniless and uneducated. Amidst tales of his drinking and general carousing with the likes of Peter O'Toole, Richard Burton, Jack Paar, and Robert Mitchum, Malachy also tells of his unexpected meeting with the queen of England, rooming with a psychotic socialite, and disastrous first marriage and inability to accept its demise. By far the most interesting section is the vivid portrayal of smuggling gold bars from Zurich to India, which he did when desperate for a job. The language and storytelling have the indelible Irish lilt and genius for irony. They range from understated to downright scatological, and they are always paced for maximum payoff. The success of Frank's book and the huge media blitz for this one should make it a much-requested title, but those who appreciated the profundity of Angela's Ashes will be disappointed by this less meaty memoir. Kevin Grandfield

Customer Reviews

An entertaining tale
This is the memoirs of the larger than life, hard-drinking Malachy McCourt. Born in America, rasied in Ireland and then back to New York as an teen. He made a name for himself in New York city as the first celebrity bartender. He was a social mixer, a writer, an actor of stage and screen. His gift for blarney made him a regular on the Tonight Show.

This book is darkly funny. And a bit raw in places, so be warned. But he does tell his story with passion, wit, irreverence and charm. This was a fun read.

Dealing with the Past: A Less Romantic View
In "A Monk Swimming," Malachy McCourt recounts stories of his less-than-mature response to his awful childhood. His brother Frank, on the other hand, gives us a more refined, crafted, and artistic story. Both versions are worth reading. It's interesting to see how two related people emerged so differently from the same circumstances.

I like that Malachy McCourt gives no excuses for his behavior. He's a pretty objective recorder of his exploits; he doesn't pretty them up. He admits he drank too much, abandoned his wife and kids, and searched for some peace (unsuccessfully) through sex. He doesn't glorify himself; at the end, I was left with sadness. He closes with a description of his father and the pain of that relationship. This final chapter is the explanation (though not an excuse) for the rest of the exploits in the book.

Frank McCourt is the philosopher while Malachy is the bad kid who has no qualms about telling it like it is. When I read Malachy's version of McCourt history, I thought, 'Ok, poverty is not some romantic world where everyone ends up spouting gorgeous poetry and coming to terms with their past.' Malachy has humor, audacity, and a flare for hyperbole - all these the qualities of a good Irish storyteller. These are stories I could imagine hearing while sitting a bar - stories that are enlarged and enhanced upon each telling. Malachy clearly captures a time and place and a character (himself). Some might not like who he is, but he provides a vivid picture of who he is. He captures, by recounting his escapades, his own tortured response to his childhood.

An Interesting Book About A Stereotypical Drunken Irishman.
Being half Irish myself, I'm pretty sick of seeing the Irish portrayed as drunken louts. So imagine how surprised I was to find that the loveable little Malachy I read about in Angela's Ashes had come to America as a teen and become a drunken troublemaker.

The book lovingly recounts McCourt's many (VERY MANY) drunken rampages through New York, Ireland, Calcutta (Smuggling Gold), and London, drinking, whoring, and making trouble in stereotypical fashion. I didn't take long for me to start hating Malachy; Watching him float through life, mooching off of others, never doing an honest day's work, drinking up other people's money...it was sickening. But compelling. It was tough to see him repeating the mistakes of his Father.

But....he does tell a good story, and he had an unusual life, that's for sure. There are some funny moments, and overall, despite my distaste for him as a person, the book is worth reading for people who are interested in the McCourt Family.