Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of A Monk Swimming : A Memoir

A Monk Swimming : A Memoir


This bestselling memoir tells the story of Malachy McCourt, who left a childhood of poverty in Limerick, Ireland, heading for the promise of America. Armed with savage humor and a gift for storytelling, he ran from the memories of a druken, vanished father and the humiliations of Angela, his mother.

He arrives in new Tork - a dark glittering place, with saloons on every corner, and a new story waiting every night. Larger than life, a world-class drinker, McCourt carved out a place for himself: in the saloons, as the 1st celebrity bartender; on stage, performing the works of James Joyce and Brendan Behan; and on television, where the tales he spun made him a Tonight Show regular......