Angela's Ashes? The book?

Question

I've just read the book..Angela's Ashes and thought it was great. Just wanted to ask you what you thought the theme was of the book :). I thot it was about the hardness of childhood.

Answer 1

For me it was about how children are affected by the decisions of their parents.  

The children do not decide to return to Ireland, but the mother does as a whimsy because she cannot stand the idea of her child's ashes being anywhere other than Ireland.

It was tough in the US, but Ireland proved to be far tougher.  It tore the family apart and even threatened to take more children.

It is the resiliency of the children particularly the author that is able to dream of returning to the US that stands out for me.  They are the ones who take up where their parents fail, either out of laziness, pride (mother)  drunkenness or inability to cope (father).  

It's an amazing read.