Summarizer; Chapters 1 and 2

Of what I've read so far, which was chapters one and two, their has been a brief explanation of Frank's parent's meeting, Malachy Sr. and Angela, and a very brief explanation of their upbringing. The first chapter also starts off with this passage, on page one:

"When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I survived at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood.
. . . nothing can compare with the Irish version: the poverty; the shiftless loquacious alcoholic father; the pious defeated mother moaning by the fire; pompous priests; bullying schoolmasters; the English and the terrible things they did to us for eight hundred long years."

which is an opening to what the rest of this book will be like. After this Frank is the first born, and than Malachy a year later, and than about five years later their sister Margaret is born. Margaret brings the family so much joy in the short two weeks of her living, so much so that in her time of living their father becomes sober. Margaret quickly falls ill, most likely from malnutrition and dies, the rest is downhill from here. Angela is depressed, Malachy Sr. is back at the pubs, and when her cousins Delia And Philomena see her they request money from Angela's mother, by letter, so the family can move to Limerick.

Upon arriving in Limerick Angela's parents help out the family and find them a one room house which is very cold. Angela becomes pregnant again, this time with twins, Oliver and Eugene. Tragedy hits the family again, as Oliver dies first, and than a bit later Oliver does too. Angela is depressed again and now it is back to her and, Malachy and Frank being by themselves with Malachy Sr. drinking again.

Comment on thoughts of these first two chapters.

-Donna Wylie