This memoire of a poverty striken and chaotic childhood in Ireland is brutally honest and sad. WHile I believe that it has been over-praised a bit, it has a distinctive writing style that is very enjoyable. There are many details that stick in the mind: his discovery that his mother begged in secret, the smell of the sewer next to their aprtment, their dog eating the only bit of meat in the house before they could grab it. Well worth the read.