A Monk Swimming by Malachy McCourt

 

"Now I’m resolved to try it, I’ll live on a moderate diet,

 I’ll not drink and will deny it, And shun each alehouse door, 

For that’s the place they tell us, We meet with all jovial good fellows, 

But I swear by the poker and bellows, I’ll never get drunk anymore. 

A man that’s fond of boozing, His cash goes daily oozing,

His character he’s losing, And its loss he will deplore.

His wife is unprotected, His business is neglected, 

Himself is disrespected, So I’ll not get drunk anymore."

     -OLD TEMPERANCE SONG, quoted in the memoir

This was a free eBook which I selected because I am such a fan of Frank McCourt, Malachy's brother. I must admit it produced some laughs, but I didn't appreciate it as much as Frank's memoirs. Of course, since they grew up together, their background is the same---growing up Catholic and poor in Limerick, Ireland with a drunken, no-good father and making their way to America as young men. 

It seems to me, Malachy squandered much of his early adult years with drunken philandering and gallivanting the globe smuggling gold. His vocabulary was rather amazing---I learned some new words, but the editing of the book was poor. It was sometimes hard to determine if something strange was his Irish lingo or an error in the publication. His story is irreverent, even sacrilegious at times. The quote above came late in the book, if only Malachy had followed that advice much sooner! According to the Author's Note, he turned his life around in later years.

I am left wondering: what does the title mean? There is no monk and no swimming!  I mentioned earlier, the memoir was quite humorous, and the style was unique, but I wouldn't look for another by this author. My rating is 3.