Monk Swimming

In this “irresistible memoir that’s equal parts pathos and belly laughs,” the Irish American writer and actor shares stories from his first decade in the US (People).

Malachy McCourt left behind a childhood of poverty and painful memories of his father and mother in Limerick, Ireland, when he followed his brother, Frank, to America in 1952.

In A Monk Swimming, McCourt recounts the decade that followed. With not much to his name other than his sharp wit and knack for storytelling, McCourt was unsure what he would do after arriving in New York City. He worked as a longshoreman on the Brooklyn docks, became the first celebrity bartender in a Manhattan saloon, performed on stage with the Irish Players, and told tales to Jack Paar on The Tonight Show.

Although McCourt gained success, money, women, and, eventually, children of his own, he still carried memories of the past with him. So, he fled again. He found himself in the Manhattan Detention Complex, otherwise known as the Tombs. He was arrested several times: poolside in Beverly Hills, in Zurich with gold-smugglers, and again in Calcutta with sex workers. McCourt’s journey also took him to Paris, Rome, and even Limerick again, until finally he was forced to grapple with his past.

“[A] funny, oddly winning book.” —The New York Times

“A rollicking good read that, as the Irish say, would make a dead man laugh.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer

“A triumphant tale. . . . You will find yourself laughing through the tears.” —Newsday

“Howlingly funny.” —Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Build[s] on the story of the McCourts’ early life so dazzlingly told in Angela’s Ashes by his brother Frank.” —Thomas Keneally, author of the international bestseller Schindler’s List