The Mammy by Brendan O'Carroll
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Book Reviews of The Mammy
Book Review: Without Qualification, Flawless
Summary: 5 Stars
The photograph on the cover of this book is spectacular, and everything Mr. Brendon O'Carroll includes within is wonderful! This Irish tale is unlike any other I have read. The book is not cluttered with Irish cliché's, which even if true to one degree or another, can nonetheless become tiresome. It has often been said that there are no happy endings in an Irish tale, and while this is the first installment of three, it would take multiple disasters to change the overall mood of this Family and Friends.The story is about two female friends, the joy they share, their everyday lives, and the pain that all relationships eventually suffer. However this friendship is not subject to damage or limitation. The dialogue is a riotous tear from beginning to end. Your own laughter will continually interrupt your page turning, but the intrusions are part of the fun. The characters laugh until they hold their sides, and you will be as well as Mr. O'Carroll's dialogue is brilliant. There is a scene when a driving lesson is to take place. If I have read better humor I cannot remember what it was.
The wonderful part of the laughter in this book is that it is not only for covering the pain of daily life. The lives you encounter are far from consistently ideal, but the laughter and joy these women share and spread is genuine, not dark, and not meant as emotional misdirection.
This is a brief work, however the Author managed to include so much more than emotional extremes. The 15-year-old eldest son of Agnes meets a man who offers him money for a job that makes no sense to the boy. Think of every negative direction this opening can take and then forget them all. Mr. O'Carroll takes this vignette within, "Mammy", and shows so much of what Humanity could be. The beauty of this mini-tale is that it is not the naïve thoughts of wide-eyed youth. It is a look at how people should treat each other, what should be important when we meet someone, and most importantly how foolish our normal reactions routinely are.
This is one very talented man with a pen, and he made this Christmas a memorable one for me.
Book Review: A bit o' the Irish for ye reading
Summary: 5 Stars
Legend has it that if you capture a leprechaun, he will bring you good luck. Brendan O'Carroll must have had the luck of the wee people with him when he wrote The Mammy, a truly hilarious book. O'Carroll, who acted in the film Angela's Ashes, wrote The Mammy as the first in an upcoming series of three. His debut novel hits its mark with every joke and captures the essence of working-class Ireland.
The series centers on a widowed mother, Agnes Browne, and her seven children, all living in Dublin, Ireland in the 1960s. Her youngest son, a toddler, speaks little but repeats every curse word he hears. Her oldest son tries to seduce girls with licorice and finds himself plagued by a number of puberty-related problems.
The Mammy opens with what could be a heartbreaking scene of loss and sorrow: the death of Browne's husband. But with apt amounts of Irish wit, O'Carroll turns the funeral scene into a hilarious escapade that leaves Browne cursing her late spouse.
The funeral parties get backed up entering the cemetery, so Browne loses track of which coffin belongs to her husband. Without realizing it, she follows the wrong body and is surprised when she sees another woman crying by the gravesite. Without a second's thought, Browne assumes the grieving woman is her late husband's mistress and mutters "'Yeh dirty bastard" under her breath.
Another comical scene ensues when Browne attacks a nun with a cucumber and ends up in court - all because of a pair of knickers. The tale itself is nearly as funny as when Browne has to explain it to the judge. Soon, her only daughter takes the stand and, with a little Irish luck, Browne wins the case.
In The Mammy, Agnes Browne becomes an every-woman, the ultimate mother and friend. She manages her children (a wild brood), helps her friend through cancer and handles her husband's death with grace. And through O'Carroll's imaginative writing, just about everything Browne does is funny.
In the end, the book itself becomes a little treasure lying at the end of an Irish rainbow.
Book Review: The Mammy is a JOY!
Summary: 5 Stars
I picked up this book when I was looking for something different to read and based solely on the cover blurbs, and was NOT disappointed! This was one of the funniest, sweetest, most charming books I've read in YEARS!! I began the book on a NYC subway, where I do all my best reading, and was laughing out loud within the first few pages. Now, for those of you not familiar with NYC, the subway is NOT a place where one wants to draw attention to ones self. A woman finally tapped me on the shoulder and asked what book I was reading, she HAD to get it if it was that funny (I hope she did and I hope she's enjoyed it as much as I). By the end of the book I was totally in love with Agnes Browne and her family.
Brendan O'Carroll has a gift for telling a story and he's told a wonderful one in "The Mammy". He weaves sights, sounds, people, and places into an enjoyable tale of a young, widowed mother of seven very different, but all loving, children. He also has something a lot of male writers don't have, a strong feel for women. The conversations between Agnes and Marion are believable, there are things best friends talk about with eachother that they'd NEVER discuss with anyone else. Especially in 1967 Ireland. And O'Carroll has captured it here.
Be warned though...The Mammy is not all laughs. As in real life there are some tears to be shed and you've a cold heart if you don't shed a few for Agnes and her family and friends. But it's the tears that make it all the more real.
I've recommended this book to dozens of people I know (and bought copies for my closest friends) and not a one has been disappointed and they've all thanked me for introducing them to Agnes Browne and her family. Though a few may have grumbled about staying up all night reading it all, because they just HAD to see what was going to happen next!
Do yourself a favor, BUY this book...And if you don't fall in love with Agnes and her brood, then hurry make an appointment with the doctor, because you've obviously misplaced your heart.
Book Review: I can't wait to read the rest of the series!
Summary: 5 Stars
THE MAMMY by Brendan O'Carroll
April 7, 2007
Amazon Rating 5/5 stars
I loved THE MAMMY by Brendan O'Carroll. It's funny, sad, and inspirational all in one. THE MAMMY in some ways reminded me of ANGELA'S ASHES by Frank McCourt, in that both take place in Ireland and both focus on poverty and ill fortune, but told with a light hearted and often times funny voice.
The Mammy is Agnes Browne, who at the start of this novel is a newly made widow. Her husband Redser Browne had just died, and she is doing what she needs to do, file the papers so she can get the money from the government due to her, the widow.
I have to say that every little thing that happens in this book, there is a funny spin on it, as Agnes always looks at the bright side of life, no matter how dark things become. And no matter how hard things get for Agnes, she stays strong. She's got seven children to feed and it's not easy. Her oldest acts like he's the new man of the house, and each of the other children have their own distinct personalities that makes this story richer. Agnes makes a living by selling produce on Moore Street, standing next to her best friend Marion. Between the two of them, the laughs come fast and hard, even when Marion's health is on the line.
THE MAMMY is just one of four in this series of books about a poor Irish family living in the heart of "the Jarro". I can't wait to read the rest of the series.
Book Review: "The Mammy" is a very touching, heart-warming story
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Mammy" is a very touching, heart-warming story. It's the second Irish novel I've read after Frank McCourt's books.
It's about a woman named Agnes Browne who has dead, alcoholic-abusive, husband and now struggling with 7 little children with no money left. Typical Irish family with many children, living in poverty, trying to survive day by day.
Still, the story flows eloquently and sweetly with great sense of humour. It made me laugh out loud as well as shed tears in my eyes. Agnes Browne is a very simple woman, has fighter spirit and full of courage. The story's also telling us a great friendship she has with her best friend, Marion. Battling hillarioulsy to get driving liscense and as the same time, being submissive in facing the cancer. I love the part where Marion always visits the church every morning and said, "God, it's me, Marion!"
I admire Agnes' soul that is gentle yet firm with her kids. Her heart is full of love which remains untouched when her husband was still alived. She also has dreams of meeting her favourite singer, Cliff Richard, to sing and dance with him.
The closing of the book is my best favourite part ever," dance, Agnes Browne, dance to the star!" And from above, she can hear her friend Marion, laughs."
Two thumbs up for Mr. O'Carroll.
Review written by Mrs.Natalina of Indonesia ... i just post this for her ...