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The Mammy is Agnes Browne - a widow struggling to raise seven children in a North Dublin neighborhood in the 1960s. Popular Irish comedian Brendan O'Carroll chronicles the comic misadventures of this large and lively family with raw humour and great affection. Forced to be mother, father, and referee to her battling clan, the ever-resourceful Agnes Browne occasionally finds a spare moment to trade gossip and quips with her best pal Marion Monks (alias 'The Kaiser') and even finds herself pursued by the amorous Frenchman who runs the local pizza parlor.Like the novels of Roddy Doyle, The Mammy features pitch-perfect dialogue, lightning wit, and a host of colourful characters. Earthy and exuberant, the novel brilliantly captures the brash energy and cheerful irreverence of working-class Irish life.… (more)
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"'Now, what was the cause of death?'
'A hunter,' Agnes said.
'Was he shot?'
'By who?' Agnes asked this question as if the girl had found out something about her husband's death that she didn't know herself.
'The hunter, was your husband shot by a hunter?'
Agnes was puzzled now. She thought it out for a moment and then a look of realisation spread over her face.
'No, love! A Hillman Hunter, he was knocked down by a Hillman Hunter - a car!'
The girl stared at the two women again, then dismissed the thought that this was Candid Camera. These were just two gobshites, she told herself. 'A motor accident...I see.' She scribbled again. The two women could see that she was writing on the bottom line. They were pleased. But then she turned the form over to a new list of questions. The disappointment of the women was audible. The young girl felt it and in an effort to ease the tension of the two said, 'That must have been a shock.'
Agnes thought for a moment. 'Yeh, it must have been, sure he couldn't have been expecting it.'"
I was hooked from the very beginning. And charmed. Agnes is witty and irreverent and fun. This book had me laughing out loud as Agnes is left to take on the challenge of raising seven children alone in 1960s Ireland. At times heart-breaking and poignant, always there is humor and snark to pull you through and Agnes never disappoints. Just what I needed, and the book ends with the Christmas season, so it is also the perfect time of year to read this. I cannot wait to get my hands on the second book. Thanks, Nancy!
A quick, entertaining read. If you decide to read The Mammy, I suggest you have the other books in the series ready at hand. Once you enter The Jarro of O'Carroll's pen, you won't want to leave.
Agnes Browne, a young widow struggling to raise seven children in a North Dublin neighbourhood in the 1960s is The Mammy. Mother, father, and referee for
O’Carroll is delightful: witty, colourful, exuberant, and irreverent. The Mammy is not only about life’s struggles but also its triumphs, and about romance, friendship, generosity, and loss. I was completely charmed!
“Dream on, Agnes Browne! For everyone’s sake, dream on!” (174)
Their day-to-day is believable and funny, and it's impossible not to pull for Agnes and Marion and Mark and the others. This is the start of a planned trilogy, and I'll be reading the others. The author apparently acted in the films based on the Roddy Doyle books like The Commitments, and is slated to be in a film version of The Mammy with Angelica Huston. Laughs, charm, and a look inside working class Dublin - this one was another excellent recommendation from CrazyMamie.
Agnes and her 7 children are loyal and devoted to each other, and recognize they need to pull their weight for the sake of the family. Working class poor in
The Mammy is a gem, filled with the craziness of a large family, good friends who help each other, and a hysterical dose of Amelia Bedelia type word play mixed in.
Definitely a winner of a read! Looking forward to reading more O'Carroll.
We watch as she raises her children, works, talks to her friend Marion, and watches
At the end of everything, Agnes realizes she still has to dream. Because you just never know when one of those dreams might walk through your front door!
Though this story seems to be a sad one, there's plenty of humor throughout. You'll be laughing at the crazy conversations and antics of Agnes and Marion, and feel much better about the world once the book is done.
I'll be reading the next two books that go with this one!
Only on page 4, so far I've had a laugh on every page.... I guess the movie: Agnes Browne ( Angelica Huston) was made from this book.
From page 12:
'Yeh'
'All right then?'
'I'm grand. Jaysus, the paper they use here cuts the arse off'a yeah.'
'That auld greaseproof stuff?'
'Yeh, it's like wipin' your arse with a crisp bag.'
And so it goes on like that.......
What a beautiful, heart-warming book....it made me feel good and when I think back on it, I am happy.....is now a "Favorite" and I plan on reading the entire series.
I read it a second time in December 2008 for a F2F book-club discussion. I'm still charmed, but a find more flaws in the writing. Still, I want to read more of O'Carroll's work.
This is part of the "Agnes Browne" series.