The Mammy

by Brendan O'Carroll

Book Overview

"Mammy" is what Irish children call their mothers and 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 humor and great affection. Forced to be mother, father, and referee to her battling clan, the ever-resourceful Agnes Browne occasionally finds a spare...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0452281032
• ISBN13: 9780452281035
• Release Date: May 1999
• Publisher: Plume Books
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.4" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Truthful and Funny

Humor and loss combine to create truth. Funny and compelling, the titular Mammy is a strong woman who faces adversity and does her best to raise her children. There are some real laugh out loud moments. I read this in 2 sittings and plan to read the rest of the series because there are some possibilities in the ending, and I want to see how they play out.

The thing is, the crazier the world seems to get, the more I like the feckin' hilarity. Delivered! In spades. I return to this series again and again. It makes me nuts when a lauded novel is poorly-executed (sometimes I think a book was pubished due to subject matter more than talent, or skill). O'Carroll really, really knows how to write. The antics, all perfectly believable, implausible though they may seem (that's a good writer), literally crack me up. You can't help but love Agnes, bit daft, bit naughty, gold-hearted. Somehow you get to know and drum up sympathy for each of the seven in her brood ... even that one who does something unthinkable, and then something else unthinkable, and breaks his Mammy's heart. But Agnes has a philosophy. Okay, I can't tell it to you, as it's a bit diffuse, but it's in there! It is! I have given this series to friends in need of levity, in need of solace, in need of (excuse me, we're Boomers) a good pee-worthy laugh-out-loud. There's no one who hasn't loved the series. It's just greedy to give one and not the full set; you can't get enough of this woman who does not know a (pretty direct) come-on from an attractive man when she hears it, who is mystified by the "organisms" her best friend is lately having; she thought they were a myth (and with a husband like that, it's no wonder). Agnes' worries are legion, but her ingenuity trumps them all. She finds a way to pay, at Christmas, for the one thing her son will find useful, today and for years to come, and which will also make him perhaps as happy as ever he's been. So much weight is in that gift: his future, the family's future, the signal that Agnes has real faith in her son -- that he will exceed his father in a career, granted, not that it would take a far stretch, but it will mean everything to him and those around him. You finish one of these slim volumes, so very simply written, and wonder how O'Carroll has packed so much action, and so much heart, and so much screaming laughter into it. That little package. Reading his introductions, you get the sense that he wonders, too. We do like a little humility in our artists, and if O'Carroll doesn't have it, he's a very fine PR man. Read this!

No pity party here!

The Mammy is simply delightful! Agnes Browne is a woman that we could all learn from. As you read The Mammy, you can invision how poor the Browne family was, but it was as if they didn't know it. They are a family as full of laughter as they are determination and strength. A woman, left widowed with 7 children, is rarely a character that would bring you to laugh aloud when reading in public. What is even more striking is the author (a male)could have so much insight as to how women think. Agnes Browne is a heroine. She taught her children love. She taught her children pride. She taught her children that no matter what they are a family and that NOTHING could come between Agnes Browne and her children.I couldn't wait to get The Chisellers and The Granny! Equally as good as the first book!

How can you laugh at a widow with seven children?

How can you laugh at a widow with seven children? When the widow is Agnes Browne, you can! Dublin is the home for Agnes Browne and her family. The cards have fallen and Agnes has so much going against her- her husband's recent death, being a single mother to her seven children, and working long hours selling produce in her stall on Moore Street. But when Agnes finds herself at the bottom of the barrel, she shows her never disputable strength. When Agnes' best friend, Marion, is faced with tragedy, Agnes is there right by her side. Agnes takes on her daughter's teacher, when her mothering feathers have been ruffled. No one, not even Sister Magdalen will get away with mistreating one of her children! Agnes is a bit rough around the edges when she is the target for the attention and affection from the French owner of the local pizza parlor. Not surprisingly, Agnes manages to win his affection on her own terms. Brendan O'Carroll has created characters I will not forget. Any mother who has survived her son going through puberty, must read this book. I laughed so hard I ached! I am looking forward to the next book in this series

Enjoyable!

If I could rate this book higher than a five, I would. I have never enoyed a book as much as Agnes Brown. I highly recommend it for a good laugh and a very endearing story. I also read the rest of the books Brendon O'Carroll wrote. I bought my books and when I finished with them, loan them to my friends to read. I wish he would write more, I look forward to reading them. Excellent is the word for Brendon O'Carroll's writtings. Thank you.

Laughed my arse off!!

I could not put this book down and when I did, I went out and bought the next two books in the trilogy. Recommend not reading it on public transportation. Everyone will think that you are crazy when you can't stop laughing!!

Formerly published as THE MAMMY

This was one of the most delightful books I've read in a long while. I bought the book, read half of it, and went out to run my errands. I couldn't resist finishing it up while I was back in at the local bookstore. Agnes is colorful, honest, and hilarious. Hurry up with the other publications!