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    The Mammy
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    The Mammy
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    The Mammy
    Ebook181 pages2 hours

    The Mammy

    By Brendan O'Carroll

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    The first book in the Agnes Browne trilogy

    Agnes Browne is a widow of only a few hours when she goes to the Social Welfare Office. Living in James Larkin Flats, with Redsers' legacy - seven little Brownes - to support on the income from her Moore Street stall, she can't afford to miss a day's pension. Life is like that for Agnes and her best pal Marion. But they still have time for a laugh and a jar, and Agnes even has a dream - that one day she will dance with Cliff Richard.

    The Mammy describes the life and times, the joys and sorrows of Agnes, mother of the famous Mrs. Browne's Boys from the daily radio soap. A book of hilarious incidents, glorious characters, and a passion for life, it is written with a sure touch and great ear for dialogue.

    'Hilarious and irreverent. A must-read.' Gabriel Byrne

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThe O'Brien Press
    Release dateNov 16, 2012
    ISBN9781847172945
    Unavailable
    The Mammy
    Author

    Brendan O'Carroll

    International star of multiple BAFTA-award-winning TV series Mrs Brown's Boys and Mrs Brown's Boys: d'Movie, Brendan O’Carroll's story begins very modestly. The youngest of eleven children, Brendan O’Carroll was born in Dublin’s inner-city in 1955. His mother, Maureen, was a Labour TD (MP) and a huge influence on his life. He left school at 12 and worked as a waiter, trying many other occupations in his spare time - disco manager, milkman, pirate radio disc-jockey, painter-decorator etc. For a time he ran his own bar and cabaret lounge before being persuaded to try the comedy circuit. The gigs were small at first and even included his own version of ‘Blind Date’, but word soon got around about this original and outrageous funnyman: soon there was standing-room only. The real turning point in Brendan’s career was his first appearance on The Late Late Show, Ireland’s longest-running chat show: the studio audience and viewers loved him. His first video Live at the Tivoli went straight to No 1, knocking U2 out of the top slot and pushing Garth Brooks to No 3. In 1994 he was voted Ireland’s No 1 Variety Entertainer at the National Entertainment Awards. He went on to make best-selling videos, and a bestselling record, as well as touring in Ireland, the UK and the USA. The radio show Mrs Browne’s Boys, written by and starring Brendan, had a phenomenal daily audience on 2FM and led to the creation of Agnes Browne as the central character in Brendan’s first novel, The Mammy, published in 1994. The book topped the bestseller charts in Ireland for months and the film rights were snapped up. The Mammy was followed by The Chisellers and The Granny: all three were huge bestsellers. Holywood came calling when Anjelica Huston read and loved Brendan's books: she made her directorial debut with Agnes Browne. Brendan toured several other stage shows with Agnes Browne as the central character, before a BBC producer saw the show and felt there was television potential. Initially broadcast in a quiet late evening slot, Mrs Brown's Boys quickly became a huge word-of-mouth hit, and quickly moved to primetime, including several Christmas Day specials. A huge success in Australia and other countries where it has been shown, the enduring appeal of Agnes and her family is secure. Brendan continues to write and perform as Agnes Browne, most recently in Mrs Brown's Boys: d'Movie (2014)

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    Reviews for The Mammy

    4/5

    11 ratings20 reviews

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    • 4/5
      This book is very open and canning. I loved the seemingly real life story that made me feel as if I were living right with Agnes, her family and friends in Dublin. I would highly recommend this book to anyone. It's lighthearted, comical and touching. You will feel all the feels with this book.
    • 5/5
      This was to be for Crazy Ladies Book Bingo: Women but as it didn't arrive in time I'm reading it anyway. I'm saving The Granny for CLBB tag "Ireland"

      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: "Agnes shrugged: 'I don't know. Did yeh go?'
      '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.
    • 5/5
      Found this book by accident and thoroughly enjoyed it! Bought the other books in the series and enjoyed those as well. Full of Irish humor and horror but the Mammy pulls this struggling family together; you will appreciate her simple, difficult and "let's laugh when we can" life.
    • 4/5
      Funny, though I'm sure it was funnier for me having recently seen the two series of O'Carroll's latest incarnation of Agnes Browne (Mrs. Browne's Boys). His voice and quick wit enhanced a story most Americans wouldn't get.
    • 4/5
      Such a sweet, down-to-earth story. Agnes Browne is newly widowed, a working class Irish mom of 7, just trying to get through her days in the 1960s Dublin, with dignity, and hope and humour. She is best friend to Marion, supportive mom to her eldest teenage son, and Number One Defender to her young daughter in a bullying incident at school that had me laughing out loud. She is at once an innocent but also life-savvy. This deceivingly short novel encompasses the gritty but poignant and tender moments of life. It is the first of a trilogy of books about the Browne family. I look forward to the next 2!
    • 4/5
      The Mammy is a charmer, set in working class Dublin in the 1960s. Agnes Browne is the Mammy. She sells fruits and vegetables in a local outdoor market with her friend Marion; the two of them can exchange snark with the best of them. Agnes is recently widowed, raising seven kids. The oldest, Mark, just entering puberty, is doing all he can to help her, and he's a real mensch. Agnes is a beauty but not ready for any new love. Instead she dreams of dancing with singer Cliff Richard, whose records are always on her stereo. Marion gets a worrisome medical diagnosis, and the two of them try to pursue their dreams - learning to drive for Marion, and getting to a Cliff Richards concert for Agnes.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.
    • 4/5
      When we meet her, Agnes Browne has been recently widowed, and she and her best friend Marion are in line to register her family for social services. Suspicious of the forms, Agnes does her best to answer the clerk's questions:"'Now, what was the cause of death?''A hunter,' Agnes said.'Was he shot?' the girl asked incredulously. 'Was your husband 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!
    • 4/5
      A brilliant, hilarious story of a widower, Agnes Browne, and her seven children. Agnes Browne is doing her best, but is outnumbered by her children, who run her ragged with their schemes and adventures, outmaneuvered by life, which takes her best friend, but somehow manages to keep her chin up through all of it. Throughout the series of comical misadventures, such as being arrested for slapping a nun with a cucumber, or her date with a Frenchman, she is loving and stern in equal measures; she is, in short, everyone's mother, told with affection and a cheeky sense of humor by Brendan O'Carroll.

    • 4/5
      This was a treat after reading Oates' the Gravedigger's Daughter though Redser, the deceased husband was no prince to Agnes or his children. 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 1960's Dublin they go about the business of their hard lives mostly with joy and innocence but can't help but get into trouble from time to time. 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.
    • 4/5
      Witty, charming and full of heart, O'Carroll has brought 1960's inner-city Dublin, Ireland to life. Life is tough in The Jarro, but Agnes, her friends and her brood of six boys and one girl will win you over with their quick witted banter and the misadventures that come their way. Agnes is the perfect "Mammy", tough when she needs to be, with a naivety that gives rise to some of the humour of the story. While this story is set in the run down tenement flats of the poorer, working class area, it sparkles with life, hope and compassion, presenting a happier version of an Irish childhood than portrayed in some other books I have read.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.
    • 4/5
      A funny, tender story of an Irish widow with seven children.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.
    • 4/5
      The Mammy has sat here on my bookshelf for almost four years. I finally picked it up and read it today.What a crazy story! Agnes Browne and her heap of seven children. Her husband dead. Agnes never quite getting it. A hoot!
    • 5/5
      Here we follow Agnes Browne and her friend Marion. Agnes has just lost her husband Redser, and is now left to raise 7 children alone. Though it doesn't bother Agnes, she's just fine without Redser, maybe even better!We watch as she raises her children, works, talks to her friend Marion, and watches Marion pass away too. Marion bothers Agnes much more than Redser did. Marion was her friend, she was just married to Redser!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!
    • 4/5
      Here is one of those cases where a book group choice gave me a real treat. I wouldn't have picked this book out on my own, and I ended up really enjoying it. There were sections where I actually laughed out loud. It is filled with fun characters and plenty of humor.
    • 3/5
      It was okay - the first of the series I picked to read - don't think I would bother with the other two - seemed to have too much of a "story-book ending" for such a life of poverty and strife.
    • 4/5
      Moving ,very funny,never dull portrait of a working class Dublin life in the 60's.First in a trilogy. I loved this book.
    • 4/5
      A quick and mostly funny read which would have benifited from an additional 50 pages. The story lines were wrapped up too quickly and too neatly.
    • 4/5
      Poignant and funny tale about the Browne family of Dublin in the mid-60s. Left a widow with six children, Agnes Browne carries on with grit and humor and love. The ending is a bit smarmy, but O'Carroll is forgiven on the basis of the rest of the book.This is part of the "Agnes Browne" series. Interestingly enough, I read the second book, "The Chisellers" several years ago and didn't like it at all. Either my tastes have changed, or O'Carroll shot his wad with the first entry.
    • 3/5
      This was on my dad's bookshelf. It was sentimental and bumped along joyfully and roughly, with grief and good feelings in a struggling Irish family. Miss my da.
    • 4/5
      “Sometimes this turbulent, tragic, sad and busy world turns on its head and comes to a sudden halt just to accommodate somebody’s dream …”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 her brood, she is also best friend to Marion Monks – whom she will lose tragically – the object of an overly amourous Frenchman’s attentions, a resourceful market merchant, and a particular singer’s most devoted fan. 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)