The Mammy

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 show more 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. show less

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 show more 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! show less

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!

“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 show more charmed!

“Dream on, Agnes Browne! For everyone’s sake, dream on!” (174) show less

In 1960's Dublin Agnes Browne, mother of 6 children, is left a widow by the sudden death of her husband, Redser. Fortunately for Agnes she does not miss her late husband too awfully much as he was a gambler and a drunk and none too affectionate to his wife. Life goes on and Agnes, though desperately poor, has the love of her children and her friends, most notably her best friend Marion. The two women sell fruits and vegetables every day in their stalls at the local market; in between sales the friends gossip and laugh about their lives. There is so much humor in this book despite the poverty and a tragic death. The children are often responisble for the fun: 10-year-old Cathy slipping out of school to change her undies because the local show more doctor was giving exams and Cathy had on a pair of 'pinnies' (her Mom's larger panties with a large diaper pin in front to hold them up) and subsequently being caught by the stern and viscious Sister Magdalene; 4-year-old Trevor's lack of language skills but the phrases he did know were definitely not ones to be used in decent company; 12-year-old Mark's 'willy' troubles. I want to sit at Agnes' table with her, have a cup of tea and listen to her stories. Thanks goodness this is the fist book of a trilogy because I can't wait to read more about the Mammy and her family. show less

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 show more series ready at hand. Once you enter The Jarro of O'Carroll's pen, you won't want to leave. show less

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.