I am Mary Dunne
by Brian Moore
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Description
A day in the life of a mad housewife in Manhattan: "One of the truest and most awesome books I have ever read" (The Scotsman). She was born Mary Dunne. A New York actress in a stalled career, she's previously been known as Maria and Martha. Married three times, she's also been called Mrs. Phelan, Mrs. Bell, and currently, Mrs. Terence Lavery--wife of the esteemed playwright. No wonder Mary Dunne forgot her name this morning at the hairdresser. She has no idea who she is anymore. Or maybe show more she's just crazy. She's curious to find out. Over the course of a single day, Mary tries to recall more than her name. But as memories of her past come trickling back--infuriating, illuminating, and grievous--she realizes there's so much she'd prefer to forget. As she tries to escape what she calls "the dooms," Mary must confront what she's done with her life--deliberately, haplessly, or by default. If only she were going crazy; it would be so much easier to explain it all away. Hailed by the Globe and Mail as a "feminist novel written before the wave of feminist novels began," I Am Mary Dunne is "as complex and satisfying as anything Moore has yet done" (The Observer). show lessTags
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Member Reviews
This is my first book by this author. It was previously owned by my mother and was in my inherited library. I didn't care for it. The language was shocking for 1966, but I understand Brian Moore was known for that. That didn't bother me, but the plot was thin (if there was one at all), and the ramblings of Mary-Maria-Mutt were nonsensical and hard to follow. I couldn't figure out if the protagonist had mental problems or if the author was saying that all women who marry multiple times and enjoy sex are airheads. Not sure, and not sure I care.
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New Canadian Library
191 works; 7 members
Best Sellers / Popular 1968
237 works; 5 members
One Day
27 works; 2 members
Author Information
31+ Works 5,937 Members
Brian Moore, 1921 - 1999 Brian Moore was born in Belfast on August 25, 1921 to Doctor James Bernard Moore and Eileen McFadden. He attended St. Malachy's College, a Catholic school, where the students where beaten on the hands daily. He left the college without a School Leaving Certificate because he failed Math. In 1941, a bomb damaged the family show more home, so they moved to a house on Camden Street. A year later, his father died. In 1942, he joined the National Fire Service, but knew that he wanted to be a writer. Moore knew some French, so he was hired by the British Ministry of War Transport to go as a port official to Algiers, North Africa. Afterwards, he traveled to Italy, France, and after the war, Warsaw (1945), Spain, Canada (1948), the United States and England, finally settling in California. Moore immigrated to Canada in 1948, where he worked as a proofreader and reporter for the Montreal Gazette. In 1951, he published his first story in the Northern Review and married Jacqueline Sirois, a fellow journalist. His only child, Michael, was born on November 24, 1953. He split with his wife in 1964 and then married Jean Denney, who he stayed married to until his death. Moore published "The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne" (1955), "The Feast of Lupercal" (1957) and "The Emperor of Ice Cream" (1966), which is his most autobiographical novel. He recounts his school experiences, as well as what is was like during the bombing. In the 1990's, he wrote political fables and four novels. "Lies of Silence" is a thriller set in Belfast and was a more political statement than the previous novels. It was nominated for the Booker Prize and was his bestselling book. Several of his books were made into films such as "The Luck of Ginger Coffey," "Catholics," "The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne" and "The Temptation of Eileen Hughes" was adapted for television. Moore received many awards, which included the Governor General's Award in 1961 for "The Luck of Ginger Coffey" and again in 1975 for "The Great Victorian Collection," which also won the James Tait Black Award in England. He was short listed for the Booker Prize in 1987 for "The Colour of Blood" and again in 1990 for "Lies of Silence." In July 1987, he conferred an honorary doctorate by Queen's University, Belfast. His film "Catholics" received the W.H. Smith Award in 1973 and the Peabody Award in 1974. In 1999, Brian Moore died at his home in Malibu, California. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
New Canadian Library (128)
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- I am Mary Dunne
- Original publication date
- 1968
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 201
- Popularity
- 161,922
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.53)
- Languages
- English, German, Swedish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 17
- ASINs
- 7
