Helpful Score: 7
A struggling mother recently made a widow goes about everyday life trying to raise her 7 children. While she encounters so much tragedy, she is tough, funny, and endearing. Don't be surprised if you laugh, despite the sadness.
Helpful Score: 7
I loved this book! It's the story of a poor neighborhood in Ireland and the strong women who make life work for their children and their neighbors. I'm going to put all Brendan O'Carroll's other books on my wish list! And I'm not reposting this book because I'm framing the cover - the picture - the looks on the faces of the Mammy and the little boy are perfect!
Claudielou
Claudielou
Helpful Score: 5
What can I say except marvelous. Very fast read because I couldn't put it down.
Helpful Score: 2
Perhaps it's because I'm Irish, but this book entertained me from page one. I loved reading of Mammy and her boys. All of Brendan O'Carroll's books in this series are well worth the time to read them.
Helpful Score: 2
I loved this book. It's one of the funniest I've read in a while and I can't wait to read The Chisellers, and The Granny. Love the Irish humor and love the way O'Carroll writes. It reminds me a little of Angela's Ashes with the wit, which rises above the poverty through which the family struggles. I highly recommend this one. :)
Helpful Score: 1
An amusing look at life in Dublin in the 1960s
Helpful Score: 1
A funny quick read. I have enjoyed all of his books. He's no Frank McCort but he's pretty close.
Helpful Score: 1
My grandmother was full Irish though American and some of the conversations between women were so familiar to me. The sarcastic wit and the unconventional humor are part of my life. Now, I know where it came from....
Helpful Score: 1
A comic-tragedy shining through the lives of a mother and her seven "chisselers" in the poor Jarro District of a not to long ago Dublin. Both touching and hilarious at the same time
Helpful Score: 1
It seems like there's no end to Irish tales depicting unhappy, squalid childhoods in crowded, working-class flats. While Brendan O'Carroll's The Mammy maintains many elements of the traditional genre--the saintly, overworked mother, the Catholic family with an enormous posse of children and any number of abusive alcoholic fathers--it's a somewhat cheerier vision of Irish youth than we've come to expect. The mammy in question, one Agnes Browne, has enough spunk to look after her brood of seven, run a fruit stand at the local open market, gossip viciously with her best friend Marion, and still daydream about dancing with a famous singer.
Helpful Score: 1
as funny as it is tragic. an enjoyable read. i wish it were a longer book!
Helpful Score: 1
I liked it. Depiction of Dublin life from the standpoint of a widow with 7 children.
Helpful Score: 1
Agnes Browne is a charecter you'll cheer for. She's not "vunerable but headstrong" as is true for so many fictional heroines. She reminds me of my grandma in some ways. The story line is very real and believable too. An Excellent Book.
Helpful Score: 1
The first book of a trilogy about a working class family in Dublin during the 1960's. There is plenty of humor as you meet the widowed mother with seven children. Good book.
Helpful Score: 1
absolutely hysterical (and a few really really sad spots)...but hey, it's about an Irish family. where would it be without the terribly sad parts?
Helpful Score: 1
What a rousing read! I read the whole book cover-to-cover tonight. Excellent characterization, great humor, a satisfying story of love and persistence.
I am not one to normally write "negative" reviews. I could not get past the first few pages in this book. I am not one to use foul language and this book had a lot of foul language. I did not read the content, because I could not get past the language.
provokes emotions
What an absolutely delightful book. It was very funny and moving and I can't wait to read the other books abouts Mammie. My only compaint is that I wanted it to be twice a long.
This is a great little book--interesting & enjoyable. A quick read.
Very funny and touching book.I enjoyed reading it!
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.
Great read, short, sassy and pretty funny. Some tragedy mixed in, but just enough to make it interesting. Brush up on your Irish slang, as some of the terms are a bit confusing. My book club read and really enjoyed it.
I would love to read a series of books just like this one! an absolutely wonderful book but way to short!!!
I read this in one afternoon-so enjoyable. Parts make you laugh, and parts make you cry. Recommend this to anyone who like Ireland, Mothers, and good books.
This is the first of a trilogy and it can be tender, sad and laugh out loud funny. It tells us something about living in Dublin but it is the people and the interactions that will grab you and make you want to read the other two books.
4 out of 5. His style takes a little getting used to, but this book made me laugh and cry both.
Book two of a wonderful series written about a family trying to live in inner city Dublin. You will laugh at loud, shed a few tears, and end up loving each and every character.
There are three books in this series:
1. The Mammy
2. The Chisellers
3. The Granny
I so wish there were more books in this series!
There are three books in this series:
1. The Mammy
2. The Chisellers
3. The Granny
I so wish there were more books in this series!
Another from the funny Agnes Browne series. Great series of books about a working class Irish family in the 1960's. So funny at times! I highly recommend the entire series.
Delicious reading, easy and light. Delightful characters and heartwarming story.
If you like Irish literature then I am sure you will like this book. For my taste it was a bit flat. The characters were not as developed as I thought they would be and often times I thought they were one dimensional. Reading it I had the impression that you were merely scratching the surface of everyday life. I guess I am just use to reading books that go into so much more detail about the characters thoughts and feelings that by the time I was done reading the book I felt disappointed and let down. The sentence structure and wording was well done but the overall approach to the story line was dull.
Was a really good read
Irish humor - funny read
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.
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.
