The Mammy [Audio Cassette]

Brendan O'Carroll (Author)

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Books on Tape (2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0736646914
• ISBN-13: 978-0736646918
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (90 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,062,378 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How can you laugh at a widow with seven children?, September 10, 2001

By 

Jean Camp (Augusta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mammy (Paperback)

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

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Without Qualification, Flawless, December 25, 2000

By 

taking a rest - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Mammy (Paperback)

The photograph on the cover of this book is spectacular, and everything Mr. Brendon O'Carroll includes within is wonderful! This Irish tale is unlike any other I have read. The book is not cluttered with Irish cliché's, which even if true to one degree or another, can nonetheless become tiresome. It has often been said that there are no happy endings in an Irish tale, and while this is the first installment of three, it would take multiple disasters to change the overall mood of this Family and Friends.

The story is about two female friends, the joy they share, their everyday lives, and the pain that all relationships eventually suffer. However this friendship is not subject to damage or limitation. The dialogue is a riotous tear from beginning to end. Your own laughter will continually interrupt your page turning, but the intrusions are part of the fun. The characters laugh until they hold their sides, and you will be as well as Mr. O'Carroll's dialogue is brilliant. There is a scene when a driving lesson is to take place. If I have read better humor I cannot remember what it was.

The wonderful part of the laughter in this book is that it is not only for covering the pain of daily life. The lives you encounter are far from consistently ideal, but the laughter and joy these women share and spread is genuine, not dark, and not meant as emotional misdirection.

This is a brief work, however the Author managed to include so much more than emotional extremes. The 15-year-old eldest son of Agnes meets a man who offers him money for a job that makes no sense to the boy. Think of every negative direction this opening can take and then forget them all. Mr. O'Carroll takes this vignette within, "Mammy", and shows so much of what Humanity could be. The beauty of this mini-tale is that it is not the naïve thoughts of wide-eyed youth. It is a look at how people should treat each other, what should be important when we meet someone, and most importantly how foolish our normal reactions routinely are.

This is one very talented man with a pen, and he made this Christmas a memorable one for me.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No pity party here!, September 30, 2001

By 

"littlegraycells" (Oakdale, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mammy (Paperback)

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!