Rating: 
Summary: enjoyable reading
Review: Light reading and enjoyable. As you read this book you feel as though your are right there in Dublin with Marion and Agnes. For a few good hours The Mammy takes your cares away and leaves you feeling light-hearted.
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Summary: A trip to Moore Street
Review: I just finished The Mammy and LOVED it. I laughed and cryed as I read it. When our Moore Street fruit seller says she wants to learn how to drive before she dies, it made me stop and think and be very humble for a minute. The hardships and the laughs made them all so alive and real. The nuns here were so dark and cruel, as they often really were. This trip to Moore Street left me grateful but also with a longing for more Irish laughs in and at my life.
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Summary: I couldn't put it down!
Review: This book was a delight to read. The characters and scenes were so real that I could see Agnes and her mop dancing to the strains of "It's all in the game". Agnes's strength and humor during adversity was admirable. Her friendship with Marion was enviable. "The Mammy" is sentimental without being soppy. Don't miss this one!
Rating: 
Summary: Part gritty memoir, part fairy tale.
Review: Brendan O'Carroll plainly states Agnes Browne is not his mother. (His own mother's story is colorful and unbelievable enough, it should be his next big project.) But he paints her so affectionately, you can't help but see him in the character of Agnes' oldest son, Mark. Growing up in Dublin in the sixties, he distills those times and informs the day to day existence of his street dealers, turf vendors, office workers, publicans and school children. Part gritty memoir, and part fairy tale, this is only one sweet part of his Dublin trilogy. If only The Chisellers and The Granny were available here in the US! I'm hooked!
Rating:
Summary: The best read you're likely to find!
Review: Don't be put off by words like 'sentimental' and 'weepy' in the reviews, this book and the two that follow it are salty, delightful, and have a good feminist kick to them. Agnes Browne, left a widow by her no-good husband, is raising seven children off the proceeds of a vegetable stall. The detail is observant and funny, the children are strong vivid characters, and Agnes will make you grin and break your heart. This woman is a gem. The chat between her and her friends about the possibility of the female 'organism' is worth the price of the book. Enough said?
Rating:
Summary: A must-read, Irish or not!
Review: I have't had a book make me laugh like this for years. O'Carroll has created characters that you wish were part of your family and you find yourself jealous of this family's appreciation of the simple joys of life. I can't wait for O'Carroll's next work.
Rating:
Summary: This Will Keep you laughing for days
Review: This story is set in Dublin in the 1960's. The main caracter is Agnes Brown, a street seller in Moore street. The story begins after the death of her husband "Redser Brown" and she is left to raise her 7 childeren. This story is full of compassion and irony, the characters leap of the page. The only thing holding this back is the abrupt ending of the book, but this book is a must.
Rating:
Summary: A bit o' the Irish for ye reading
Review: Legend has it that if you capture a leprechaun, he will bring you good luck. Brendan O'Carroll must have had the luck of the wee people with him when he wrote The Mammy, a truly hilarious book. O'Carroll, who acted in the film Angela's Ashes, wrote The Mammy as the first in an upcoming series of three. His debut novel hits its mark with every joke and captures the essence of working-class Ireland. The series centers on a widowed mother, Agnes Browne, and her seven children, all living in Dublin, Ireland in the 1960s. Her youngest son, a toddler, speaks little but repeats every curse word he hears. Her oldest son tries to seduce girls with licorice and finds himself plagued by a number of puberty-related problems. The Mammy opens with what could be a heartbreaking scene of loss and sorrow: the death of Browne's husband. But with apt amounts of Irish wit, O'Carroll turns the funeral scene into a hilarious escapade that leaves Browne cursing her late spouse. The funeral parties get backed up entering the cemetery, so Browne loses track of which coffin belongs to her husband. Without realizing it, she follows the wrong body and is surprised when she sees another woman crying by the gravesite. Without a second's thought, Browne assumes the grieving woman is her late husband's mistress and mutters "'Yeh dirty bastard" under her breath. Another comical scene ensues when Browne attacks a nun with a cucumber and ends up in court - all because of a pair of knickers. The tale itself is nearly as funny as when Browne has to explain it to the judge. Soon, her only daughter takes the stand and, with a little Irish luck, Browne wins the case. In The Mammy, Agnes Browne becomes an every-woman, the ultimate mother and friend. She manages her children (a wild brood), helps her friend through cancer and handles her husband's death with grace. And through O'Carroll's imaginative writing, just about everything Browne does is funny. In the end, the book itself becomes a little treasure lying at the end of an Irish rainbow.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Read Set in Ireland
Review: The Mammy by Brendan O'Carroll is a worthwhile book set in Ireland. While comparisons may be made to Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt, there really aren't too many similarities between these books except for the Irish brogue and working class setting.
The Mammy is one Agnes Browne, a rercent widow and mother of 7 children. The book opens as Agnes and her dear friend are trying to obtain death benefits from Agnes' husband. This part of the book sets the tone for much of the book. What should have been a very solemn part of the book, turned out to be hillariously funny. And much of this book continued throughout the pages to be outstandingly funny also. But there were also very poignant scenes between Agnes and her childhood friend when an devestating illness strikes the friend. And the end is just wonderful as Agnes finally realizes one of her great dreams.
While the book focuses on Agnes' ups and downs, we watch Agnes grow stronger and stronger as she deals with her children's school problems which include one very nasty nun to thwarting the attempts of a pizza maker and Agnes' admirer. There were some real laugh out loud parts to this book as well as those parts of the book which brought tears to my eyes. Th eaprts taken together made for a very uplifting and inspiring read. And no better saying could be attributed to Agnes Browne and her brood then that they made lemonade out of lemons.
I now look forward to reading the second book in the series, The Chisellers, to find out what happens next to the Browne family, most fo all what Agnes Browne is up to.
I did rate this book with a B+.
Rating: 
Summary: Above average Irish Tale
Review: I finally have read this book everyone has raved about. I found this to be an above average Irish tale. It was much more hopeful and humorous than Angela's Ashes. I was put off by the crude language though.
It did read like a movie script with some of the humorous scenes obvious. There was heart that I didn't expect. Agnes is a refreshing character who is interesting to follow.
You will enjoy this book.
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