The Mammy by Brendan O’Carroll Review

Reviewed by David Savage

Having watched the hugely popular Mrs Brown’s Boys on TV and I was thrilled to receive The Mammy by Brendan O’Carroll (Mrs Brown himself) to review.

The Mammy is the first book in the Mrs Browne trilogy and is the inspiration for character Agnes Brown as seen on TV and stage.

The Mammy is Agnes Browne, a 34 year old widow with 7 children. After the death of her husband Agnes is left with 7 kids and lives on the poor side of Dublin. To make ends meet she works on the market selling fruit and vegetables alongside her best friend Marion. The year is 1967.

The book follows the story of Agnes Browne from the day her husband Redser dies after being killed by “a hunter” and from page 1 is filled with laughter and sadness and the struggles of young widow with an unruly brood of kids, 6 boys and 1 girl. While mourning her husband Agnes has to carry on and raise her children on her own as well as earn a living but with Marion by her side she does this with lots of laughter along the way until her friend’s health scare.

The book is full of fun and sadness including evil nuns and cinema ushers getting their comeuppance, the death of her husband and her best friend to getting to dance with the man of her dreams and her first date with an amorous Frenchman.

Overall, this is a very well written, sharp and witty story with great believable characters, strong storyline and a great read. Once I started reading I couldn’t put it down and can’t wait to read the other 2 in this series. Whether or not you have seen the hit TV series the book is different and is a great insight into the struggles of a young working-class from Dublin trying to cope with loss, earning a living and raising 7 kids into good adults.

From page 1 you are laughing, an excellent read.

Highly recommended.

Rating: 5/5

RRP: £8.99 (Paperback) / £4.99 (Kindle)

Available to buy from Amazon here.