2003-01-28 Completion of the Perfect Trilogy

Mr. Brendan O'Carroll has created with, "The Mammy", "The Chisellers", and, "The Granny", a trilogy that is exceptionally well written, a joy to read, and an alternative Irish Tale. I differentiate this work from the more familiar read about an Irish Family, for while the life of this Family is far from perfect, it is not extreme in its portrayal of the darker sides of people, be they Irish, or in the case of this book, French or Jewish as well. Of the three books this could be noted as the one that brings events together too neatly, especially when a given outcome is positive. I believe this appraisal would be unfair, as the Author balances the experiences of his characters, and even if he had favored the positive, why would that be deserving of scorn?

This book does bring certain threads of the story to a conclusion. The Author could easily continue the stories of this Family, or a given member, but the trilogy; I believe should stand by itself.

Once again the third book takes place when additional time has passed. The Browne Children are children no longer, and with offspring of their own the cycle begins again with the newest of the Browne's. Agnes transitions from Mammy to Granny, as her children take their place as Mammies and Dads to children of there own. Some of the new Families are traditional, some less so, however as in the previous two books while ignorance and the ugly behavior it breeds is not hidden, and overall acceptance and tolerance are great virtues of this man's work.

The three works are as close to faultless storytelling as I have read, and I hope I can look forward to many more books by this Author. He will have a tremendous challenge to repeat this success, but as he has done it three times in succession, waiting for additional novels should not be a wait in vain.

If you come to the end of this book and your eyes are not at least full, see your Doctor. Your tear ducts are clogged.
Mr. O'Carroll my sincere thanks.