The Chisellers

To make the story end the way he wanted, O'Carroll stretches plausibility frequently. However, if you read the first in the Agnes Brown series, you are willing to over look this just to be reacquainted with some beloved characters. Be warned: this has some real grit and tragedy in it.

This is book two of a trilogy, but it was the first one I read because I came across it 60% off at a Crown Bookstore closing. After reading it, I rushed out to read book one, The Mammy, and then went right to book three, The Granny. I actually think that starting with book two was the best way to read this series, as I enjoyed flashing back in book 1 to the past then moving to book 3 for the future.This book is a total wonder. It's comic scenes and dialogue are hilarious. But, it's far from a comic novel as there is human drama woven throughout.The construction of the novel is perfect: it starts in mystery, becomes a brilliantly funny and touching family chronicle, and ends with resolution to its mystery and to all it's plot threads. It will touch your funny bone and your heart: in terms of the joys and love within a family unit; a mother who may not seem to set the best example, but when the chips are down, follows her heart and makes the right decisions; of the diversity of personalities within one family; and, the tragedies that surround us and sometimes destroy our dreams.One scene had me laughing out loud, then the author describes it again, the second time through other charcaters observing the scene, so you get to enjoy the scene twice.This book, along with the other two in the series, reminds us that love is our bond, drama and conflict our shadows, and humor the human soul's struggle to prevail.This is one of the few books that the moment I finished, I started re-reading it -- at least until I could buy the other two books in the series. I keep a shelf at home with my "Hall of Fame" of favorite books. This book went onto that shelf the moment I turned the last page. And, I can't wait to start over turning its pages once again.

A sequel to a wonderful book is inherently at risk. For when it is to be read by a person familiar with the initial experience, part two is almost predestined to be disappointment. Book one has the advantage of introducing all that is new. The final of the three can tie all the experiences together, can bring closure. But the middle event must maintain the reader's enthusiasm. When the story and its execution are excellent, the reader is enthusiastic for the final event. The last book is not read just to complete the cycle. Happily there are no absolutes, exceptions ensure that there will be pleasant surprises, not all repeated experience need be as expected.With, "The Chisellers", Mr. Brendan O'Carroll has repeated the brilliance of, "The Mammy", without resorting to repeating himself as a writer, or forcing his characters to remain unchanged. This writer brings all of the people you love in part one and he allows them to evolve as a person would in their own life. The mood of this book is different, but is also a natural progression. The Browne Clan is getting older; adulthood envelops some, while it still awaits the younger children. Agnes too is aging, adapting to the dramatic changes she was forced to cope with in the first book. However as I mentioned when commenting upon, "The Mammy", Mr. O'Carroll tells a wonderful story, which happens to take place with an Irish Family. While it is true this brings with it some detail that may be familiar, the fact that this is an Irish Family is never what drives this book. He never allows his work to cheat and use the easy cliché.The Author also brings to this wonderful trilogy people that are not Catholic, that are not Irish, and they are not by default the evil players. His story is inclusive; the world he writes about is not a fantasyland where the pains and trials of life are absent. But neither is it a world that when suffering appears, it appears as a certain brand, a certain nationality, a certain group of worn clichés.And in this second book there is great pain, there is senseless destruction and loss. And while it would be very easy of accusing the Author of being a bit too neat with finding the lining of silver in one cloud too many, it is no more than most tales of Ireland when every cloud contains a granite mountain.This amazing writer is two for two, and now it remains to be seen if he has the final third of the hat trick within him. For this middle installment is as good as number one, so he has nothing to improve upon, as the first two were uniformly tremendous.

The Mammy and The Chisellers were recommended to me by a friend. I started The Mammy and could not put it down till I finished it. I started The Chisellers right away, and was no where near disappointed. These are EXCELLENT books, I didn't want them to end! I look forward to reading The Granny.

After reading The Mammy, I could not wait to read the Chisellers. I was not disappointed in the least, I couldnt put this book down at all! Its already been passed on to my sister, a very addictive read. Brendan O'Carroll makes all the characters come to life so that you feel as if you know each of them personally and that I had been transported to 1960's Dublin. I cannot wait to get a copy of the Granny!

I picked up "The Mammy" last summer and could not put it down. When I found out there were going to be three books giving us the wonderful heartfelt tales of Agnes Browne and her boys, I could hardly wait. After finishing "The Chisellers", I was not disapointed. Brendan O'Carroll sucks you into this working-class Irish family with a tender and loving hand. (It was a bit embarassing laughing AND crying on the subway, but there are weirder people than that on the trains.) It can stand alone, but one book would just not be enough of Agnes Browne and her clan. Now, if I can just hold out until "The Granny" is published...