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There are currently 23 member reviews
for Actress
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Carol N. (San Jose, CA)
Difficult to follow...
In the "Actress", Anne Enright brings to life two generations of women with difficult sexual experiences, both having been assaulted, then silenced and striving to recover their power. This is a novel about celebrity, sexual powers, and a daughter's search to understand her mother's truths. The daughter, Norah, retraces her mother's (Katherine, an Irish theater legend) celebrated career with its long-kept secrets. With age, alcohol, and her dimming stardom, Katherine' loses her grip on reality and commits a bizarre crime. Enright's novel shares with reader the daughter's search for the truth – her father's identity, her mother's motive for shooting a producer, along with her search for a husband, family and worthwhile work. She takes the reader to the heart of the love that binds a mother and daughter. Often finding myself confused and losing interest, this novel seemed to grind on and on.
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Joy E. (Rockville, MD)
Actress stays too long on the stage
Actress starts out strong and I thought I would love it, but as it dragged on, not so much. The writing in the beginning is compelling. The many anecdotes, set in the present and the past, are interesting on their own but I am not sure they make up a finished book. The reader never learns the answers to some of the big questions. Maybe that is the author's point. For the reader it is frustrating and unsatisfying. Not a favorite.
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Linda Z. (Melville, NY)
Mother and Daughter Questions
Anne Enright, author of "Actress A Novel" has written a poignant, intense and emotional story. The Genre for this Novel is Fiction, although there is a feeling that it is a memoir or biography. The author explores the complex relationship between a mother and daughter. The timeline for the story is set in the past and the author's present when it pertains to the characters or events. Katherine O'Dell is an Irish actress that has also been on the stage in England and The United States. Norah is her daughter and at times has questions about her mother's role as an actress and the deep dark secrets that she feels are being held from her. The author describes her characters as complex and complicated. Norah is on a quest after her mother's life to learn the answers to these questions.
The story starts off very slowly and is detailed, but then becomes repetitive and confusing. There is one part of the story where Norah is celebrating her 21st birthday, her mother and other guests celebrating around the table. Then all of a sudden, there is a 58-year-old version of Norah, who is married with grown children. The mother is proud of her new appliances in Ireland and then is in the United States on the stage. The author mentions the grandparents, and then it appears we are in a different place. Perhaps some pages in the ARC were missing, but it was frustrating keeping track of what was going on.
I would like to thank W.N.Norton & Company and BookBrowse Books for the Advanced Reading Copy of "Actress A Novel" by Anne Enright.
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Bonnie B. (Port St. Lucie, FL)
An Actress's Live Told From Her Daughter's Perspective
This book is very different from Anne Enright's previous novels. It is the story of Katherine O'Dell, a famous Irish actress told from her daughter Norah's perspective and memories. After her mother's death at 59, Norah tries to find out as much about her life as possible. She explores the secrets her mother kept and tries to understand the act of violence that led to her mother's hospitalization in a psychiatric unit. Norah remembers the colorful, loud and fun parties that her mother hosted, along with her mother's heavy drinking and depression as she aged, and parts for her dried up. The book seemed to go on and on with no real center other than the ongoing story of Katherine's life. It became boring after a while.
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Nancy D. (Raleigh, NC)
Mother/Daughter Relationships
Actress is a generational story of the search for answers and understanding. What is the impact of the past on the present? The story of Kate and Norah is a complicated study of the mother/daughter relationship, each searching to understand the other. It is a search to explain their present by the memories and experiences of their past. Both mother and daughter have emotional, professional and relationship issues that they must deal with together with insecurity and mental illness, all while sharing their lives with the world. The book is peppered with interesting characters, but the men seem to be misogynistic, selfish and have big egos. While both mother and daughter struggle, there is love and true caring for each other. I did find some of the passages confusing and had to reread them. The transition from present to past is sometimes difficult to follow. I did enjoy the descriptive history of the Irish theatre and the Irish conflicts.
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Eileen F. (Media, PA)
Many questions
Character driven story about an Irish ? Actress and her daughter . The writing was good but for me the story dragged and seemed to go in circles.
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Sylvia G. (Scottsdale, AZ)
Much ado about nothing
I wish I had liked this book. I found it dense, dark, dull and sometimes obtuse. I kept waiting for the revelation that was going to make everything meaningful and the big reveal never really occurs. Very Irish with many references that meant nothing to me. Not one I'd recommend. 2.5
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