Anne's accent is wonderful to listen to. I frequently had to remind myself this story is fictional because Enright's writing made it feel so real.

I'm not sure how to articulate my feelings about this book, exactly.

There is some really breathtaking writing here, and some hard-hitting story moments.

I came to this off of a light, fun, summer-themed YA novel, and this was a significant pivot from that. In retrospect, maybe I needed something in between to bridge the gap between the breeziness of the last book before jumping into Actress which is decidedly more literary.

Norah, the book's narrator, is the daughter of famed Irish Actress Margaret O'Dell. At the time Norah is telling this story, her mother is 15 years dead, and she's looking back on her own life as the daughter of THE Margarget O'Dell, thanks to a reporter. Presumably, Norah is telling this story to try and explain her mother's "madness" - the thing that took her over, and caused her to shoot a man in the foot when she was in her 40s (I think it was in her 40s). The shooting resulted in a trial, and a stint in a mental hospital for Katherine O'Dell.

It's an interesting view of fame, as told from the perspective of someone arguably closest to the famous person. Norah clearly has much love and admiration for her mother. And her whole life has been aware of the love and admiration others have for her mother as well. She touches on the allure of fame, and the way people in Norah's own life acted when introduced to or encountering her mother, without hitting on this too heavily. Norah's recollections paint a picture of an alluring, magnetic woman, but one with secrets not easily uncovered. As much as Norah and Margaret clearly loved one another - they were really all each other had - it becomes clear throughout the course of the story that there was a lot Norah never actually new about her mother. It was only after Margaret was gone that she began to uncover some of the secrets of her mother's life.

The writing here is really remarkable, and there are moments of breathtaking prose. One of my favorite lines that addressed Katherine's fame, and her fragility:

"And though she was sustained all her life by, by the love of those who watched her from the darkness, it took just one of these barbs to send her running back home."

There is also a moment, late in the book, where Norah uncovers notes written by her mother in the margins of a script, frantically written and half mad. And this moment of discovery comes across so powerfully and vividly, it almost takes your breath away.

Although I rated this more middle of the road, I imagine pieces of this book may stay with me for longer than I expect, and that literary seeping into the bloodstream is always the sign of something done right.

3/ This one is hard -- I was really engaged in the first third, and I found the voice of Norah to be totally singular and near perfect. The cadence of the narration flows so well, and you can sense the snark and loneliness and ambivalence in so many of the throwaway passages. However, it just kind of went on and on and felt too formless to me, I kept getting distracted and re-reading paragraphs I'd zoned out on. It's a strange thing about Enright's writing for me-- I think it's stylish and fun, but it almost never sinks in. I felt the same way about The Wren, The Wren, which I enjoyed more than this, but couldn't tell you anything beyond the basic bones of the plot. I think if this had been shorter, maybe a novella, I would have come away a bigger fan of the work.

I really tried but I just couldn't get along with this and unfortunately it seems to be a perfect storm of things I don't like. Firstly the language is very flowery, to the point where there were times I had to stop and reread a phrase to understand what Enright was getting at.
Secondly, this is a character study of two women, mother and daughter but I didn't care about either of them. There are definitely people out there who enjoy fiction set in vintage Hollywood, look at films like Grey Gardens or all of the mysticism around Monroe and Hepburn and Taylor, but I don't personally share the fascination with the excessive wealth and narcissism that drives their storylines. It just doesn't interest me. This might be because I spent a fair bit of time in youth theatre as a child, or with my mother painting backdrops for the stage, so I didn't really feel that life was very mysterious? Or, I don't know, perhaps I just think that a room full of people with huge egos isn't very appealing.
I'm trying to pin this down because I have recently read character studies that I very much enjoyed, for example [b:Stephen Florida|31945100|Stephen Florida|Gabe Habash|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1475301273l/31945100._SX50_.jpg|48743738], [b:Stoner|15790264|Stoner|John Williams|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1344260501l/15790264._SY75_.jpg|1559207], or [b:The Adventures of Augie March|11908|The Adventures of Augie March|Saul Bellow|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388270246l/11908._SY75_.jpg|2453177]. Not all of those studies were about likeable or relatable people, or people with an exciting story. Perhaps there is no reason other than these people weren't my cup of tea.
The main reason though is because nothing really comes of the crime alluded to in the first few pages and that was the selling point for me.

I can see why other people might enjoy this but it wasn't for me. DNF'd at 120 pages.

Listened on audio: gave up about 50% in. I just didn’t care. It was a weird relationship between mother and daughter (which is to be expected in Hollywood, fictionalized or not) but still felt almost creepy at times. Meh. Too much good out there to be bored.

The writing's gorgeous. Lyrical. Irish. The stakes are remarkable low ("Why'd mum shoot that guy in the foot?") which -- for long stretches -- makes you feel trapped in an assisted living facility for elderly theatre-types. But everything comes together at the end for some stunning meditations about aging and mortality. Beautiful.

some extraordinary writing and loved how we always view Katherine as if from the wings. great for ppl interested in performativity in the everyday. only thing was that biographical style reduced my enjoyment

Just loved this! My first Anne Enright book & I will be investigating her other titles! Highly recommended

Realised in the reading of this I've begun almost to take Enright for granted, her shadow so long cast I've started to mistake it for daylight. There's a force to some of her turns of phrase here that left me breathless, sentences capped with body blows of quiet devastation, loneliness and longing. What a treasure.