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Title: Me and Mine

Subtitle: A warm-hearted memoir of a London Irish Family

Author: Anna May Mangan

Narrator: Fiona Clarke

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-18-11

Publisher: Hachette Audio UK

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Me and Mine tells the story of an Irish immigrant family who left rural Ireland in the 1950s in the hope of finding work and a better way of life in England. But home is never far away as aunts ferry over suitcases dripping with blood from the Irish boat train because English meat is 'dirt' or smuggle poteen disguised as holy water in Virgin Mary shaped bottles, and gossip is delivered weekly in the form of the local county paper.

Me and Mine is an entertaining and vivid portrait of immigrant life in 1950s England, told through the stories of a truly colourful cast of characters.

Members Reviews:

A Memoir With Lots of Shock Value and a Few Very Touching Moments

First of all, I have to say that to refer to this book as a "warm-hearted memoir" is wrong. In the final chapters some of the family members suffer from some serious illnesses and so there are passages that are very poignant and show a great deal of love in the family. I cried. There was one episode where the author's husband displays an incredible amount of love and kindness towards his ailing father-in-law--I was deeply moved.

However, most of the book doesn't show us the humanity of family members. It shows us the depths to which human beings can sink. I'm not saying that the author didn't keep me turning the pages. It was addictive reading but mostly because of the shock value. There is alcoholism, abuse, cruelty in all its forms, and tragedies. There is ignorance. Old wives tales that are just plain crazy. Children learned to refrain from complaining about their ailments because their mother's cure was worse than the sickness. But it's all told in a very straightforward, unsentimental way and made to appear funny. Sometimes the reader has to laugh--the sheer number of crazy stories and obnoxious people force you to laugh at the insanity. I didn't laugh a lot. I tend to find such stories "cringe-worthy." I did actually laugh aloud when the author describes a female relative whose only interest and topic of conversation was death and funerals.

The reason I am giving this book five stars is because of the extremely touching passages towards the end of the book. Finally I could start to feel good about humanity again. And, if the truth be told, I realized that I got some sort of a charge out of sinking to the depths. But to refer to this book as "lighthearted" as one reviewer did or to have the book called "A Warm-Hearted Memoir" isn't accurately describing this story. I'd actually believed that this was going to be a funny and warm-hearted story, akin with the book Cheaper by the Dozen, and it's not--it's a story of what happens when living through hard times doesn't make people better--many are bitter. So don't say I didn't warn you--there is no sweetness and light here. But there are some people you would like to meet although there are plenty you wouldn't want to run into!

Irish Lass

This is a wonderful story about an Irish family that immigrated to London, England and all their adventures, struggles, personal stories, and family secrets told from the viewpoint of a young girl growing up telling about her family. The characters come alive on the pages and you feel like you are a fly on the wall watching everything unfold. The story makes you laugh and cry and laugh again.