Actress by Anne Enright
Theatre legend from Ireland, Katherine O’Dell. Her daughter, Norah, is a spectator at every moment of her life’s act. But as she gets older, drinks more, and loses her fame, Katherine’s grasp on reality becomes erratic. She commits an odd crime while being driven by a prideful and long-simmering hatred.
Norah revisits her mother’s life of tightly guarded secrets as her role gradually shifts to that of Katherine’s defender, caretaker, and ultimately legacy keeper. In turn, Norah confronts the mysteries of her own sexual and emotional coming-of-age. Actress touches on a deep and current point by expertly weaving together two generations of women with rocky sexual histories.
Actress by Anne Enright
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One of my favourite authors is hers. Anne Enright explores the root of a contentious relationship between a daughter and her actor mother through the daughter’s book. The specifics are a combination of theatre stories Enright has heard, the ferocity of Irish politics, and an actress’s preoccupation with all the concomitant insecurities, foibles, and talents that come with such a profession. The reader is made aware of the tension and affection present in many parent-child or mother-daughter relationships by the fact that it is her mother who spirals into a state of insanity. The fictitious book also recounts the author’s own developing sexuality, her marital problems, and of course, her conflicted feelings about having been reared by a mother whose love was true but whose work was in the arts.
Carrie Fisher is shown admiring her mother Debbie Reynolds on the cover. I believe they selected that cover because it was so appropriate for the book, which is about the life of an actress’s daughter and is written by a middle-aged woman. The characters’ interactions were peculiar. And there is a lot of what today we would categorically refer to as sexual harassment, but back then it was more or less seen as a rite of passage. The majority of it takes place throughout the mother’s lifetime, from the time she was born in 1932 until her death in the present. It is simply the most exquisitely written tale of this exceptional individual, who ultimately succumbs to madness. It is presented in such a creative manner.
The fictitious book also recounts the author’s own sexual awakening, her relationship challenges, and of course her ambivalence about having been reared by a mother whose love was genuine but whose profession was her top priority. Enright’s prose has a beautiful Irish accent. It feels natural to combine a fabricated life with the vibrant world of Irish theatre and performance. It makes a good companion read.
