Product Description

Dublin. Midsummer. While absent in New York, the celebrated actor Molly Fox has loaned her house to a playwright friend, who is struggling to write a new work. Over the course of this, the longest day of the year, the playwright reflects upon her own life, Molly's, and that of their mutual friend Andrew, whom she has known since university. Why does Molly never celebrate her own birthday, which falls upon this day? What does it mean to be a playwright or an actor? How have their relationships evolved over the course of many years? "Molly Fox's Birthday" calls into question the ideas that we hold about who we are; and shows how the past informs the present in ways we might never have imagined.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9899 in Books
• Published on: 2009-04-23
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Review
'A novel of great subtlety, beauty and strength. She is one of our finest writers.' --Anne Enright

Review
'Equipped with an almost celestial compassion, Madden is the constant genius of Irish letters.'

Review
'A beautiful novel.'

Customer Reviews

'Molly doesn't do intimacy'
'In the dream I was walking through the streets of a strange city in a foreign country I did not recognise'.

The novel opens with the narrator's dream as she awakens in the house of her dear friend Molly Fox. My heart sank a little - I thought starting with a dream didn't augur well for the novel. I was wrong. It's the best novel I've read in a while.

Molly Fox's Birthday examines the friendship between the playwright narrator, Molly Fox, an actor, and Andrew, an old university friend of the nameless narrator. Each of the three have siblings that have great importance in their lives; for the narrator it's Catholic priest Father Tom, for Molly it's Fergus, who has a voice as magical as hers but is psychologically fragile. For Andrew, his brother Tony continues to have importance, even though they were not close and had nothing in common.
Through the course of one day, midsummer's day and Molly Fox's birthday, the narrator thinks about all of these players and has visits with two of them and a phone call with another. The narrator mentions how as playwright and actor both she and Molly have an interest in the transformation of the self. And that is why I liked this novel so much - it's about self transformation, identity, the bits of ourselves that our friends see and the bits our family sees.

Molly has becomes great friends with the narrator's brother Tom and her dear friend Andrew - the narrator know that she isn't allowed similar privileges with Fergus Fox. After he visits the house, delivering a birthday present, she thinks about their conversation as she gets her supper `How completely I had bought Molly's version of him! And even more to the point , how completely I had bought Molly's version of herself'.

Deidre Madden is a fine writer. At one stage she remembers sleeping with someone `this time my whole body remembered, in a rush, a shock. It was like stepping onto something that wouldn't hold and falling through'.

The novel is reflective and thoughtful and it has made me think about long term friendships. It's also very good on artefacts, how the things we have identify us.

Beautifully tidy tale
The `action' all takes place on one special day and the narration by the unamed playwright who is her adoring friend. This is a gentle hymn to the art of the actor and the experience of being involved with the theatre in general. A quick read which leaves you wondering what may happen next...

The tantalising character of Molly Fox is the hook on which the book is set and the reader may come come to differing conclusions about her life from the writer.

All is carefully paced with helpful visits from important people in both her life and that of the writer, rather like a chorus, with their history attached. The penultimate guest is rather more problematic but again only in a gentle way. This book reminds me of Anita Brookner's writing and will definitely hit the spot with readers who enjoy a superbly written jewel of a book where much is hinted at but not a lot actually happens.

A subtle and beguiling read
This is a book that weaves its way into ones consciousness in a subtle and understated way. The style of writing is simple, clear, unshowy, but full of atmosphere. The characterisations of Molly Fox and her life-long friend evoke the complexities of friendship, and its unconditional acceptance of flaws and idiosyncrasies. A mellow and beguiling read.