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Actress

By Anne Enright
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Check link for latest rating. ( 6,856 ratings, 1,053 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Actress by Anne Enright explores the life of Katherine O'Dell, a renowned Irish actress, through the eyes of her daughter, Norah. As Norah examines the complexities of her mother's career and the impact it had on their family life, the novel delves into themes of fame, identity, and the mother-daughter relationship. This evocative narrative weaves together personal history and cultural observation.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you appreciate deeply layered stories about the complexities of family dynamics and fame. The narrative dives into the life of a legendary actress through the eyes of her daughter, offering insight into the cost of stardom and the personal struggles behind the public persona. This novel may appeal to you if you enjoy character-driven tales that explore themes of memory, identity, and the intricate threads that bind family members.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

From the greatest living Irish author, a brilliant and moving novel about fame, sexual power, and a daughter's search to understand her mother's hidden truths.

Written with all the ingenuity and twisty tautness of a thriller - The Times

From the Booker-winning Irish author, a brilliant and moving novel about fame, sexual power, and a daughter's search to understand her mother's hidden truths.

This is the story of Irish theatre legend Katherine O'Dell, as told by her daughter Norah. It tells of early stardom in Hollywood, of highs and lows on the stages of Dublin and London's West End. Katherine's life is a grand performance, with young Norah watching from the wings.

But this romance between mother and daughter cannot survive Katherine's past, or the world's damage. As Norah uncovers her mother's secrets, she acquires a few of her own. Then, fame turns to infamy when Katherine decides to commit a bizarre crime.

Actress is about a daughter's search for the truthβ€”the dark secret in the bright star, and what drove Katherine finally mad.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Anne Enright's Actress is highly praised for its complex, multifaceted brilliance and is described as a deeply humane and darkly funny novel. Reviewers appreciate Enright's acute sensitivity to language and her ability to create an irresistible heroine in Katherine O’Dell. The novel is lauded as a masterful and immersive read, cementing Enright as a leading figure in contemporary Irish literary fiction.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781529112139

Publisher: Vintage Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 17 June 2021

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Vintage

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 16.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 197.0mm

Weight: 197g

Pages: 272

Collections

Anne Enright Arts & Culture Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction Penguin Books

About the Author

Anne Enright was born in Dublin, where she now lives and works. She has written two collections of stories, published together as Yesterday's Weather, one book of non-fiction, Making Babies, and seven novels, including The Gathering, which won the 2007 Man Booker Prize, The Forgotten Waltz, which was awarded the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, and The Green Road, which was the Bord Gais Energy Novel of the Year and won the Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award. In 2015 she was appointed as the first Laureate for Irish Fiction, and in 2018 she received the Irish PEN Award for Outstanding Contribution to Irish Literature. She is also the recipient of the 2022 Irish Book Awards Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2024 Writers' Prize for Fiction, and the 2025 Windham-Campbell Prize for Fiction.

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