Molly Fox's Birthday by Deirdre Madden
Molly Fox's Birthday
By Deirdre Madden
Completed May 13, 2010
How well do you know your friends? In Molly Fox’s Birthday by Deirdre Madden, the unnamed narrator, who is a successful playwright, examines the friendships of her two friends, Molly and Andrew.
The narrator is staying in Molly’s home while Molly is on holiday. Facing fierce writer’s block, the narrator begins to reminisce about how she met Molly, who was now a highly acclaimed stage actress, and their mutual friend, Andrew, who was an art historian. As the narrator goes through her day, little things remind her of each friend. She begins to realize that she may not know her friends as well as she hoped. Each had sides to their lives that were closed - the mourning of a murdered brother, the abandonment by a mother.
The narrator doesn’t dwell in these facts, but gets captivated in its wonderment. In essence, she accepts that you could be friends with people for a long time, but there are still layers that remain unrevealed. The idea of friendship is to not focus on what you don’t know about a person but revel in what you do.
An enchanting tribute to friendship, Molly Fox’s Birthday would be enjoyed by readers who relish in the cerebral. Admittedly, the story has some contrived transitions between the narrator’s present life and her memories. Overall, though, it was a lovely tale about the power of friendship, mutual respect and acceptance. (
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