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Dirtbag Queen
“Because she was my mother, the death of zaftig good-time gal Renay Corren is newsworthy to me, and I treat it with the same respect and reverence she had for, well, nothing. A more disrespectful, trash talking woman was not to be found.”
So began Andy Corren's unforgettable obituary for his mother, Renay Mandel Corren, in her hometown paper The Fayetteville Observer, a tribute that went on to touch the hearts of millions around the globe. In his brief telling of the life and legend that was Renay, a “loud, filthy‑minded (and filthy‑mouthed) Jewish lady redneck who birthed six kids—some of whom she even knew,” Andy captured only a slice of his loving and fabulously unconventional mother.
His obituary for Renay was just the tip of the iceberg. In this uproariously funny, deeply moving family portrait, readers meet the rest of his absurd his brothers, affectionately nicknamed Asshole (whose terrible attitude permeates every room he enters), Twin (held back a year and constantly mistaken for Andy despite the fact that they look nothing alike), and Rabbi (the only one who had a Bar Mitzvah); his one-eyed pirate queen of a sister, Cathy Sue (a teen bride who lost an eye to a Pepsi bottle); and then there’s the mysterious Bonus, who Andy isn’t aware of until later in life since this mysterious oldest brother grew up at the Green Valley School for Emotionally Disturbed and Delinquent Children.
A story of love and forgiveness, as well as a celebration of a woman who “didn't cook, didn't clean, and was lousy with money” but was “great at dyeing her red roots, weekly manicures, filthy jokes, pier fishing, rolling joints and buying dirty magazines," Dirtbag Queen is an entertaining and poignant portrayal of the complex and heartfelt humanity that unites us all—especially family.
So began Andy Corren's unforgettable obituary for his mother, Renay Mandel Corren, in her hometown paper The Fayetteville Observer, a tribute that went on to touch the hearts of millions around the globe. In his brief telling of the life and legend that was Renay, a “loud, filthy‑minded (and filthy‑mouthed) Jewish lady redneck who birthed six kids—some of whom she even knew,” Andy captured only a slice of his loving and fabulously unconventional mother.
His obituary for Renay was just the tip of the iceberg. In this uproariously funny, deeply moving family portrait, readers meet the rest of his absurd his brothers, affectionately nicknamed Asshole (whose terrible attitude permeates every room he enters), Twin (held back a year and constantly mistaken for Andy despite the fact that they look nothing alike), and Rabbi (the only one who had a Bar Mitzvah); his one-eyed pirate queen of a sister, Cathy Sue (a teen bride who lost an eye to a Pepsi bottle); and then there’s the mysterious Bonus, who Andy isn’t aware of until later in life since this mysterious oldest brother grew up at the Green Valley School for Emotionally Disturbed and Delinquent Children.
A story of love and forgiveness, as well as a celebration of a woman who “didn't cook, didn't clean, and was lousy with money” but was “great at dyeing her red roots, weekly manicures, filthy jokes, pier fishing, rolling joints and buying dirty magazines," Dirtbag Queen is an entertaining and poignant portrayal of the complex and heartfelt humanity that unites us all—especially family.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 14, 2025
322 people are currently reading
9058 people want to read
About the author
Andy Corren
1 book60 followersAndy Corren was born and raised on the wrong side of Fayetteville, North Carolina. He barely graduated Westover, got fired from every job in show business, and has no MFA. Andy and his son Hudson D. Dog live in Greene County, NY and Harlem, USA.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 306 reviews
November 12, 2024
The audiobook is a work of art, and I won’t be accepting any arguments.
April 22, 2025
This is not a memoir like any I've read before. It's a hands-down, warts and all, nothing held back and nothing left out story of the life of Andy Corren's larger-than-life mother, Renay.
I'm sure there are other people in this world who would recognise women like Renay, but I don't know any. I'd like to though. She sounds like the sort of woman who wouldn't put up with any BS but would fight her (and her childrens') corner to her last breath.
I listened to the audio version and I'm sure the print version is fine but I loved this. Andy Corren narrates and I'm not sure anyone else could have done the job justice. It's obvious from the get-go that he adored his mother whilst still recognising her failings. No one's perfect.
I'd say the reason I really enjoyed this memoir was because it was crazy and shocking but ultimately joyful.
Definitely recommended. I can't comment on the print version, but the audio is wonderful.
Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Audio for the audio advance review copy.
I'm sure there are other people in this world who would recognise women like Renay, but I don't know any. I'd like to though. She sounds like the sort of woman who wouldn't put up with any BS but would fight her (and her childrens') corner to her last breath.
I listened to the audio version and I'm sure the print version is fine but I loved this. Andy Corren narrates and I'm not sure anyone else could have done the job justice. It's obvious from the get-go that he adored his mother whilst still recognising her failings. No one's perfect.
I'd say the reason I really enjoyed this memoir was because it was crazy and shocking but ultimately joyful.
Definitely recommended. I can't comment on the print version, but the audio is wonderful.
Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Audio for the audio advance review copy.
March 6, 2025
In a Venn diagram of hilarious southern storytellers, Corren is the intersection of David Sedaris and Leslie Jordan. In this sometimes dark, often humorous memoir, he details pivotal stories from childhood through his hot mess mother’s death. There’s a whole cast of siblings with funny nicknames. A solid rec from a trusted friend who nailed the Jordan comparison which sold me on picking this up!
December 24, 2024
I received a ARC of the audio version of Dirtbag Queen from NetGalley and the publisher, Hachette Audio in exchange for a truthful review.
The narrator is personable and humorous with a Southern drawl. The author wrote his memoir and told all about his mother, René. You can tell she is a hero in Corren's mind. Stories about Corren's childhood include telling all about how they learned he is gay (Donnie Osmond had something to do with it), all about the difficult relationship he had with his stepdad and growing up in the 80's.
It is an entertaining story, although sometimes the mother-worship gets a little tiring. Overall, I would recommend it to someone who is looking for a quick, light read.
The narrator is personable and humorous with a Southern drawl. The author wrote his memoir and told all about his mother, René. You can tell she is a hero in Corren's mind. Stories about Corren's childhood include telling all about how they learned he is gay (Donnie Osmond had something to do with it), all about the difficult relationship he had with his stepdad and growing up in the 80's.
It is an entertaining story, although sometimes the mother-worship gets a little tiring. Overall, I would recommend it to someone who is looking for a quick, light read.
April 20, 2025
Raunchy, funny, heartbreaking. As other reviewers have noted, the audiobook is the way to go on this one. His memories of the Donny & Marie TV show cracked me up! “The seventies were simply incredible. You had to be there.”
January 17, 2025
I wanted to like this-I certainly laughed out loud but it felt so over the top and repetitive to me-who am I to judge someone’s life story? It just wasn’t for me.
October 26, 2024
Andy Corren's mom died. It was very sad, but Corren decided to turn her obituary into a send-up to an irreverent and non-conventional mother. The obit caught fire and now we have Corren's memoir about his family in Dirtbag Queen. It says it is about his mother but it is really about his whole family.
There are some solid laughs in Corren's book and his love of his family shines through. While there is a ton of mocking of everyone (including himself), Corren never veers into meanness even when discussing family members he might not be talking to currently. As a love letter to his family, it succeeds.
As a book, I was a bit letdown, unfortunately. Corren has a habit of starting each chapter with something outlandish and then jumping back to the beginning of the episode. It gets overused as does Corren's comedy. While very funny in parts, I felt like the comedic aspects of the book kept intruding on the sincerity. It is the equivalent of a movie which has a death scene that is punctuated with a joke. Yes, the joke may be funny but let other emotions have their moment. The final chapter is a perfect encapsulation of what the book could have been. Corren tells the story of his mother's final days. The sad moments are given some pathos and time for the reader to really feel them. It is more linear than other chapters even if it still starts off with the story telling mechanic I mention above. It is by far the longest chapter and I wish the whole book was like it.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing.)
There are some solid laughs in Corren's book and his love of his family shines through. While there is a ton of mocking of everyone (including himself), Corren never veers into meanness even when discussing family members he might not be talking to currently. As a love letter to his family, it succeeds.
As a book, I was a bit letdown, unfortunately. Corren has a habit of starting each chapter with something outlandish and then jumping back to the beginning of the episode. It gets overused as does Corren's comedy. While very funny in parts, I felt like the comedic aspects of the book kept intruding on the sincerity. It is the equivalent of a movie which has a death scene that is punctuated with a joke. Yes, the joke may be funny but let other emotions have their moment. The final chapter is a perfect encapsulation of what the book could have been. Corren tells the story of his mother's final days. The sad moments are given some pathos and time for the reader to really feel them. It is more linear than other chapters even if it still starts off with the story telling mechanic I mention above. It is by far the longest chapter and I wish the whole book was like it.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing.)
March 3, 2025
Andy Corren's debut memoir was inspired by the viral obituary he wrote for his mother during the pandemic in The Fayetteville Observer. Dirtbag Queen is a love letter to a woman who didn't bother herself with any motherly or traditional housewife duties. Renay Mandel Corren was a chain-smoking, dirty mouthed, vulgar Jewish redneck who was good at bailing kids out of jail, rolling joints, and making sure she was never without a pedicure, but not so good at doing laundry or keeping food on the table. Brash, loud, hilarious, heartbreaking, and unforgettable; Dirtbag Queen is a fitting tribute to a one of a kind woman. Renay may not have won any mother of the year awards but you wouldn't have known that by the way her six kids practically worshipped the ground she walked on. Fantastically narrated by the author himself, Dirtbag Queen pulses with delightful frenetic energy that listeners will find themselves sucked into. Andy Corren's indignant, sassy, emotional, and engaged narration make this a truly unforgettable listen. Fans of David Sedaris and Jenny Lawson will adore this audiobook. Verdict: Hilarious and heartfelt, the outstanding narration really elevates this memoir.
February 18, 2025
He's no David Sedaris.
December 3, 2024
What a simply spectacular memoir! I love autobiographies even more when they're performed by the author, and Andy Corren does an incredible job with Dirtbag Queen
The précis describes Dirtbag Queen as a memoir for Corren's "loud, filthy‑minded (and filthy‑mouthed)" mother, but believe me this is very much an autobiography of the author. This book is filled with details of growing up in a wild and wacky family, and coming out during a unique time and geographical place in America.
Dirtbag Queen is beautifully crafted and quite intimate, and I really enjoyed Andy Corren's witty, clever writing style. I'm dying to see what else he's published. Plus, his performance in the audio version is absolutely marvelous!
If this cover doesn't grab your attention LOL I don't know what will!
an audiobook copy of Dirtbag Queen was provided by Hachette Audio | Grand Central Publishing, via NetGalley, for the purpose of my honest review, all opinions are my own
The précis describes Dirtbag Queen as a memoir for Corren's "loud, filthy‑minded (and filthy‑mouthed)" mother, but believe me this is very much an autobiography of the author. This book is filled with details of growing up in a wild and wacky family, and coming out during a unique time and geographical place in America.
Dirtbag Queen is beautifully crafted and quite intimate, and I really enjoyed Andy Corren's witty, clever writing style. I'm dying to see what else he's published. Plus, his performance in the audio version is absolutely marvelous!
If this cover doesn't grab your attention LOL I don't know what will!
an audiobook copy of Dirtbag Queen was provided by Hachette Audio | Grand Central Publishing, via NetGalley, for the purpose of my honest review, all opinions are my own
January 27, 2025
Loved this book! This is a group hug for Gen Xers raised on soap operas and dysfunctional function. Thank You Andy Coreen we are with you ❤️
February 22, 2025
Laugh out loud! Beautiful tribute. The audiobook is read by the author and is a hidden GEM 💎
June 1, 2025
Kind of a B-level David Sedaris memoir. Certainly some entertaining parts but overall I felt he was trying too hard to be funny/ironic
August 12, 2025
Listening to this audiobook is like being handed a drink you didn’t order but is somehow perfect. It slapped me across the face with greatness, and I thanked it.
February 26, 2025
Wow! What a tribute to what must have been an incredible ZFG woman. Laugh out loud and cry as Andy Corren himself narrates his life growing up in Fayetteville, NC with a flamboyantly larger than life mother. Note- if “bad words” bother you👀then you may want to skip this one••• but don’t, because he navigates the reader through his life with his siblings and mother’s death - all the good, bad, ugly and beautiful. 😍
March 3, 2025
3.5 stars
March 21, 2025
A very poor imitation of David Sedaris with no real value.
January 5, 2025
Hilarious and endearing. Similar to David Sedaris in tone and wit but without the NPR sensibilities. He brings levity and amusement to serious family dynamics. It’s a love letter to his raucous mother. I even cried between bursts of laughter. Listened on libro.fm
April 3, 2025
Kids named asshole, twin, rabbi and Jew boy and a daughter named Kathy? What’s not to love. Hilarious.
March 10, 2025
Tried to like it. Found it tried too hard and really fell flat.
February 15, 2025
Sparked by a viral obituary, this unlikeliest of memoirs introduces us to the crazy Corren family and their larger-than-life mother.
While this would be enjoyable in print, I highly recommend listening to it if you're planning to enjoy the book. Corren reads it himself, and his background in the theater and competing at the state level in forensics make it as good an audiobook performance as I have heard. The combination of his North Carolina drawl and flamboyant sarcasm add an extra dimension to his stories, and hearing his rendition adds a layer of clarity. "I am not proud of wearing jorts to (the) funeral, but it was a sticky ninety-eight degrees with 85 percent humidity. So fuck it. Jorts-and-tank-top sendoff for her" can read more callous than it actually is when you hear Corren perform the passage in the audiobook. There's a tongue-in-cheek quality throughout.
I was a bit skeptical that a first-time author could turn a thousand-word obituary into a full-length memoir, but there's more than enough content to hold a reader's interest, and Corren has plenty of talent to deliver it effectively. The book simply worked for me, in all its crazy, irreverent, jaw-dropping glory. It's a perfect audio companion for a road trip, and a worthy tribute to a large life well-lived.
My full review: https://www.barlinsbooks.com/post/dir...
While this would be enjoyable in print, I highly recommend listening to it if you're planning to enjoy the book. Corren reads it himself, and his background in the theater and competing at the state level in forensics make it as good an audiobook performance as I have heard. The combination of his North Carolina drawl and flamboyant sarcasm add an extra dimension to his stories, and hearing his rendition adds a layer of clarity. "I am not proud of wearing jorts to (the) funeral, but it was a sticky ninety-eight degrees with 85 percent humidity. So fuck it. Jorts-and-tank-top sendoff for her" can read more callous than it actually is when you hear Corren perform the passage in the audiobook. There's a tongue-in-cheek quality throughout.
I was a bit skeptical that a first-time author could turn a thousand-word obituary into a full-length memoir, but there's more than enough content to hold a reader's interest, and Corren has plenty of talent to deliver it effectively. The book simply worked for me, in all its crazy, irreverent, jaw-dropping glory. It's a perfect audio companion for a road trip, and a worthy tribute to a large life well-lived.
My full review: https://www.barlinsbooks.com/post/dir...
July 15, 2025
3.75 stars
Dirtbag Queen by Andy Corren is like if David Sedaris and a raccoon in a rhinestone jacket co-wrote a tell-all over a bottomless mimosa brunch. Corren—part talent manager, part chaos agent, full-time raconteur—spills his life story with a martini-drenched mix of glam, grime, and gallows humor. From hustling in Manhattan’s underbelly to managing celebs while wrangling his demons, he’s equal parts fabulous and feral.
At times, the memoir reads like a confessional booth with a disco ball, other times like your most unhinged friend at karaoke finally telling all the stories they’ve legally been forbidden to. It's funny, messy, and occasionally exhausting.
Dirtbag Queen by Andy Corren is like if David Sedaris and a raccoon in a rhinestone jacket co-wrote a tell-all over a bottomless mimosa brunch. Corren—part talent manager, part chaos agent, full-time raconteur—spills his life story with a martini-drenched mix of glam, grime, and gallows humor. From hustling in Manhattan’s underbelly to managing celebs while wrangling his demons, he’s equal parts fabulous and feral.
At times, the memoir reads like a confessional booth with a disco ball, other times like your most unhinged friend at karaoke finally telling all the stories they’ve legally been forbidden to. It's funny, messy, and occasionally exhausting.
July 3, 2025
As loving a memorial of a mother that a Southern redneck gay boy can give his mother. Every time I thought that they could fall no further, they fell further. But, the beauty of this family (and there truly was not much beauty here) was the frantic, toxic, slathering, roller coaster love that any family could have. Not one of them was without flaws—extreme and life-leveling flaws—but they came together for this mother who kept them alive on Charles Chips and Pepsi from her work at the bowling alley. Tough, tough love.
January 29, 2025
boring and has no point
March 2, 2025
It was not for me… at all
I think he talked about his mom in an oddly sexual way and it made me uncomfy..
I ended up DNFing it
I think he talked about his mom in an oddly sexual way and it made me uncomfy..
I ended up DNFing it
April 14, 2025
I loved everything about this. Andy’s voice (highly recommend the audiobook!), his hyperbolic humor and self-deprecating wit, his unflattering portraits of loved ones, his wild tales you’re not sure are true but are insanely entertaining to listen to. This was almost a Big Fish style of storytelling, where the narrative is a bit outlandish with questionable truth claims but lovingly told with a touch of good old fashioned southern magic. Also, how many memoirs are there about a gay Jewish redneck? Highly recommend!
January 30, 2025
3.5 ⭐️
“With yesterday’s news stained on our fingertips”
“Renay thought pornographers and casino operators were the only honest men left in America”
“All of a sudden, I got saw, y’all!”
“You can have your freedom, or you can have a husband”
“That woman loved a Publix”
“Marian the Hungarian, now a Nonagenarian”
“With yesterday’s news stained on our fingertips”
“Renay thought pornographers and casino operators were the only honest men left in America”
“All of a sudden, I got saw, y’all!”
“You can have your freedom, or you can have a husband”
“That woman loved a Publix”
“Marian the Hungarian, now a Nonagenarian”
April 10, 2025
I am so happy I listened to this instead of reading it. I'm a huge proponent of hearing someone's story in their own voice. That being said, I probably wouldn't have finished it, or liked it at much if I had read it myself. By the end, I was crying in the hospital room with Andy and his brother. His acknowledgments made me chuckle. I still can't tell...did he love or hate his mom? or is that the question? 😅 I say, read it!
April 30, 2025
3.5 stars.
Much like Renay, the author's mother and protagonist, Corren's memoir is entertaining and insatiable. As someone who themself grew up as a poor white person, Corren's childhood reminded me in many ways of my own dysfunctional family.
Much like Renay, the author's mother and protagonist, Corren's memoir is entertaining and insatiable. As someone who themself grew up as a poor white person, Corren's childhood reminded me in many ways of my own dysfunctional family.
May 21, 2025
You MUST listen to this on Audible if you think you might be interested. His voice? Just perfection for this book. Are they dysfunctional? Yup. Is it crude? Yup. Is it hilarious? You bet your gefilte fish it is. Not much makes me actually laugh, but I was LOLing down the highway to this one.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 306 reviews