Mama's Bank Account (Harvest/HBJ Book) by Kathryn Forbes
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Book Reviews of Mama's Bank Account (Harvest/HBJ Book)
Book Review: Early San Francisco Charm and So Much More
Summary: 5 Stars
When I first proposed to read this story aloud to my children, my oldest, then perhaps 8 or 9 years old, protested loudly! She thought it was going to be a series of numbers and notes about expenditures that I was going to read to her. It only took a little persuading and a few pages before she was hooked.
This is a true story - really a set of simple reminiscences - about a Norwegian immigrant family living in San Francisco in the early 1900s (somewhere between the 1906 earthquake and World War I). The stories center around the author's mother, "Mama" - a wonderful character who is difficult to describe with just a few quick adjectives. This is partly because the author reveals her mother's character through favorite family stories in a lovely, subtle way with plenty of good humor. You come to see that Mama is shrewd but completely selfless; she has a wonderful grasp of human nature, but is easily misunderstood because she so readily sees what is good in everyone; she is quiet, but oh, SO stubborn and certainly knows how to get things done in spite of insurmountable odds! Looking through Mama's eyes at the interesting characters that come into her life is an experience in itself!
I think this is best as a solo read for the 12 and up crowd, though it could be read aloud - perhaps with a little explanation or discussion along the way - to children much younger.
If you've ever seen the movie *I Remember Mama* (1948) with Irene Dunne, you're already acquainted with the main characters of this lovely little book. If you haven't seen it yet, you're missing out on a real treasure that could be enjoyed before or after this book. But that's a matter for a separate review. I was delighted to recently discover that my grandmother, who lived her whole life in San Francisco and died before I was born, was also a big fan of this movie!
Book Review: A tribute to San Francisco, and to Mamas'.
Summary: 5 Stars
Having grown up in the Bay Area, I found this book a wonderful piece of history. It made me laugh till I cried, cry till I laughed! A true San Francisco story!A family of Norwegian immigrants who love San Francisco as much as we all do! This novel is about the love that moves this family, the love that moves the family matriarch: Mama, to sacrifice and care for her family through good times and bad, to see to it, in a loving and touching way, that her family, particularly the children, feel secure and happy, and all the things that families do for each other; as Barbara Kingsolver wrote in Pigs In Heaven: All families are crazy! How true! This is a truly entertaining novel, to be read in one night, at one sitting. We grow to love Mama and Papa, Kathryn, Nells, "Uncle" Elizabeth, and of course: the wonderful, old Uncle Chris, who we grow to love to the point of shattering tears at his death.
We also grow to love the San Francisco Bay Area! I loved hearing about all the landmarks that I'd seen my whole life, spoken of in print from the perspective of someone who lived sixty to seventy years ago! And I laughed till I cried at the thought that the East Bay was ever referred to or thought of as "the country!" Actually, I think I did see a goat there once, a strange old man kept him in his yard so he wouldn't have to mow! HA! Get this rich novel, which takes place in a rich area, about some of the richest people I've ever read about!
Book Review: A Neglected Literary Gem
Summary: 5 Stars
I first read this novel in 1946 as a freshman in high school. The author's son was a sophomore in the same school. Dick was enormously popular, class president, a natural athlete, gifted amateur actor, public speaker and writer. Certainly a remarkable lad in his own right. (In 1947, having dropped a water bomb on one of the faculty, I knew my days were numbered and changed schools. Never ran into Dick again. So this is not a review written by a friend). That said, it was only de rigueur to read a book written by a classmate's mother.The story line has been described by other reviewers, and their comments are right on target. One thing I might add is that Kathryn Forbes enjoyed a widespread national celebrity in the late forties, particularly after the Hollywood film was released. The story was also adapted for theater and, later, television. Sadly, celebrity is a perishable commodity.
I picked up this book and read it again last year. As a published novelist, I read it on this occasion with a very critical eye. It is as fresh as it was more than half a century ago. Not a great novel in the Faulknerian sense, but certainly a small classic. It is a charming work of great originality. Anyone interested in becoming a writer would do well to study it. See how beautifully Kathryn Forbes blends the theme and story line. Check out the clever characterization, and the simplicity of her writing style (never pretentious). This book is truly a little gem of its genre.
Book Review: Mama and her Bank Account
Summary: 5 Stars
I won't give away the spoiler that ties together the whole plot, but needless to say it's right up there in the title of the book and it's still a surprise even after sixty years or more since the novel was first published. Kathryn Forbes must have been a delightful woman and her book is one of the finest achievements ever to have been written in San Francisco. And that's saying something, considering what a rich and cultured city ours is. One episode that will stick with me forever is the time when the little girl and her brother are talked into providing food for their whole class at school, and "Mama" saves the day by cooking up some of her good old Swedish (I guess Norwegian) meatballs. When I first read this passage I was but a little boy and had never heard of any kind of meatballs but Italian ones! Next thing you know, my mom and dad took us to dinner and the waiter asked me what I wanted to eat and I surprised them all by asking for "Swedish meatballs on little tooth picks."
It's a family book for people whose families are no longer with us. And it will rekindle the spirit of hope in everyone, with its message of universal tolerance and mother love.
Book Review: The Inspiration For 'I Remember Mama'
Summary: 5 Stars
Since "I Remember Mama" is one of my favorite movies of all time, I had to check out this book. After all, this literature is what the movie is based on....and it's more good stuff.
To be honest, I am more partial to the film, but this was still great reading. Like a more well-known classic, "A Tree Grows In Brooklyn," it bring you back to very early 20th century America. It's brings you to a different and values and a struggling family in which each penny counted.
All the stories you see in the film - and more - are in this book, so if you care about Mama, Papa, Katrin, Christine, Dagmar, Nels, Uncle Chris and Aunts Sigrid, Marta and Jenny this is a must-read. You get a great flavor of an immigrant family and the bustling city of San Francisco.
Old-fashioned family goodness like this will warm your heart on a cold winter night.