Wednesday, January 4, 2012

I Knew it was Familiar...

Mama's Bank Account
by Kathryn Forbes

I picked this up from the library on a whim. A co-worker of mine had found it in the stacks and showed it to me, but as I looked at it I realized I'd read it before. Or part of it. I'm still not entirely certain, but all throughout there was a sense of familiarity as if I had read it in childhood. I'm positive that at least two of the chapters - "Mama and the Graduation Present" and "Mama and Uncle Elizabeth" - were in my elementary or middle school literature books.

Well, enough about why I picked up the book. Here's a bit about what I read:

In episodic chapters, the author draws on the experiences of her Norwegian immigrant grandmother to describe a family in San Fransisco in the early 1900s, and their steadfast Mama. I really enjoyed these heartwarming and often funny stories. Each chapter could be read nearly on its own, though time moves on, and some references are made to past chapters. The importance of family, and Mama's oft-repeated phrase, "It is good," are at the heart of this story.

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