Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
51st out of 295 books
—
440 voters
Mama's Bank Account
The charming adventures of the Mama of an immigrant Norwegian family living in San Francisco. This bestselling book inspired the play, motion picture, and television series I Remember Mama.
Paperback, 160 pages
Published
March 20th 1968
by Mariner Books
(first published 1943)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
1,710)
Mama's Bank Account tells the story of how a Norwegian mother Americanizes her family with her charm and understanding. This heartfelt book takes place in San Francisco in 1910. Mama is the main protagonist. We follow her life and the Hansen family by trying to combine traditional values with Norwegian values. Many issues are touched on such as, finances, family relationships, and assimilation. The last story in the novel takes place 10 years after the first story and shows how the next generati...more
Oct 24, 2009
Elizabeth K.
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Elizabeth by:
Violent Study Club book
Shelves:
2007-new-reads
This was a book for the BT book club, so very up that alley. It's a collection of memoirs/stories/stories based on memoirs written by a daughter about her family, recent immigrants to San Francisco. Well, recent at the time, I believe most of them took place in the 1910s and 20s. They're all very droll and usually illustrate some sort of moral, which is nice, but this is one of those books where when you take a closer look, it's a little amazing how simple the stories seem and yet how absolutely...more
This is the first autobiography I ever read. I was eight or nine at the time, around the same age of the author during the time of the book. I don't remember where I got it, I think from my Granny Owens. This is the book that made me fall in love with autobiographies. Maybe I'm a voyeur, but being able to peek into other people's lives is a great fascination and pleasure of mine (albeit a literary one!). I just ordered a tattered old copy that I hope will match the one I got from Granny.
A review...more
A review...more
I have to preface my review with something my sister wrote in her review: "Mama is everything in a person that I wake up every morning wishing I could be. Also, if I were ever to try and write a book, this is the kind of book I would want it to be."
Mama seriously was amazing. This book is autobiographical; the author is writing about her family and Mama is the author's mother. The book was published 1943. I was impressed throughout the novel by Mama's common sense, wisdom, love, and work ethic.
M...more
Mama seriously was amazing. This book is autobiographical; the author is writing about her family and Mama is the author's mother. The book was published 1943. I was impressed throughout the novel by Mama's common sense, wisdom, love, and work ethic.
M...more
I gobbled up this book like a Hoeffler Centennial (if you don't know what that is, take a read at this book). This book may be too endearing, too "fluffy" for some, but I loved the heartwarming tales held together by the central characters, the Hanson family.
This story has, in one form or another, been dear to me and my family for many years. The first I knew of it was the movie version from the 1940s, starring Irene Dunne as Mama (incidentally titled 'I Remember Mama'). I had seen this movie o...more
This story has, in one form or another, been dear to me and my family for many years. The first I knew of it was the movie version from the 1940s, starring Irene Dunne as Mama (incidentally titled 'I Remember Mama'). I had seen this movie o...more
You're going to come to love and appreciate the "Mama" of this book. The author pays tribute to a remarkable mother in 17 stories, chronologically arranged from the time "Katrin" is finishing grammar school through her college years. The family has struggles, tragedies, and triumphs. The mother's tenacity, ingenuity, and wisdom pull them through.
The setting is turn-of-the-century San Francisco. The parents are immigrants from Norway. The extended family figures in many of the stories, as do frie...more
The setting is turn-of-the-century San Francisco. The parents are immigrants from Norway. The extended family figures in many of the stories, as do frie...more
Totally loved this book! It's an older book. But I loved it anyway. Kind of timeless. I gave it to a friend and she didn't like it, so I guess it isn't everyone's cup of tea. I think about the uncle a lot. Kind of the crazy one, but everyone still looks up to him. Still hoping the nutty uncle will help them make life okay. There is also a movie associated with this book. I remember Mama. I gave it to my aunt who was in her 80's a few weeks before she died. They said she played it over and over a...more
Delightful! I was humbled by how patiently, yet determinedly, this mother worked toward solutions for her family's needs. She sacrificed, but without feeling martyred. Very memorable...
I selected this book from my shelf because it was thin enough that I knew I could read it in the tub without getting a cramp in my hand. I was pleasantly surprised that the writing, while a bit smarmy by today's standards, is also wryly amusing. It reads quite a bit like O Henry. Each chapter is a vignette, ending with a little twist of some sort. The hero, Mama, truly is a hero, and I liked that. It was reassuring to know that whatever happened in each chapter, quaint little immigrant Mama had...more
Sometimes when I am down I long for the era of polite books for grownups - books that don't need sex, violence, heartbreak, or 50-cent metaphors to entertain. Forbes' memoiresque style is sweet as she shares the travails of a Norwegian immigrant family in San Francisco. The title story is the nicest. Big thanks to the librarian who stuck this old book club edition (sternly marked No Renewals with a long-ago stamp) on the end-cap display for me to find. There is something friendly about paper so...more
Jan 16, 2011
Doreen
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone, all ages
Recommended to Doreen by:
no one
This is a sweet story of a Norwegian family living in San Francisco. I think the time period is the 1920's or 30's. Mama is the family's driving force, as is the case in many families. The story is narrated by the oldest daughter, Katrin. The family faces illness, school issues, tight finances, and the crazy mishaps that seem even funnier when applied to first-generation children with immigrant parents. Both the cultural and language barriers make for plenty of humor.
Mama knows that her children...more
Mama knows that her children...more
I love this little book. It is sweet and simple about a wonderful family. Each story could be its own family home evening and I don't think that is a bad thing. I wish more books like this were written about a functional happy family. They aren't perfect but they are happy and trying their best. I still love the story of Kathryn stealing the candy. I also love the stories of the resurrected cat, Mom selling her broach for graduation gift and Mama sacrificing her coat for her children. To me, it...more
A fun, easy read about a Norwegian-American family but there were aspects in their family that I could see in my own family, when I was a girl. I related to the young heart of the storyteller. Being a creature that believes passionately that we were given this day, this moment, in order to develop memories, I immersed myself in hers. The re-telling of a memory is sometimes more fulfilling than the actual moment.
This book was a treasure to read. I'd love for my life to read like this with substa...more
This book was a treasure to read. I'd love for my life to read like this with substa...more
I hope that there is always room for stories about people who are good, productive, and intelligent and have just a bit of a hankering for justice. Add love of family and of most other people - including cheating boarders - and you have Mama, a woman who, in spite of fear and financial and social disadvantages, sees good where she looks and where she puts in her hand.
In a series of short, witty stories, Ms. Forbes takes the immigrant Mama and Papa and their American-born children through the ye...more
In a series of short, witty stories, Ms. Forbes takes the immigrant Mama and Papa and their American-born children through the ye...more
"It was as if her [author's boss]tongue had been dipped in the acid that Mr Schiller kept in a rubber-topped bottle on the back of the shelf because a drop of it could sear off your flesh."
Funny, poignant, and edifying stories of 30's Norwegian immigrant family's struggles to survive in San Francisco.
Resourceful mama finds ingenious ways to make money, solve problems, and save lives.
Some chapters good enough for American Lit anthologies.
This wasn't quite what I expected, but it was delightful. It reminded me a lot of "Cheaper By the Dozen." Not for content, more for format. It is a work of fiction, but written first-person with the same name as the author. It makes you wonder...In any case, it is a collection of vignettes from this family showing how the mother can be resourceful, wise, generous, and does all she can for the benefit of her family. It's a super-quick read. I really liked it.
Mama is a Norwegian immigrant raising her family in 1910 San Francisco. Each chapter is in itself a story, as told by her daughter, which shows the trials of childhood and the perceptions and quiet way of righting the wrongs and calming the fears, that only her Mama can do.
This is one of the books which later was used to write the TV show “Mama” from 1949-1957; a 1944 play by John Van Druten and subsequent 1948 film “I Remember Mama" starring Irene Dunn as Mama. (info from Wikipedia)
I have adde...more
This is one of the books which later was used to write the TV show “Mama” from 1949-1957; a 1944 play by John Van Druten and subsequent 1948 film “I Remember Mama" starring Irene Dunn as Mama. (info from Wikipedia)
I have adde...more
This is an old classic, that my mother (majored in english and passed on her love for reading with all of her children and now grandchildren) shared with me. She just recently gave it to Mikaylie for Christmas, and I can't wait to reread it with her.
This is a book of challenges that a poor family faces and yet, despite their hardships, they enjoy so much of life. So many great life lessons can be learned from this story.
This is a book of challenges that a poor family faces and yet, despite their hardships, they enjoy so much of life. So many great life lessons can be learned from this story.
I just happened to grab this little book of the shelf at our library and I am glad I did. It was a really quick read, but was so touching, funny, and sweet. A nicely told memoir of a Norwegian family and the love they had for one another, especially for their mother who was such a strength and an example to the whole family and those that knew her. I really enjoyed reading their memories.
A DELIGHTFUL READ.
“Her disposition became, if possible , even meaner, and her vocabulary consisted entirely of cat expletives.”—page 162
Kathryn Forbes’s fictionalized memoirs, ‘Mama’s Bank Account,’ is a collection of engaging, charming and heart-warming stories from a simpler time and place; 1920s, in s San Francisco boarding house.
Recommendation: An enjoyable read for all ages.
“Life is good,” she said contentedly. “Life is so good.”—page 176
Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., hardcover edition,...more
“Her disposition became, if possible , even meaner, and her vocabulary consisted entirely of cat expletives.”—page 162
Kathryn Forbes’s fictionalized memoirs, ‘Mama’s Bank Account,’ is a collection of engaging, charming and heart-warming stories from a simpler time and place; 1920s, in s San Francisco boarding house.
Recommendation: An enjoyable read for all ages.
“Life is good,” she said contentedly. “Life is so good.”—page 176
Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., hardcover edition,...more
1 like · like · see review
Charming, sweet, quick read. A series of stories about a Norwegian family living in San Francisco in the early 1900s. It's a feel-good book, which we can all use now and then. I can't believe how patient, loving, determined and wise the mama is! It's a good reminder of the power of mothers in teaching their children. I'd recommend it to anyone without hesitation!
Just finished reading. Thanks, Robin! Thoroughly enjoyed it. I well remember watching "I Remember Mama" in the early days of TV - taken from the book. Was the first sitcom on TV. Subsequently made into a movie for anyone interested. Available on Netflix. Also, check out "I Remember Mama" on the internet to watch short excerpts from the TV series.
Great picture of immigrant life, with an enterprising mama and a close family. My favorite bit is when the main character, trying to fit in, volunteers to bring a special tidbit for a school party and Mama sends her to school with a gleaming hot chafing dish full of traditional meatballs. I used to cry a little over that part.
My God I loved this book as a kid. I hardly remember it, but I would read it constantly. I read it to my father and my mother aloud when they would drive me to school or CCD. They really dug it too. We all bonded over this book in a way, and to this day mention it in passing at dinner. Definitely a good read for a kid.
Wonderful collection of immigrant memoirs. It's too bad that it's not read and studied more often these days. It would be a great Lit Unit for kids 5-8th grade who are studying immigration. The surprise ending of the first story says it all about the sacrifices that this immigrant mother made to insure the well-being of her children. You don't have to be from Norwegian stock to imagine your immigrant ancestor doing similar things for her children.
Delightful and charming story about an Norwegian immigrant family living in San Francisco around 1910. Each chapter tells a separate story or vignette, and together they give a nice picture of life at the turn of the century. It was a short and easy read, and it provided for some enjoyable discussion at book club.
This sweet tribute to the author's immigrant mother is not only touching but inspiring. An especially good read for moms like me who wonder if the minutia I attend to every day makes much of a difference in this complex world. The author clearly affirms that it does. A quick read that will touch your heart.
May 16, 2010
Annie
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommended to Annie by:
annie.oswald@gmail.com
Shelves:
fiction-non-fiction-bio-like
This gets more like 3 1/2 stars. It was short, sweet, and entertaining. I read it in an hour. I really really wanted it to be non-fiction but I guess it was based on Kathryn Forbes' life. I do like this style of writing--a series of short stories that are linked chronologically yet each can stand alone.
Oct 27, 2009
Arctic
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
the family-minded, people with immigrant parents / grandparents
loved this little collection of family tales. easy, quick, heartwarming read. Makes me want to have a bigger family of my own, and appreciate the one I have all the more. I plan on sharing my copy with my mom in hopes that she'll get as much enjoyment out of it as I have.
This was trip down memory lane for me. This book was the basis of a movie and TV show called "I Remember Mama." I have seen the movie and enjoyed the TV show as a kid. This is a story of a strong Norwegian immigrant family raising their 5 children in San Francisco in the early 40s. It was a time of strong family values, people with a strong sense of hard work and living the Golden Rule. People took care of each other and had simple needs. It is something that our world has lost too much of. Our...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Forbes, born Kathryn Anderson, was the granddaughter of Norwegian immigrants. She was a writer best known for Mama's Bank Account, a fictionalized memoir about a Norwegian family in 1920s San Francisco. The book focused on the warmhearted family and its struggles and dreams. The book inspired first a play, then a movie, and finally a TV series, all called I Remember Mama.
Forbes also published nove...more
Share This Book
2 trivia questions
More quizzes & trivia...
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
david
Savings Bank
Dec 21, 2010 04:29am