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Ma's Dictionary
Ma's Dictionary is a memoir about a discontinuous journey through radically different sectors of society in France, Slovakia, and the U.S.A. The manuscript itself has an unusual bilingual history. Several chapters have received literary awards, most notably from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council.
340 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 7, 2020
I borrowed this book from the UMD library immediately after the author had to cancel his appearance at the Annual Summit on Equity, Race, and Ethnicity, for health reasons. I wish I had been able to meet him, but am glad he finished his memoir project before he passed - allowing strangers a glimpse of his interesting life and charming personality. The book itself is jumpy, hopping through years of stories with frequent gaps, but still manages to provide a readable narrative. Included in the personal stories are historical references and perspectives (with some striking similarities to current events.) Worth reading, particularly if you need some encouragement during times of conflict or transition.
June 27, 2019
I enjoyed this book from beginning to end. It's beautifully written. The author does a wonderful job of weaving his stories and the social impact of class, social mobility, and the immigrant experience together. It's one of the best memoirs that I've ever read.
July 13, 2016
Milan Kovacovic was born in 1942 in Normandy, France of Slovak parents, who were foreign guest workers there. Shortly after his birth, his father died of cancer. Now his mother had to work to support all of her 3 children. Two older daughters, Eva and Olga, were being raised by relatives in Slovakia. Milan’s mother was employed as a live-in domestic worker with the wealthy Lavril family in Le-Moulin-Sagout and later as a cook for the equally wealthy Kapferer family in Paris. Milan was raised by an elderly peasant couple, Old Man Lapais and the Widow Vermot, in the nearby village of Saint-Aquilin-de-Pacy-sur-Eure. After his father’s death, his mother returned to her village in Slovakia, Bzince pod Javorinou, in an attempt to reunite with her extended family. There Milan met his 2 older sisters for the first time.
When his mother realized that she could not stay in Slovakia, she returned to France, taking Milan and his sister, Olga, with her. Eva would stay in Slovakia and continue to be raised by her relatives. Olga stayed with Milan in Saint Aquilin for 2 years and when she reached the age of 18, she also became a live-in domestic worker. Milan stayed in Saint Aquilin for 10 years and attended school there. After he reached the end of his education in the village one-room schoolhouse, he attended boarding school outside of Paris on a full scholarship. Because he was surrounded by other boys from wealthy families in this new situation, and because he spent weekends and holidays with his mother in the Kapferer mansion at 64 Avenue Henri-Martin in Paris, he was exposed to the ways of the wealthy French citizen. As he says in his memoir, “although my upbringing had taken place at the lowest rung of the peasantry, I had also since infancy been closely exposed to rich people and their way of life, through Maman’s employment. I had no doubt absorbed some of their traits.” (p.135)
When he was 14 years old in 1956, Milan and his mother immigrated to America. His sister Olga remained in Paris. They stayed briefly in New York City and then moved to Chicago, where Milan attended high school while his mother worked outside the home to support him. In this large Midwestern city, Milan, homesick for Paris, associated with working class boys, many of whom dropped out of school as soon as they could. Milan began his teenage years in America without direction, ambition, or encouragement from benefactors, wealthy or otherwise. He went on to graduate from high school, but drifted about with no real idea what to do with his life.
This memoir is a collection of moments from the author’s life that he feels have been pivotal. These recollections are more or less arranged to make a narrative, with the exception of the first few chapters, which take place in the present. Most of the narrative follows in logical order from the beginning of the author’s life. Ma’s Dictionary is well-written and interesting with insight into the unique life of an immigrant of Slovak parentage. However, his mother has only a small part in this memoir, despite the title. And there is very little of the author’s Slovak heritage that seems to have had any influence on his life.
When his mother realized that she could not stay in Slovakia, she returned to France, taking Milan and his sister, Olga, with her. Eva would stay in Slovakia and continue to be raised by her relatives. Olga stayed with Milan in Saint Aquilin for 2 years and when she reached the age of 18, she also became a live-in domestic worker. Milan stayed in Saint Aquilin for 10 years and attended school there. After he reached the end of his education in the village one-room schoolhouse, he attended boarding school outside of Paris on a full scholarship. Because he was surrounded by other boys from wealthy families in this new situation, and because he spent weekends and holidays with his mother in the Kapferer mansion at 64 Avenue Henri-Martin in Paris, he was exposed to the ways of the wealthy French citizen. As he says in his memoir, “although my upbringing had taken place at the lowest rung of the peasantry, I had also since infancy been closely exposed to rich people and their way of life, through Maman’s employment. I had no doubt absorbed some of their traits.” (p.135)
When he was 14 years old in 1956, Milan and his mother immigrated to America. His sister Olga remained in Paris. They stayed briefly in New York City and then moved to Chicago, where Milan attended high school while his mother worked outside the home to support him. In this large Midwestern city, Milan, homesick for Paris, associated with working class boys, many of whom dropped out of school as soon as they could. Milan began his teenage years in America without direction, ambition, or encouragement from benefactors, wealthy or otherwise. He went on to graduate from high school, but drifted about with no real idea what to do with his life.
This memoir is a collection of moments from the author’s life that he feels have been pivotal. These recollections are more or less arranged to make a narrative, with the exception of the first few chapters, which take place in the present. Most of the narrative follows in logical order from the beginning of the author’s life. Ma’s Dictionary is well-written and interesting with insight into the unique life of an immigrant of Slovak parentage. However, his mother has only a small part in this memoir, despite the title. And there is very little of the author’s Slovak heritage that seems to have had any influence on his life.
January 3, 2019
Totally engrossing. Loved following the trajectory of Milan's life, seeing the different social strata through his eyes. Loved it.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews