Jovanka Broz: moj život, moja istina

by Žarko Jokanović

Jovanka Broz - Moj Život, Moja Istina:
"Bog mi je dao divan život pored Tita, Ali koliko godina mi je bilo lepo - još više godina sam bila progonjena, mučena i zlostavljana. O meni su se širile strašne laži. Neki bi i danas hteli da se istina nikada ne dozna. A ja to neću da dopustim. I danas velike sile i njihovi agenti ne daju da se objavi istina, jer im to ne ide u prilog, i zato mene i dan-danas maltretiraju, jer znam istinu o raspadu Jugoslavije. Ali na kraju dođe odozgo onaj inžinjer i sve poravna. Da li ću ja doživeti pravdu neku - ne znam. Volela bih da doživim Ali ne znam da li ću."

Genres: History

207 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2013

Reviews

[Zorka Zamfirova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Očekivao sam deo istorije.

[Sasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Moj život, moja istina" (My life, my truth) is a slim volume (some 200 pages) based on interviews she gave to novelist and journalist Žarko Jokanović shortly before she died this year at the age of 89. Some parts of these interviews were published in newspapers and they were sensation, it seems people were more than curious to find out first hand experiences of someone who was almost royalty for them. Of course I was excited and purchased this book without thinking twice, though I somehow expected "poor me" perspective of its subject and Jokanović's idolizing writing style. In a surprisingly dry and dour tone Broz talks with a voice of an old person, kind of voices I almost forgot from my childhood - provincial people who always asked about my family background and tried to pigeonhole everybody by where they came from. She obviously puts a great deal of importance of her own family background and almost third of the slim book is about her own roots, village and relatives. As a young, new generation born in a capitol I never cared less for these things and still don't think it really matters. For Jovanka Broz (and many of her readers) its still a big deal. So the book covers her family roots in a detail, than shortly describes WW2, very vaguely describes marriage of 28 years and than goes on about last 33 years she suffered poverty and isolation under new Serbian government. Not that she was Imelda Marcos, but she definitely lived lavish lifestyle and had everything taken away from her before she was officially placed in a house arrest.

I still don't understand why - Broz herself claims she was suspected as politically dangerous person because she knew "too much" and various fractions claimed she was either western or soviet spy. The person emerging from these pages is bitter, vindictive and obviously scarred with these experiences - on the other hand, I am aware of gleeful pleasure certain number of population felt with her circumstances and fall from grace. Maybe with time the tide will turn the other way and future generations might see her differently but as for the book itself it is a extremely short, vindictive (she calls certain politicians "pigs" and "bastards") and somewhat disappointing read full of self congratulations and claims of blamelessness.

[Vladimir Cuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read. Clears up many false rumors against historical figures in Yugoslavian politics. This is end-of-life testimonial from intelligent and strong woman with solid, traditional family values, which she describes into length. Book mostly consists of transcripts of recordings; some sections are little repetitive due to multiple recordings; but this is how author had to do it because he promised Jovanka Broz that 100% of what she says and how she says it will be in included in the book. I would like to read more books on post 1945 period, so I can understand better the motivation behind actions of some actors in this book. If someone can recommend some books that discuss that peirod, I will appreciate it. Good read.

[Kairos i Kronos 19 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intervju u kome sam čula šta su sve radili jugoslovenskoj dami, pobudio je u meni želju da pročitam ovu knjigu. Uzela sam ja još nekoliko izvora ali ovo je onaj iz prve ruke. Niko ne zaslužuje takav kraj života a ne decenije u mizernim uslovima.

U knjizi ćete saznati o hrabrosti Jovanke Broz, poznatim rođacima što na opčetku što na kraju knjige, dva velika naučnika su bili njeni rođaci, pročitaćete i kako su se ujedinili četnici i partizani, makar u njenom kraju, ko su bili njeni preci, interesantnu priču o odnosima sa Karađorđevićima itd. Uglavnom sve ono što se priča nije tačno. Jovanka je pokazala kako je moguće održati jedinstvo na ovim prostorima koje je skupo plaćeno, da bi danas mnogi prodavali i svoju zemlju i podsticali nacionalističke note koje pozivaju na mržnju i podsećaju na bolna vremena...

Ocena je 4 a ne 5 samo iz razloga što mnoge teme nisu razrađene ali razumem da je to posledica što njene kasnije bolesti i straha da otkrije mnoge informacije jer su joj pretili.

[Igor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Knjigu sam procitao (progutao) u jednom dahu. Zivotnu pricu Jovanke Broz prepricava ona samo kroz intervjue sa navinarom, koji nije cistio tekst, vec je ostavio Jovankine rijeci da ostane njene. Pojedini dijelovi se ponavljaju, Ali informacije koje iznosi Jovanka, citalac zeli samo jos vise detalja, svjedocenja tig dogadjaja. Njena prica je prica o nama svima, nepravda prema drzavljanima bivse Jugoslavije.

[calypso]

Iskreno, ovo je gubljenje vremena. Knjiga je opširna, a ništa značajno u njoj nije rečeno.

Možda zvuči tako iz mog kratkog komentara, ali nisam bezosjećajna. Žao mi je Jovanke i kroz šta je sve prošla nakon Titove smrti. Smatram samo da je ova knjiga mogla biti ljepše napisana.

[Dajana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zalosno. Cisto zalosno.

[Esmeralda Kicić]

Zagrebano po površini,ali dobro.... nadam se da ću nekad u budućnosti imati priliku da pročitam puno više o ovom periodu i dešavanjima "iza zavjese".

[Samo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Za vse ki vas zanima življenje prve dame SFRJ. Iz njenih ust.