Heartburn

A funny and slightly catastrophic story of a food writer who discovers her husband is having an affair. It's a little dated now being over 40 years old but much still rings true. Beautifully narrated by Meryl Streep.

I picked this up at a lending library kind of surprised I've never read it before it turned out that Ephron's vinaigrette recipe from this little book still has power over people. Caveat to this is that parts have aged POORLY (along with many, many, many other things that have aged poorly): for example, I don't think I realized that Ephron was privileged enough that her life included multiple domestic workers, etc. Obviously, it's very, very funny. Ephron's zest for life, even when things are going very poorly, is omnipresent, and her humor is multipurpose in a really excellent way: at times totally avoidant and at times instead deepening the pathos of whatever she is joking about. Finally, Carl Bernstein is an idiot. Maybe he and Ephron shouldn't have stayed married, but GEEZ was he an emotional fuckwit to her.

I think liked this book more because Meryl Streep narrated it. so my suggestion would be listen to Audio book if given a chance.

not really my style of book, gossipy and bitchy, which can be enjoyable depending on the tone.
However, the author has a view on feminism/related topics that i don't agree with, plus she liberally uses the word dy*e throughout and says many shitty things about lesbians. it was two stars until that. not even Meryl Streep can save that.
what a shame.

★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader as part of a quick takes post to catch up–emphasizing pithiness, not thoroughness.
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A very pregnant cookbook writer/TV host/new mom's marriage crumbles around her, as she attempts to salvage it, protect her children, and make a way for herself in the world. Really, she's trying to do it all, and do it well. (that's a lousy summary, just click the link above, will ya?)

The narrator? This Meryl Streep person? I tell you what, I think she's going places—there's something special about her performance. Seriously, she did a great job, no surprise there.

Nor is it a surprise that Ephron can write a clever little book. I'm a long-time fan, I knew I should've picked this up when it was released. I don't know that it's necessarily deep, or that you walk away with new insight into the human condition, marriage, or love. But it was funny, it felt honest and real, and you get caught up in the life of Rachel Samstat right away. Solidly entertaining.

Hated every single second of this book. Well, I did like hearing about the recipes.

Her weirdly absurd humour is so up my alley.
Also, I thoroughly enjoyed her syntax. But I might have a thing for long sentences. And paragraphs that never end. And sentences that start in “and”.

Not a bad book, but certainly a reminder or how times change. Nora Ephron's preferred word for lesbian is dyke, for instance, and she uses it a lot, as if the word is inherently funny. Gay men, referred to as homosexuals, are treated as inherently promiscuous. A black woman is called high yellow, and said to resemble a poppy seed cookie. A Latina therapist is referred to as food a lot – one being a refried taco.

I don't know. It seems to me that these slightly backward moments due to time marching on shouldn't be what I take away, and yet... I have no feelings toward this book beyond this either than mild amusement.

If you're interested in this book, get the audio version, because Meryl Streep reads it and she's amazing and so funny - her delivery of some lines had me laughing out loud in my car. The story/structure of the book is kind of a mess, with a lot of digressions and flashbacks (which may have been easier to follow in written form, but I don't know). What Ephron really excels at is creating a strong voice for her main character, who essentially narrates the whole thing in one long stream of consciousness. I probably wouldn't have read this if not for the BookRiot challenge, but I definitely enjoyed it.

(Bookriot Read Harder 2016 Challenge: #8 Read a book originally published in the decade you were born)