[.ca] Heartburn (ISBN 0679767959)

Worth rehashing the second day.:
Nora crafted one of my all-time favorite books. Why I picked up a paperback copy as a freshmen in high school is beyond me. Why I finally got around to reading it at 18 is also a mystery. Why I've reread it more times that my dogged copy can tell is no mystery meat; sadness steeped in life's tea. In real life, I've played the part of the toddler in this tale. Wish I could say my folks were class acts, such as the author and her former spouse, but chicken fried steak is more common in middle America than Lillian Hellman's Pot Roast.

Sorrel soup seasoned with heartache:
This is the fact-based story of Rachel Samstat and Mark Feldman, two Washington hotshots whose marriage is rocked and ultimately destroyed by Mark's infidelity. As Rachel is a cookbook author, the story is intermingled with various recipes related to different plot points (she gives the recipe for the key lime pie that she smashed into Mark's face after learning Mark bought a necklace for his mistress--but regrets it wasn't blueberry, which would have ruined his blazer.) This story is light and forgettable. While clever, it was only laugh-out-loud hilarious in two spots: where Rachel describes her parents' relationship and her mother's deathbed behavior; and where Rachel describes the hamsters that plagued her first marriage. However, I enjoyed reading this tell-all tale. While it wasn't memorable, it was an entertaining way to pass the time--much better than watching this old movie reair on Lifetime TV (Skip it--the book's better.)

Second-rate writing, boring characters:
Shallow characters - the only one who comes a quarter-way alive is the main character, the others are mere sketches. Nothing made me laugh, nothing made me cry, nothing made me care. Don't waste your time on this; read "A Death in the Family" (James Agee) instead, or any number of really good books.

Not so Tasty:
I didn't like this book. Truth be told, I still haven't finished it, and I bought it over six months ago. The characters are boring; the situation (while ripe with potential) drags; and the recipes don't even sound good. I am supremely disappointed, as I usually love what Nora Ephron does. Bummer.

Carl Bernstein gets a taste of his own medicine:
At the 7th month of her pregnancy, Nora Ephron learned that her husband had fallen in love with someone else. "The most unfair thing about this whole business," she writes, "is that I can't even date." That line sets the tone for this novel that Ephron based on her own marriage breakup. A court case resulted from the publication of this book, which tells you just how funny and potentially devastating it is. Her ex got a court order that she could never again write about him or their children. In the novel, instead of being a journalist, essayist, and humorist, the protagonist is a cookbook writer, so there are plenty of recipes sprinkled throughout. Published in 1983, Heartburn marked a turning point not only in Ephron's personal life but also in her writing career as she immediately gained entry into the film world as a writer, director, and producer. She wrote the screenplay for the movie based on this book - but don't see it. It's too angry; all the hilarity and subtle humor and caustic asides are missing. I own a 1st edition of this book, and I'm NEVER selling it.