Heartburn

Finished Heartburn by Nora Ephron.  I read this for book club.

This is shelved as fiction but is pretty much the account of how her second marriage (to Carl Bernstein) ended in pretty spectacular fashion.  He cheated on her when she was pregnant with their second child.

There’s a lot to love in this book but my favorite part is at the very end when she talks about how her therapist says, “Why do you have to turn everything into a story?”

And she says (and I’m paraphrasing) that when she does that, she can control the story.  And, what’s even more important, is that she’d rather have people laughing than feeling sorry for her.

Which is true. When you turn something sad into an anecdote, they’re generally laughing with you (as opposed to at you or, which I agree is even worse, pitying you). 

This makes me want to read her other books, which are actual nonfiction pieces.  And it makes me want to rewatch her movies. 

This was made into a movie with Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson.  I definitely want to see that at some point, because I’m curious as to how they’d turn this into a movie.  A lot of it is internal, as in how she deals with the affair.  There’s not that much dialogue.  I have to say, though, I am very happy to see how the last scene of the marriage plays out.

(SPOILER)  She’s at a dinner party and she throws a pie at her husband.  That is pretty freaking awesome, if you ask me.

But even beyond that, I love the way she manages to make the personal feel universal.  I haven’t been married and I don’t have kids (and currently have no inclination to change either of those facts) but I completely understood how she felt. 

Highly recommended.

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