Despite the title of this collection of essays, Nora Ephron remembers quite a bit, as she displays in this intermittently amusing semi-memoir, a slim, even underweight, volume of essays. There is superficial wit on display, glibness and the quick quip, but little substance. Her new book is surely destined to be a "huge best seller", as the jacket describes her previous foray, reflections on her crepey neck. Those readers who enjoyed "My Neck" will down her new book in one gulp. They may forget it as quickly. Nora Ephron is a craftsmanly writer. But since her subject is herself, I can't help focusing on the personal side of this book. I found something rather sad in a woman who admits she jettisoned her first husband under the influence of the early 70's women's movement. This is of a piece with her penchant for acting on the mood of the present cultural moment. She is a too absorptive sponge, deeply in touch with popular delusions, though she disdains any belief system that might give her life meaning. One suspects she has chosen to marry at least two men because they are celebrated writers, and one turned out to have poor character. She is a woman of independent accomplishment, yet she makes sure to add flourish to her author bio with the carefully casual mention of her present husband, whose name she expects everyone to recognize. Is it strictly necessary to mention twice in the first several pages that you are a graduate of an Ivy League college? And then there's her sorry conclusion: "Now the most important thing about me is that I am old." There is much more that is important about Nora Ephron, particularly her loyal family, close friends and her talent. Many people appreciate her. What has she learned from her experiences? That she has not forgotten the pain of betrayal by her second husband. That children suffer in divorce. That unfaithfulness is natural to the young. This at least was her experience. There is a glimmer of elegiac reflection in her last chapters, but somehow depth eludes her. Seeking a meaningful life would require her to veer away from what she is so good at, describing preparations for a Christmas dinner with madcap humor, or regaling us with how a restaurant meat loaf was named after her. She has a fine ear for anecdote and an inner true north for trifles. But compare a little known, not very prolific essayist, Julie Hecht. Julie Hecht also writes about quotidian subjects with humor, but she has a deeper underlying message - see my review of Do the Windows Open. Nora Ephron is all surface. This book is sure to be a "huge best seller", for Ms. Ephron is always finely attuned to the popular zeitgeist.
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