June 26th marked the one-year anniversary of the great Nora Ephron’s death. Best known for writing classic romantic comedies like When Harry Met Sally… and Sleepless in Seattle, Ephron’s journalistic and literary achievements are sometimes forgotten. The daughter of two screenwriters, and one of four sisters, all of whom became writers of some sort, her pedigree and talent were obvious from an early age. Ephron’s vibrant personality, self-effacing humor, and sparse style, as well as her willingness to use her personal life as fodder for her writings, made her works relatable and easy-to-read. She was part of the New Journalism movement of the 1960s and 1970s, which called for a more subjective, personalized voice, and this background certainly transferred to all of her work. Why not bring along one of her books for beach reading this summer?
I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman (2006), one of Ephron’s last essay collections, consequently deals with issues about aging and memories of her decades spent in New York. Ephron tackles the discomfort of growing older with her trademark candor and humor, and reading it as a young person can be an interesting experience. Speaking of the beach, Nora would certainly implore you to wear a bikini while reading this book: “Oh, how I regret not having worn a bikini for the entire year I was twenty-six. If anyone young is reading this, go, right this minute, put on a bikini, and don’t take it off until you’re thirty-four.” If nothing else, you’ll at least know to be grateful for a wrinkle-free neck.
Heartburn (1983) was born of the disastrous end of Ephron’s second marriage to Carl Bernstein. While eight months pregnant with their second child, she discovered that Bernstein was having an affair with the wife of a mutual friend. In addition to publicizing his involvement with the Watergate scandal, Ephron exacted revenge with this, her only novel, a classier version of today’s tell-all memoir. The fictionalized Ephron is a food writer recovering from the trauma of having a philandering husband; in an essay from I Feel Bad About My Neck, Ephron revealed that she chose this profession for her protagonist in order to include her own cooking recipes in the novel.
Wallflower at the Orgy (1970) is a fascinating portrait of New York culture and society in the late 1960s, as only Ephron could detail it. It is composed of pieces she wrote for magazines like Cosmopolitan during this time period. She unapologetically describes them as focusing on frivolous topics, because politics are not all she thinks about. For anyone who reads magazines religiously or is a burgeoning young writer, Ephron’s insight and wit remain relevant.
Now grab one of these great reads and head to the beach!
