"I Remember Nothing"

Nora Ephron has been informing and entertaining us for almost 50 years, as a journalist, essayist, novelist, playwright, screenwriter, producer, and director. Readers may remember her novel “Heartburn” or the very successful movies for which she wrote the screenplays, such as “When Harry Met Sally…”, “Sleepless in Seattle,” and “You’ve Got Mail.” Her forte is a uniquely stylish brand of humor and satire. Her most recent book, “I Remember Nothing and other reflections” (Knopf, 2010), is a collection of short essays, many of which were first published elsewhere (mostly in The Huffington Post and The New York Times). The tone is light, often very light. Sometimes the topics are serious, such as careers, aging, and divorce; Ephron has the gift of addressing even serious topics in a humorous way, but getting her point across. One of the best essays chronicles the waxing and waning of her friendship with Lillian Hellman; this is a mini-masterpiece of a revealing biographical glimpse into the personality and character of the controversial playwright. The essay on Hellman is a good example of Ephron’s occasional display of slightly -- but only slightly, and fairly subtly -- cutting wit, a wit that entertains with a soupcon of cattiness, but never appears truly mean-spirited. These essays are on the whole entertaining and enjoyable, with only a few exceptions that are so very light and trivial that they float away with no impact whatsoever. One of the reasons that most of the essays are so engaging, and that Ephron has a way of connecting with her readers, is her down-to-earth voice. Although she doesn’t hide the fact that she has moved in rarified circles and met (and in one case, was married to) some of the most famous people of the past few decades, she never comes across as a name dropper, and she always sounds like a person one could sit down and have a chat and a good laugh with. Of course this delicate balance of topic, humor, voice, and persona is nowhere near as easy to create as Ephron makes it look. “I Remember Nothing” is a quick read and a highly enjoyable one.

P.S. This is my 300th blog post!