Reviews - Heartburn | The StoryGraph

3.5k reviews for:

Heartburn

Nora Ephron

3.56 AVERAGE

localitgirl's review against another edition

4.0

I find Nora Ephron’s brand of neurosis very endearing.
I think critics of this book probably don’t have an anxiety disorder. I get it. I get her, and I will never forgive Carl Bernstein.

jenni3penny's review against another edition

3.25

emotional funny reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

drbreeze's review against another edition

3.5

funny sad fast-paced

carysisamelt's review against another edition

5.0

emotional funny lighthearted sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I was not prepared for the emotional rollercoaster this took me on. The first 150 are funny, lighthearted in a way that is morbid given the situation. The last 20 pages ruined me and now I want to throw a pie at someone. Definitely contains outdated and prejudices that are uniquely 80s, but apart from that I can’t fault it.

stanfordstocker's review against another edition

5.0

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

marthabohlale's review against another edition

2.0

funny informative reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

karalikes's review against another edition

4.0

I love Nora Ephron. I had only read two of her books prior to this, both published fairly recently and full of all sorts of witty wisdom, so I was excited to find this “Early Ephron” book at Half Price for $3. In the quick Google search I did just now to find out exactly when the book was published (1983; it was actually her first novel), I also discovered that it's autobiographical and was made into a movie starring Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson. This latter fact I didn't find surprising at all, because the whole book reads kind of like a movie, like a dark comedy, almost Woody Allen-esque (and, I mean, she’s also more famous for the screenplays she’s written, so of course this book would be made into a movie starting Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson). The book tells the story of how she discovers (when she’s 7 months pregnant!) that her husband is having an affair, but she does it in this voice that is slightly removed and simultaneously self-aware: smart enough to convey the gravity of the events, but as though enough time has passed that she’s telling the whole tale in a tongue-in-cheek sort of way; a way that says, yeah, I’m poking fun at all of this a little bit because, really, can you believe how ridiculous it all is? I hate finding out too late that books are autobiographical though. Knowing that the book was based on someone’s life makes the reading experience slightly more meaningful to me. I like picking up clues about real-life people’s lives, especially real-life people I admire. I’ll probably read it again at some point and end up liking it even more the second time around. This book was a quick, fun read, and I like the way it ended. And also, her syntax! Here are a few gems that really got me:

"Every so often I contemplate suicide merely to remind myself of my complete lack of interest in it as a solution to anything at all. There was a time when I worried about this, when I thought galloping neurosis was wildly romantic, when I longed to be the sort of girl who knew the names of wildflowers and fed baby birds with eyedroppers and rescued bugs from swimming pools and wanted from time to time to end it all. Now, in my golden years, I have come to accept the fact that there is not a neurasthenic drop of blood in my body, and I have become very impatient with it in others. Show me a woman who cries when the trees lose their leaves and I'll show you a real asshole.”

“The man in the plaid shirt winked again, and I realized that even if he was single and a college graduate and straight, the odds were unlikely that I would ever get involved with an indiscriminate winker at pregnant women on subways."

"I was secretly pleased when she slept with Charlie because I was exonerated from the guilt of all those years of feeling jealous of her and was plunged suddenly into a warm bath of innocent victimization.” A warm bath of innocent victimization! *insert emoji with heart eyes*