A review by nadia
Heartburn by Nora Ephron

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I read this to fulfil The Reading Women's 2020 Reading Challenge prompt for a book about food.

Something about this book didn't quite click for me, but there were moments that had me chuckling and did move me. The characters' dialogue and actions were rather quirky, I guess. Sometimes this really worked for me, especially for comic effect, and other times it just felt a little off. Sometimes Ephron's writing seemed great and other times it came off as meandering.

Overall, it's a fun, quick read. I saw a lot of reviews saying it hadn't aged well, and given some of the commentary in it, especially with respect to homosexuality, I can see why. I had to look up a lot of the food references, but it was interesting learning about some Jewish dishes, and the handful of short recipes weaved in were a nice touch.