THE MOST OF NORA EPHRON

A thick collection of writings by the iconic Ephron (I Remember Nothing: And Other Reflections, 2010, etc.), a year after her much-mourned death.

In his introduction, the author’s longtime editor, Robert Gottlieb, reveals that in 2010, he and the author, at that point very ill, began talking about the contents of the anthology. They decided to structure it around the subject matters she explored and the genres she used to explore them. As a result, the text of her novel Heartburn (1983) is included, as is the screenplay for Ephron's most beloved movie, When Harry Met Sally, and her late-in-life play, Lucky Guy. The remainder of the anthology consists of much briefer entries across an impressively diverse set of topics. The final two entries are two lists, “What I Won’t Miss” (dry skin, my closet, Fox, the collapse of the dollar) and "What I Will Miss," which unsurprisingly mentions her children, her third (and final) husband and walking in the park. The very last item on the list is "Pie." Reading nearly 600 pages of Ephron in one volume is a joy, not only due to the range of her interests, her capacious mind, her mixture of humor and satire and self-deprecation, but also her skill as a stylist. Few writers of Ephron's range and output have written so few clunky sentences or so many memorable ones. Also included is perhaps her most famous essay—and almost certainly the one most reprinted after Ephron's death—which expounded on the flatness of her chest; her neck became as famous as her chest but not until 2003. Ephron might be best remembered, however, for her searing insights into the craft of journalism and the complications of feminism.

A delightful collection from a unique, significant American writer.