The end of the 2022 year has brought some excellent reads. Please read on for reviews.
I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron
Nora Ephron’s much-loved I Feel Bad About My Neck is a collection of essays beloved by readers everywhere. A writer known and adored for her masterpieces When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail, and Julia and Julia, in I Feel Bad About My Neck, Nora discusses everything, from how much she hates her purse to how much time she spends attempting to stop the clock of aging.
Shrewd, wry, and utterly unputdownable; this clever biography chronicles Nora’s life as an obsessed cook, passionate city dweller, and hapless parent. Her writing is infused with wit, humor, depth and longing.
If you’re in the mood for an honest and quick read—one that is as smart as it is funny—add this to your reading list!
Lessons by Ian McEwan
Ian McEwan’s latest novel Lessons is an epic and intimate story about Roland Baines. It thrives on the interplay between seismic global events and private lives, in particular that of Roland.
Lessons, though interspersed with historic world situations, and despite its many characters with interesting backstories, doesn’t have a plot. Rather, it has Roland, a failed-poet-turned-hotel-pianist with grand aspirations, a complicated past, and what turn out to be simple needs: kids around the table, decent wine, a cat in the garden, knees sturdy enough to go three sets, and a little more time with the people he loves.
This is a delicious book, one that should be read slowly and savored for its beautiful prose. Most importantly, the reader should pay close attention to the fact that Roland’s parents, siblings, childhood, and early education are all modeled closely on McEwan’s own.