|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I Feel Bad About My Neck By Melissa J Wantuck  |
| |
 Nora Ephron is a gifted writer. Her best-known work includes the screenplays for the following popular movies: You’ve Got Mail, Michael, Sleepless in Seattle, and When Harry Met Sally.
That said, after reading her nonfiction publication, I Feel Bad About My Neck, the source of the cynicism that is peppered in the movies she helped write is easily found. The subtitle of I Feel Bad About My Neck should be adjusted from And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman, to: And Other Thoughts On Being an Unhappy Woman.
I Feel Bad About My Neck is only fit for one small demographic of the American population who can relate to Ephron’s life experiences: female baby-boomers who carried the mantle of feminists like Gertrude Stein, Betty Freidnan, Gloria Steinem, and Doris Lessing. The book may be billed as one that relates to all women, but it really will only relate to those who can pay $20,000 to fix something they think is wrong with their smile and not blink at the expense.
There are some levels on which Ephron’s topics relate to all women. Sure it’s not uncommon for women to dislike certain parts of their body (Chapter 1: I Feel Bad About My Neck), struggle with fashion (Chapter 2: I Hate My Purse), and stress over their appearance (Chapter 4: On Maintenance). Most, if not all women can relate to this. What they won’t relate to is Ephron’s lifestyle which is above the financial ability of a majority of women in America. It will be no surprise when readers will wonder why she has anything to complain about when she can afford to fix it all.
Ephron lives in New York, has her hair done biweekly at a salon (she doesn’t take care of her own hair at all), and gets a weekly manicure and pedicure. One of her hobbies is cooking fancy French gourmet dishes, and she’s in the wealthiest 10% of the American population with her yearly income exceeding more than a quarter million dollars a year. She threw this fact out from 1990. More than likely her income is quite a bit higher than then but she’s still in the top 10%. Is it no wonder now that women empathize with her as she whips up crème brulee?
The two possible redeeming qualities, although the first may come too late for many readers, are in chapters 6 and 13. In Chapter 6: Parenting in Three Stages, Ephron sums up her idea of parenting. She contrasts today’s parenting methods with how previous generations raised children. Her descriptions and commentary are succinct and witty. Both men and women who have raise children will be able to relate to her on this topic.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|