vol. 10: nora ephron autumn/october ed.
“The whole sky is yours / to write on, blown open / to a blank page.” - Rita Dove
The end of October is always a bit sad as the beautiful leaves fall, ushering in the darker months. BUT there are always a few things to love about November. One of my nerdy indulgences is listening to or singing/playing Strauss’ “Allerseelen” every November 1st (All Soul’s Day). “One day of each year is devoted to the dead / Come to my heart and be mine again / As once in May.”
I’ve spent the last ten days sick with Covid, which meant I wasn’t able to decorate my place or carve a pumpkin or give out candy to kids as I was hoping, especially considering the enthusiasm with which Montreal treats Halloween! I consoled myself yesterday by baking my favourite Deb Perelman Apple Cake in between readings and studying for my upcoming role as Gretel in Hansel and Gretel in January. Perelman’s recipe very closely resembles the one in my mum/grandmother’s old yellow Cuisinart cookbook, and she mentions it also being called “German Apple Cake” and “Jewish Apple Cake” at different points in her life. So, maybe it is the same!
My isolation hasn’t all been doom and gloom. Some recent highlights have included watching a two hour movie with my bf over Facetime (The Good Nurse - so spookyyyyy), helping my little sister choose a wedding dress (!!), interviewing a truly inspirational leader in the opera world for an upcoming Opera Canada piece about how we can decolonize opera and better prepare young artists for the industry, and celebrating with my family over my two-year-old niece’s triumph in her neighbourhood Halloween Diaper Derby (so proud).
As far as books and breakfasts (or books and butter, as my bf likes to call it) are concerned, the best breakfast I’ve had lately has been these pumpkin cream cheese muffins from Yossi Arefi in the New York Times (I’m planning on making another batch once I’m fully better to thank my cousin for his matzo ball soup surprise drop off!). They were quite easy to make and the cream cheese makes a delicious, not-too-sweet addition - different from cream cheese icing, which is v sweet(!).
As far as books go, I’ve lately been enjoying Diane Johnson’s light and comedic read, Le Divorce. While this novel is by no means new, its setting of Paris and the tropes of Americans living within French society and negotiating different relationship issues have a certain timelessness (and Johnson has been nominated for both a Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for her writing, so I can vouch for its cleverness!). Although I never lived in Paris, I spent a considerable amount of time there at pivotal (and painful) points of my life, as do the protagonists of this book. A lot of the cultural confusions described in the novel reminded me of my time living in Geneva, with its old world Swiss-French grandeur and politesse (albeit I was a Canadian living in Switzerland rather than an American living in France but these are details…!).
The New York Times Books newsletter recently discussed the delights of a book one can read in one day, and I would say Le Divorce fits into this category. A book in a similar vein is Nora Ephron’s Heartburn, to which I’ve returned a few times. I’m a sucker for Ephron’s mixture of pathos and wit (she’s best known for her films When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, Julie and Julia, and the list goes on…) and the delicious potato recipes sprinkled throughout Heartburn’s narrative. What is it with books with lavish food descriptions? Maybe that’s why I enjoy reading cookbooks so much. I’m reminded of Sally’s iconic pie order in When Harry Met Sally, reminiscent of everyone’s favourite no-foam-extra-hot-double-soy-half-sweet etc. etc. Starbucks customer.
One other inspiring piece of writing by Nora Ephron I’d recommend is her 1996 Commencement Address to Wellesley College. I’ve always loved the quotation about being the heroine of your life, not the victim. 💪🏻 Returning to her speech today, I’m especially drawn to the final paragraph, which talks about not doing things halfway/in ways considered “ladylike”:
“Whatever you choose, however many roads you travel, I hope that you choose not to be a lady. I hope you will find some way to break the rules and make a little trouble out there. And I hope that you will choose to make some of that trouble on behalf of women.”
Thanks for sticking with me, b&b readers. Wishing you a continued Nora Ephron Autumn and a warm and creative November, full of challenging yourself and everything you think you may know and living the questions and of course, being a little less ladylike. :)