aziza_92's review
3.0
A very interesting read. A collection of articles on women for a magazine in the 1970s. What I find fascinating are the issues brought up in each article - I had no idea people once were giving away free speculums to encourage women to do cervical examination on themselves! How people reacted to feminine hygiene spray as it first came out?! And 'crotch sprays'?
When she wrote about the bitterness between Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem, it was clear whose side she was on but then she did try to be neutral or rather, look things from the other person's perspective. I think I liked it because she was honest about supporting one person but then not without showing us that she did try to understand the other's actions.
There are of course, some articles that I don't feel comfortable reading. Felt like she was too harsh in criticising those people. I don't really read magazines so I'm not sure if such articles are a norm even now?
When I was halfway through, I thought I like this book more than her other book; 'I Feel Bad About My Neck'. But I didn't finish this book (I stopped reading with 4 articles left) and I finished the other. Have I had enough of her writing? Or is it because I've got an exam coming up? Not too sure.
When she wrote about the bitterness between Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem, it was clear whose side she was on but then she did try to be neutral or rather, look things from the other person's perspective. I think I liked it because she was honest about supporting one person but then not without showing us that she did try to understand the other's actions.
There are of course, some articles that I don't feel comfortable reading. Felt like she was too harsh in criticising those people. I don't really read magazines so I'm not sure if such articles are a norm even now?
When I was halfway through, I thought I like this book more than her other book; 'I Feel Bad About My Neck'. But I didn't finish this book (I stopped reading with 4 articles left) and I finished the other. Have I had enough of her writing? Or is it because I've got an exam coming up? Not too sure.
kcrowe1981's review
3.0
The first essay and the next couple were great, but as they progressed into the mid 70s and 80s the subject matter turned toward the "you had to be there to find this interesting" (hint: I wasn't and so I didn't) I started to lose interest. I skipped the one about rich people in Palm Beach (?) and made it through a few more but ultimately decided not to finish. Disappointing end to a great start.
lizzielightfoot's review
4.0
This was like a walk down memory lane--to a time that I was alive but not a full participant in all of this change.
As always--Nora Ephron is a great writer! She couches the most serious of issues in her incredible wit. And she takes what seems witty or trivial and finds the serious inside.
This book was just what I needed to take me away from the terrible issues surrounding us in 2020.
As always--Nora Ephron is a great writer! She couches the most serious of issues in her incredible wit. And she takes what seems witty or trivial and finds the serious inside.
This book was just what I needed to take me away from the terrible issues surrounding us in 2020.
becquebooks's review
3.0
This is interesting as a sort of time capsule back to 1972 and the feminist movement. She's writing at a moment when a lot of things are being negotiated and figured out, debates that seem so far away to read about them now. There were a couple of these I really liked, I found the essay on her 10 year reunion at Wellesley interesting (spoiler alert - she wasn't a fan of the place) and the essay on her mom's mink coat.
This book is also annoyingly hard to find given that it was reprinted not that long ago, but has again fallen out of print. Check for a used copy on Amazon or Barnes and Noble and people are attempting to sell copies of the 2000 reprint for $100-$200. I got my hands on this one from my local library, an endorsement to why those things exist and should be supported.
sassejenn's review
3.0
Crazy Salad is definitely a product of the 1970's. I enjoy Nora Ephron's writing, and it was like reading a small time capsule of the feminist movement at the time.
ginkgotree's review
1.0
This book has really not aged well. In particular, it is painfully transphobic to a degree that makes it practically unreadable.
vicky1425f's review
4.0
La mitad de los textos son muy lindos. La otra mitad no sé porque hablan de cosas que eran noticia en la década del '60 y hoy son totalmente intrascendentes. Pero banco a Nora Ephron siempre.
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