Shiksa Goddess, or, How I Spent My Forties: Essays by Wendy Wasserstein

Shiksa Goddess, or, How I Spent My Forties: Essays Reviews

• 
  Barbara

  This was my go-to gift from women of education, so gave it as a grad gift or christmas gift to my academic friends. I never bought a copy for me. I read The Heidi Chronicles in the 90s. I love her stuff and am still heartbroken she died so young. And props on the cover design as it is well done.
  These are essays that range from taking people to see theater in NYC, to Bette Midler, to Jamie Lee Curtis, to the first ladies get dressed, to personal stories abt her sister's fight with Cancer and Wendy's decision to have a child at 48. They are very New York and would appeal to those who are that way wired. The essay abt the family traditions abt Thanksgiving is pretty delightful. The essays abt cancer and the premature birth of her child are moving, especially moving since Wendy died afterwards. And Lucy would likely be in her 30s now as it was written in 2001. Yikes. She doesnt reveal who Lucy's father was. It might be in her bio which is also on my tbr pile.
  So, if you like Tina Fey, it's kinda that vibe. Educated smart woman essays..her plays are also worth reading. Uncommon Women abt Mt.Holyoke alumni, the Heidi Chronicles and Isn't it Romantic. The first two have movies worth seeking out. I like her later plays, but not as much as the first three. Bachelor Girls, other essays are pretty good, too..
  Wendy was a serious good person in the words of the Heidi Chronicles and her voice and sensibility is missed in these strange times
• 
  Sarah Freudson

  So this book is amazing and also needs a bit more editing. Here is why I think that:
  -the life events need a bit of context. If I didn’t know about Eastern Europe, Judaism, theater or the all girls colleges of western mass. I’d be confused.
  -I wish the author would’ve broken up her essays to be easier to read. She went from one subject to another immediately with no context of switching over topics which was confusing at times
  -I wish she would’ve done a deeper dive into her NYC life outside of the theater. It would’ve helped better paint a picture of her connections.
  
  Some positive though: Wendy is hilarious!! She’s insightful, real, relatable and I loved reading through her 40s.
• 
  Maria

  I really wanted to like this book but I had to stop reading it. Even as a native New Yorker who worked in the theater district for a time, I couldn't relate to much of it and didn't really find it all that funny.
  The style seemed reminiscent of Fran Lebowitz. To be fair, I didn't read most of the stories but I was turned off by the political and social zeitgeist that was the background of the book.
  Having said that, I respect the author and was saddened to read in another's review that she passed.
• 
  Danielle

  When I found this book on thrift, I thought it sounded interesting and had little clue as to who the author was. I also liked that it was autographed! After reading her numerous essays and finally searching online, I am very glad to have picked up this book! The topics and tone varies and covers a lot of ground. It had plenty of humor and plenty heavier topics handled with sincerity.. and a touch of humor. Read 20 years after publication, it really is quite a time capsule. Enjoyed the variety and learning about Wendy. ❤️
• 
  Zach Krohn

  This short story collection feels a little all over the place in terms of subject matter and tone. This mostly makes sense, as a lot of these essays were written for other publications/magazines/etc. However, Wendy Wasserstein can truly write (as if we didn't know). She is so precise and smart in the way she structures her essays.
  
  The last 2 essays - 1) about losing her sister, and 2) the long/painful march to childbirth - are brilliant. Was definitely tearing up on my plane ride. This last section really elevated the (otherwise perfectly fine) essay collection.
• 
  Linda Bernier

  Wonderfully warm and touching, wittily funny, very New York and Jewish- just how I remember Wendy at Calhoun. The epitome of children of "survivors," seemingly tough and rational to the outside world, but sentimental, emotional and generous to those close.
  What a tragedy that the three Wasserstein siblings died so young.
• 
  JodiP

  I had vaguely been aware of Wasserstein and the Heidi Chronicles. I came across this in the Amateur Gourmet newsletter. It was a very quick, enjoyable read. It is about the theater and Wendy and death and her child. The last two essays had me crying at times. I love reading works like this which are so out of my lived world.
• 
  Hope Sherman

  Funny, Introspective and Bittersweet. I had always meant to read this and am really glad I finally picked it up. While I laughed a lot and enjoyed the trip(s) down memory lane the last few chapters about her sister's illness and her quest to become a mother were quite emotional and truly heartbreaking, especially knowing what was ahead for her.
• 
  Lori March

  Lots of name dropping; people, places, and products. If you are familiar with New York City it might be interesting to read about different place you may have been. Many of the essay/stories repeated details. The actual meat of the stories were nice once you got past all the other debris.
• 
  Sharon Falduto

  The playwright's memoirs and musings on the arts and theater scene in New York City, including the story of the conception and birth of her daughter, Lucy Jane, late in life. She seems as though she was a warm and funny person, and I'm sad that she has passed on.
• 
  Barbara

  Gone too soon, I miss her talent and her voice.....
  
  A wonderful autobiography and peek into the mind of this amazing woman, for fans of her plays and essays.
• 
  Lori

  Recommended by a friend for the second essay, which is about Broadway and the impact of theatre on young people - loved that story but also most of the others too.
• 
  Andrea Homier

  This collection of essays is by an ultimate New Yorker and reads as such - cynical and irreverent -- something I found both jarring and foreignly attractive. There is some great writing in here - particularly when Wasserstein is writing about subjects dear to her heart: her beloved older sister slowly dying of cancer, the birth of her daughter, and developing a growing, new, young audience for the theatre. In those essays, her passion flows with eloquence. She was obviously of great talent, and Wasserstein's own death at the age of 55 was a significant loss.
  
  I would like to see or read some of her plays, such as the Pulitzer-Prize-winning The Heidi Chronicles or The Sisters Rosensweig. Wasserstein also wrote the screenplay for The Heidi Chronicles film starring Jamie Lee Curtis, but, sadly, the movie has yet to to be digitized and is only available in videotape!
  
  One particular essay, apparnently written shortly after the Lewinsky affair - in which Wasserstein harshly writes of Hillary Clinton and what she perceives as Clinton's failure to stand tall for women's rights and advocate personally and professionally for feminist values- left me pondering the passage of time and those whose time is cut short. When we write in and of the present day, we sometimes do not have the luxury of the long view. I wish Wasserstein had.
• 
  Joanne

  When I read the book jacket cover, the description made me think I was going to LOVE this book described as Wendy Wasserstein’s essays on life in her 40s. Upon completion,
  I felt like a movie trailer where the best parts were already pulled out for you. The book is easy to read since it is compiled of 35 short essays on different subjects. Overall, I really enjoyed and related to only a handful. Many were relative to the theater, arts and somewhat dated stories on Hollywood figures (Jamie Lee Curtis and Bette Midler) and can be somewhat deep.
  
  While the subject matter was depressing, I found “How I Spent My Forties” about her sister’s plight with cancer, well written and touching. On Wendy’s quest to have a baby in her 40s I felt “Days of Awe: The Birth of Lucy Jane” was an enjoyable piece.
  
  The ones that made me laugh the most were “The LUMP List” (Last Unattached Male Person) a kind of personal ad for available men and “First Ladies Get Dressed” with Joan and Melissa Rivers commentating on the garments found in the closets of Hilary Clinton and Elizabeth Dole.
  
• 
  Kim

  With her characteristic humor and ability to face the facts, Wasserstein explores the state of the arts in the United States during the 1980s and 1990s and reveals sources of her inspiration from the lives of family members and her generation of women. Of course I was interested in her backstage stories and descriptions of working on her shows, but especially touching are the essays describing her visit through Poland with her older sister as they located where their mother's family had lived prior to the rise of fascism in Europe, her sister's battle with cancer and the hurdles Wasserstein faced as a single, middle-aged woman in her successful bid to become pregnant and give birth to her daughter.
• 
  Angel

  This book was sitting on my shelf for ages when I picked it up the other day. Each chapter is a snapshot in a day in the life of Wendy Wasserstein, playwright most famous for her Pulitzer Prize-Winning play, "The Heidi Chronicles." Such a self-deprecating funny person who thought it was a great honor to be "nice."
  
  I read this book, not being a huge fan or anything, but I thoroughly enjoyed all her stories especially the birth of her daughter Lucy Jane. Her life was so different than mine, but I understood her feelings and felt terrible when I read the last lines of the book, knowing there would be no more words since she passed away in 2006.
• 
  Carianne Carleo-Evangelist

  Oh this definitely hit the spot. A light, one day beach read.
  I don't recall where I picked this book up, but like the author my favorite breakfast china features the parthenon.
  This book is quite old. Two of the plays, here own Heidi Chronicles and Moss Hart's Act One have since been revived and her beloved Plymouth is now the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. That said, the stories held up well. I loved her partnership with DeWitt Clinton and TDF to bring the kids to the theater-so important.
  And even though she's a well known playwright, she's a normal person. I felt as if I've lived some of these experiences. And bringing home Lucy Jane was the perfect closeout to this series of essays.
• 
  Patricia

  This is another of the small used bookstore visit where I bought the whole shelf. These are 36 essays about coping with her forties. She is wonderfully witty, sexy and smart. I was so engaged with her achievements and her writing that as soon as I finished the book, I goggled her to find How she was doing with raising her daughter.….and broke out in tears when I learned Wendy had died. Her brother and his wife who had a child the same month as Wendy gave birth is raising her. Now, I would love to see one of her plays.
• 
  Karen

  There were a few gems in this book of essays, for example when the author wrote about her childhood and family, but it was tough slogging through the rest of the essays that would probably only be interesting if you were a theater/dance aficionado in New York City. It also felt like there was a lot of annoying name dropping (many of whom I didn’t even know because they are famous theater people in New York). So overall the writer has potential but I didn’t enjoy this particular book.
• 
  Annie Yang-Perez

  Life tragedies make good writers. Though it sounds cruel, in Wasserstein's case it is very true. My personal favourite is the piece about her sister Sandra's fight with cancer; the one about her daughter's birth is also very touching. Except for these last two entries written after life-altering events, the rest is a blur...
• 
  Stacey

  I had heard of Wasserstein many times before, but never came in contact with her works. She is funny, but my want to read the other books I had in my possession trumped my full attention to this one, so it felt a little slow-going.
• 
  Autumn

  If you like Wendy Wasserstein, or theater, or New York, this collection of essays could be quite entertaining. If you don't have a particular interest in at least one of those things, I doubt more than a couple of the essays will be especially interesting.