A Fine Romance

Actress Bergen performs a beautifully entertaining and down-to-earth reading of her memoir, which is as heartwarming and stirring as her performance. There is tenderness in her voice as she reads the first letter that her late husband, Louis Malle, wrote to her, and wonderment when she recounts traveling with him. She speaks with candor about widowhood, motherhood, remarriage, and aging in a society driven by appearance, all of which are conveyed effectively by Bergen’s signature gravelly voice. Most endearing of all is Bergen’s delightful sense of humor—dry and self-deprecating—sparing herself little dignity as she describes her fears during childbirth, her passion for food, and her “skewed sense of moral superiority to women who are intensely self-disciplined when it comes to food.” She sounds on the verge of laughter as she recounts the pranks on the set of the television show Murphy Brown. Bergen’s memoir is a charming blend of joy, sentimentality, and unabashed honesty that is augmented by Bergen’s skillful and heartfelt performance. A Simon & Schuster hardcover. (Apr.)