A Fine Romance

De: Candice Bergen

Narrado por: Candice Bergen

In this New York Times bestseller, acclaimed actress Candice Bergen “shows how to do a memoir right...The self-possessed, witty, and down-to-earth voice that made Bergen’s first memoir a hit when it was published in 1984 has only been deepened by life’s surprises” (The New York Times Book Review).

“Candice Bergen is unflinchingly honest” (The Washington Post), and in A Fine Romance she describes her first marriage at age thirty-four to famous French director Louis Malle; her overpowering love for her daughter, Chloe; the unleashing of her inner comic with Murphy Brown; her trauma over Malle’s death; her joy at finding new love; and her pride at watching Chloe blossom.

In her decidedly nontraditional marriage to the insatiably curious Louis, Bergen takes readers on world travels to the sets where each made films. Pregnant with Chloe at age thirty-nine, this mature primigravida also recounts a journey through motherhood that includes plundering the Warner Bros. costume closets for Halloween getups and never leaving her ever-expanding menagerie out of the fun. She offers priceless, behind-the-scenes looks at Murphy Brown, from caterwauling with Aretha Franklin to the surreal experience of becoming headline news when Dan Quayle took exception to her character becoming a single mother. Bergen tackles familiar rites of passage with moving honesty: the rigors of caring for a spouse in his final illness, getting older, and falling in love again after she was tricked into a blind date.

By the time the last page is turned, “we’re all likely to be wishing Bergen herself—funny, insightful, self-deprecating, flawed (and not especially concerned about that), and slugging her way through her older years with bemused determination—was living next door” (USA TODAY).

Interesting story; the reading not as expected

Would you listen to A Fine Romance again? Why?

I found the stories themselves mostly interesting. But Ms. Bergen's reading leaves something to be desired. I just saw her on Today and she was so animated. But her read mostly sounded like she was in some sort of fog. Disappointing. I just wish her reading was as compelling as the stories themselves.

What three words best describe Candice Bergen’s voice?

Monotone.

Will Make You Laugh and Cry

I really liked that Candace Bergen read this as you got more of an impact of how she was really feeling. I felt her writings were relatable on so many levels. I am recommending this to all of my friends. I hope it is to be continued.

If You're a Serious Candice Bergen Fan

What did you like best about A Fine Romance? What did you like least?

I'm about Candy's age and have been a fan since The Group. I love hearing memoirs read by the author. I like how honest and self-deprecating she is and I loved hearing about the people who are in her daily life. The book needs some serious editing; it tended to be repetitious and there were times the descriptions smacked of name dropping.

Would you be willing to try another book from Candice Bergen? Why or why not?

Sure...I'm a fan and she's lived her life parallel to but entirely different from mine.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Hard to say since the narrator is the author is the subject.

Was A Fine Romance worth the listening time?

It was a little long. Had I been reading, I would have skipped over long passages. But, I love Candice Bergen and I love hearing her voice.

Any additional comments?

Candy comes off as a real person. She has advantages most of us can't even imagine, but she's brave and feisty and faces all the same things we do...plus all that goes with being an actress and public figure. I truly admire her.

Honest, funny...and did I say honest?

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. Loved KNOCK WOOD and it's been too long a gap between books.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Candice Bergen is honest above all. I appreciate that in my friends and REALLY appreciate it in a celebrity biography.

Which scene was your favorite?

The birth of her daughter...funny, poignant and very real.

Entertaining, poignant: a fine story

From start to finish this is an entertaining, poignant, often-revealing and hilarious telling of Bergen's life, from her marriage to Louis Malle, the birth of their daughter, and her success with Murphy Brown, to Malle's passing and her life since then.