Mike Nichols: A Life

Mark Harris' MIKE NICHOLS: A LIFE is a rich, beautifully assembled portrait of an artist through the lens of his career and process, and it stands out for being an incredibly fun read. Nichols seems to have been a complex subject about whom to write because there is a clear fracturing of his personality between the smart, droll public persona he affected (which I love) and the artist whose emotional life was cracked open by the process of making theater and films (which I also love). His ability to process the text of a story through performance and staging underscores his inability to deeply analyze his own life; his addictions, relationships, his childhood, himself. Still, Harris gives the sense that there is something in the act of making comedy and drama that released what was inside of Nichols and. as someone who shares that impulse– I am always opened up somehow when the lights go down in a theater or cinema– I found the tension between Nichols' public/creative/inner selves incredibly moving and perfectly conveyed in the book. I was also fascinated by his complex relationship with Elaine May, another hero of mine, and the unique energy between the two of them (she absolutely demands her own book!)... I will 100% be re-visiting his filmography; I already love it, but now feel a much deeper connection to his work. On top of it all, the book is laugh out loud funny (so many absolute mic drops!), dishy, knows which details matter and when to move on (a masterclass in biographical pacing) and is a joy to read. Enjoy!