Forever, Erma

Erma Bombeck may be gone, but she'll live forever in her columns. This compilation, put together by the editors of her syndicated pieces, is intended to represent the best of a writing career that spanned more than 30 years. All the familiar characters of Bombeck's columns are here: the ungrateful kids, the husband behind the newspaper, the competitive friends. Also present are the easily identifiable situations that Bombeck chronicled with such a sense of real-life absurdity that readers felt as if it was their own lives being examined: there is the agony and ecstasy of a college reunion; there is Bombeck making a vain effort to find a family member willing to help take down the Christmas tree ("No one loves a Christmas tree on January 1" ); and, best of all, there is Bombeck fearing she's turning into her mother because she, too, puts a piece of colored yarn on her suitcase and keeps a litter bag in her car. Bombeck, who died in the spring of 1996, is eulogized here by two fellow columnists, Ellen Goodman and Art Buchwald. There is also a touching good-bye from her husband, Bill. A fitting finale for the much-loved humorist. Ilene Cooper