reading this as i spend my days strolling the streets of france and corsica and gorging on patisseries, amazing wine, and delectable cheeses >>>>

julia would be proud

—————

me, right now, until october

3,7*

No one loves food as much as Julia Child did! And this book only proves it. Definitely a must-read for every foodie out there :)

Interesting. I can't say I was crazy about the style, or Julia herself, for that matter, but her enthusiasm and energy came across clearly (relentlessly!) and I found her story to be, mostly, engaging.

Though I'm not actually interested in French food as a general thing, I do remember Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking as a fixture on my mom's cookbook shelf, and I find the social history aspect of the thing – the growing curiosity and excitement about gourmet cooking alongside the increasing availability use of convenience foods among American home cooks in the 50's and early 60's – an appealing subject.

As I read I found myself swinging between aggravation at her brash, self-congratulatory tone and admiration for her passion, curiosity, and drive. I can only imagine how exhausting she must have been to work with, but what a dynamo! And there were several points where my irritation at her “holier than thou” attitude about her father or others was mitigated by her fuller explanation of circumstances – the McCarthy witch hunts really were awful, and the racist, anti-Semitic attitudes of her father and his country club set were instrumental in allowing these un-American persecutions to last as long as they did. Her letter to a McCarthyite committee member at Smith College, Child's alma mater, who was recklessly communist-hunting among the school's professors, inclined me to forgive her a fair number of condescending generalizations about Americans:

”In the blood-heat of pursuing the enemy, many people are forgetting what we are fighting for. We are fighting for our hard-won liberty and freedom, for our Constitution and the due processes of our laws; and for the right to differ in ideas, religion, and politics. And I am convinced that in your zeal to fight against our enemies, you, too, have forgotten what you are fighting for.”

As I said, I'm not a “foodie,” but there were places where Julia's lovingly detailed descriptions of the taste, texture, and smell of meals made me (briefly) feel like getting up to go mess around in the kitchen. Multi-course, complicated meals aren't my thing, but visions of luscious slices of beef wrapped in delicate buttery pastry were dancing in my head. I've never seen her on television, but I'm going to look for some episodes of her show now – her excitement about delicious food really comes across in this book. The challenge of writing down complicated recipes in a way that fully explains but does not intimidate was something I'd not thought much of but learned to appreciate here, and also the issue of translating recipes for readers whose ingredients may be different from the ones the author is using (French flour vs American flour, French chocolate vs American, etc.). Who'd have thought?

Still, there were several aspects of the book I found annoying. The writing itself probably well conveys Julia's storytelling style – it is very breezy, enthusiastic, and sincere. The way the book was written – Julia told stories to Alex Prud-homme and he wrote them up and showed them to her to approve – is very evident. This offers immediacy, but also gives a certain “jumpiness.” Especially in the case of Julia's relationship with her collaborator, Simone Beck, she shifts between describing Simca as a dear friend and valuable partner to claiming that she was careless, uncooperative, and unreliable. Sometimes things are mentioned which seem as though they will have some relevance to the unfolding story, and then they never do. There are some things that struck me as odd that may simply be a function of a ninety-two year old looking back on her life. She describes a restaurant dinner that she and Paul had in France: “Here we were, two young people obviously of rather modest circumstances, and we had been treated with the utmost cordiality, as if we were honored guests. The service was deft and understated, and the food was spectacular.” You might think that they were in their early twenties at this time, but actually Paul was 46 and Julia was 36. And, similarly, she tells about her younger sister visiting them and making obnoxious prank calls to Parisian shops. To hear Julia describe it she clearly thought her sister was engaging in adorably youthful hijinx, but her sister was 31 at the time. In places her dated slang also was a distraction. Still, the story of how an aimless new bride developed into an internationally known cook and author, and how she became an iconic figure on television, rises above these peculiarities and flaws and offers some interesting insights into American social history. Three and a half stars.

Loved this behind-the-scenes memoir of Julia's experiences in France and elsewhere.

Government assigned drudge, the love of her life and soulmate, Paul's influences on her, as well as her own family's, especially come through in the influences on Julia's outlook on life, freedom, and the incentive to find a calling in cookery. An open minded Liberal to the max!! That's what living in another culture does to you!!

Many years ago, kid of the 60s and 70s, I watched her cooking shows but was off put by her overwhelming presence... she's a BIG gal!! Towered over everyone including whatever she was working on... Watching this 'big gal' tackle delicacies was an oxymoron to me, even as a kid. How did she do it? And her voice was always tremulous. In this memoir, she never even considered the 'bulk' of herself and because no one else made any issue of it, she persevered...

Those days, the early 60s, no cookbook had ever been written translating French food (or any other non-American cultural-specific cuisine). Julia Child was the very FIRST to access other cultural foods for the American public. She is to be thanked, a Revolutionary who gave us all, world wide, insights into recipes we could not otherwise try and experiment with, to adapt to what we have here in the U.S.

I've owned both of her "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" Vol. I and II. I used them as reference books, never once using any recipe from them. I don't cook like that, but I totally, especially now after reading this memoir appreciate and will attempt Julia's Beurre Blanc!!

After seeing the movie Julie & Julia, it was Julia Child's story that interested me. Her incredible enthusiasm and lust for life was, if not infectious, then admirable. And having spent a measly two weeks in France a few years ago, I dearly wanted to revisit - I can't afford the actual trip, but I could afford the book! I wasn't able to find a copy without the movie cover, sadly, but still.

If you've seen the movie then you're familiar with the book, only there's a lot more in the book than they put in the movie (though Nora Ephron did an excellent job on the screenplay). Between 1948 and 1954 Julia Child lived with her husband Paul, a US government diplomat, in Paris and Marseilles, were afterwards moved to Norway before returning to America when Paul retired at 60. When they first arrived in France, Julia knew nothing about cooking and couldn't even make scrambled eggs correctly. She falls so heavily in love with French food that she's motivated to learn - at Cordon Bleu, the famous chef school. From there she and two French friends start a cooking school for American women, and then helps them with their cookbook - French cooking for American housewives, the first of its kind. So begins Julia's career in cooking and cookbooks and, back in America, television.

Told with impressive detail, My Life in France resurrects this time in her life with gusto. You really feel like you're right there with her. Sadly, a lot has changed - she says it herself - but the flavour is all still there. There are some great scenes and some fascinating insights - I loved the "quiet" moments as much as the intense ones: describing a new apartment or the house they had built in the country, describing the food and how to make it (I especially loved learning about French food), and just her thought-processes. You really come to know and love Julia, who is loud, boisterous, exuberant, intelligent, thoughtful, appreciative, gracious - it helps that we have some things or opinions in common (and plenty that we don't!).

Her husband Paul's black and white photos illustrate the story, and I loved seeing Paris in the 40s and 50s. It sometimes reminded me a little of Hemmingway's Fiesta - lots of ex-pat Americans drinking and talking loudly and taking over restaurants and bars; but far less obnoxious!

It definitely leaves you feeling a tad sad - nostalgic not only for Julia and Paul's life but also for the-world-as-it-was, and France-as-it-was. There are some things we've really lost in the name of "progress". It's also a great celebration of life, and yes, I confess, I did go out and take a look at The Book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking - I am tempted to get a copy, but I'm also intimidated at the same time. And there are some French things I really refuse to eat, like foie gras, which Julia eats a lot of in the book.

Dzīvespriecīga, ne-sentimentāla, neatlaidīga, apņēmīga dzīves baudītāja - IEDVESMOJOŠA būtne. Džūlija Čailda. Tik interesanti dzirdēt Džūlijas pašas stāstījumu par viņas dzīvi. Par ģimeni - par tēvu, māsu, mammu. Par vīru. Par dzīves uzskatiem un pasaules redzējumu. Atkal no jauna pārdomāju - kā tā nākas, ka bērni izaug pilnīgi citādāki kā viņu vecāki. Vismaz reizēm. Pilnīgi nav skaidra audzināšanas nozīme cilvēka dzīvē.
Trīs lietas, kas man īpaši nozīmīgas pēc grāmatas izlasīšanas.
1. Džūlijai bija 37 gadi, kad viņa mērķtiecīgi sāka ceļojumu savā dzīves aicinājumā.
2. Džūlijai pieder vārdi: "How lovely life can be if one takes time to be friendly." (Dzīve spēj būt tik skaista, ja ļaujam sev veltīt laiku draudzībai)
3. Dzīves gudrība, ko paņemu no Džūlijas: "Chef Bugnard had tutored me, it was important not to rush, push too hard, or take people's goodwill for granted." (Šefs Buņjārs man iemācīja nesteigties, nepārspīlēt un nepieņemt cilvēku labvēlību kā pašsaprotamību).
Par dzīves baudīšanu!

Of course I knew who Julia Child was before I listened to this audiobook, but I didn’t know many details of her life. This book captures the period of her adult life starting when she moved to France with her husband Paul in 1948. I was completely charmed hearing about how she fell in love with French food and culture. I also learned that she did not take her first professional cooking course until she was 37 years old, which I find so inspiring. It’s never too late to pursue your passion.

I loved this book! I learned about it after hearing a discussion about it on NPR shortly after publication. I'm not sure exactly what makes it so compelling to me, because I am not a cook, but I think it's the unpretentious look-at-me-ness that was Julia Child. Alex Prud'homme carefully captured Julia Child's voice and the force of her personality. Even when at times she seemed a little unlikeable, you're still drawn in by her fearless and adventurous nature. This book is also a great slice of life portrayal of life in post-war Europe, from the perspective of a civil servant and his wife. It was also fascinating to learn about Paul Child, and the relationship between Paul & Julia - at the conclusion of the book, you really wish you could just hang out with them at "La Peetch", eating sole meuniere and watching the sun set in Provence. This is a love story between two people, a love story about France and a love story about food.

Oh, how I love and adore this book. It's one of the best I've read lately, combining as it does my love of France, Julia, and food in one funny, touching package. Julia Child was such a unique, eccentric, brilliant woman, and I'm always inspired when I realize that she struggled along at loose ends for years before finding her true passion and calling.

Her marriage to Paul Child is beautifully portrayed in the book. He was quite a worldly, erudite man, and very forward-thinking for his time in the way he nurtured and supported Julia's talent and career. He was very much a driving force behind her success, but he always made sure she was the one who got to shine. They lived a fascinating life even before her career began, however, living all over the world while Paul was a government official. WWII Asia, post-war Europe, the McCarthy witch hunt -- there's a lot more than just cooking stories in the book.

The cooking stories are great, however. I loved her description of her seminal first meal in France, the one that began her obsession with French cuisine. She really does credit that one meal with being the start of everything that was to follow, from her training at the Cordon Bleu, to the formation of L'Ecole des Trois Gourmandes with Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, to the three of them setting about writing Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The amount of work that they, Julia especially, put into researching and writing the cookbook is another inspiration. The woman was not averse to hard work, that's for sure.

I really can't say enough about My Life in France. I absolutely loved reading it, and it made me adore Julia even more than before. She really was a treasure.

This was a Christmas gift from my best-friend-forever Ariel, and a perfect read not only for foodies and urban farmgirls like myself, but anyone who's going through the "if not now, when?" blues. As some previous Goodreaders have already noted, it's a bit of a revelation to read about someone so famous (or infamous, if you've seen Dan Ackroyd's histrionic impersonation of "Jules") being such a late bloomer. This is America, and even though Miss Thing found herself in France, we prefer our great ones to know their calling and find their way as early as possible. In the womb, if you can swing it. Child is an engaging writer, and the book details the almost decade of Child slowly, carefully building herself up from someone who truly had difficulty boiling water to the grande dame of the culinary world we know and love today. She found a passion and followed it without worrying (much) about how it would pan out, no pun intended. Mastering the perfect oeufs was it's own reward. Also? Doesn't sound like working for The Man has changed much in 70 years. There are some eyerolling tales here of the Childs being tossed about like an old Raggedy Ann doll by their employer, the U.S. government, that will make anyone who collects a paycheck nod with recognition. (Sxcept that startling part about husband Paul being investigated by the government for suspected homosexuality. Apparently they sussed out such tendencies back then by making you take a trip to the home office and requesting you take your pants down. If you refuse, apparently you weren't gay and could keep your job! Oy.) But yes, if you love food, travel, cooking, late bloomers, France, tiny cars, dogged pursuit of unlikely passions and hobbies, and maybe Julia, this one's for you.

This gathered a lot of strength as it got going, starting as a barely 'it's okay' and ending just north of 'I liked it'. Her purpose was primarily to share the years she lived in France, but it was the most boring part of the book. I've come to be fairly settled in the opinion that there is not much point in reading about food. I think that's a primary-sense type of experience, and after a couple books that spend a lot of pages describing eating, I can only draw the conclusion that they are wasting their time. As am I.

The diplomatic life of her husband in Europe was somewhat interesting, and hearing the dynamics of their marriage, but the book did not pick up for me until she was deep at work on her cookbook, and had departed France. From that point forward, I enjoyed the chronicling of her career, and found it very inspiring that she didn't even begin to pursue her life's work until she was my age. I also really liked that her success was due to her work ethic, her skill, her drive, personality, and resilience. She was not a showy-looking woman. It's very hard and rare now to become a huge celebrity if you aren't perfectly beautiful, and I imagine it was then, too. Good for her, for being a name we all still recognize because of her talent.

I do think her writing collaborator did her a disservice by simply transcribing her spoken word so much. To listen to someone tell their story is magical; read that same account and something is always lost. The power of the StoryCorps Project is greatly reduced when they take those stories and put them in print, even though they're using the very best ones. The impact is less, somehow. So for the author to basically do just that in full book length was a misstep, in my opinion. A writer should write, and we're left with a 300 page rambling interview, made of sometimes really loosely-connected fragments. The narrative thread is very tenuous, especially in the first half of the book, and some random bits that were included should either have been discarded or more skillfully worked in.

I very much enjoyed the movie Julie and Julia. I wasn't all that crazy about the parts with Julie but couldn't get enough of Meryl Streep's Julia. My daughter gave me this book for Christmas and my opinion of Julia changed. She was a bit of a snob. She divided people into intellectuals and non-intellectuals and preferred keeping company with the former. I did enjoy reading about the food and was inspired to get out my copy of "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" to do a little more serious work in the kitchen. I've been slacking since the kids moved out.