Monday, July 13, 2009

Julie & Julia



Rating: 5 out of 5

There was no way I could resist this book. I am and have been a die hard Julia Child fan since the 60's. I was not caught up in the MTAOFC frenzy of housewives in the 60's but as a single woman watching Julia on public television during her first show, right there along with The Galloping Gourmet, a whole other story.

She was the kind of person I think, you either love or hate. Her quirky voice, her sense of humor, her way of handling food and most of all her attitude. No matter how complicated the recipe she either said it was easy or made it look easy.


Julie and Julia is written in style very much like I described Ms. Child. Quirky, funny, and with an attitude. None of which are bad things when you are trying to keep someone's attention. For all of us that have been able to read this journey through the Art of French cooking, I personally think we are very lucky to have it in book form rather than in installments, as those who originally followed the blog. Remember, Ms. Powell was blogging during the early days. Not all the bell and whistles that we have now days. No photos, no embedded buttons or moving objects, no videos from Youtube, literally showing you what she was talking about. No, the readers of her blog had to imagine all the foils and follies that she went through to create each dish, or to simply get the ingredients for each dish and had to wait for the next dose of humor and recipe.

One of my favorite aspects of the book, is the way that she is able to weave in the entries from Paul Child's letters or journals or the ones from the archives of Julia Child. She is able to identify with Julia in a way through space and time and value changes that is really remarkable, and adds so much to the book. Julie has also been able to show the value of family and friends. Her wonderful husband is a gem and should be protected, and she has some life long friends that were there for her when she needed them most.

I laughed from the beginning to the end of this book even though I was in bed with the flu. But, maybe that was a good thing as I did not have the desire to eat which would have been the case if I was well, or maybe even get out the recipe book and try to stir something up myself.

I am now sitting waiting for August 5th for the movie release. I hope everyone else can agree with me at the brilliance of casting Meryl Streep as Julia Child.

2 comments:

  1. I just ordered this book from our library. Thank you for the review. I can't wait to read it.
    Sincerely,
    Bobbie

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  2. I was just watching TV and saw a promo for the new movie based on this book. Ok, I was not actually aware there was a book or blog first. Yes, I live under a rock but it is a rock that will have to get it's hands on this book ASAP.

    I loved Julia Child. She was so funny, so quirky, so very real and her love of food, great food, so contagious.

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