My Life in France

Most people know Julia Child as the bubbly, joyous woman whom everyone imitated and have gotten inspiration from to make many parodies of. You may also remember simply catching her name on those thick peachy-orangey colored cooking books of hers in libraries and bookstores. Worldwide, she is known to be a food writer, a chef, and simply, a legend, even without meaning to.

Surprisingly, Julia Child did not even have a clue on anything about food when she first started cooking. When she went to Cordon Bleu for cooking school, her professors and classmates all underestimated her for her lack of knowledge, experience, and even her age. Over the years, she writes down recipes and various authoritative tips about French cooking. And then forty years ago, she then published her acclaimed book, ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking,’ that was a hit then and will forever remain even after Julia Child’s death in 2004.

Life in France is her memoir, and an account of any possible thought and feelings she has faced throughout her life in france, hence the title. To read this book is almost as if you are actually in the kitchen with her, listening to her tell you that the correct way to scramble an egg actually, is not to beat or whip it, but to gently blend it together. But the thing is, this memoir is not entirely about food. It is about her life with food, Paris, her loved ones, and mainly, herself as she inspires the world, without even expecting it.

Reading this book is definitely a must, whether or not you actually like to cook. The fact that everybody likes food would be enough reason to. For sure, everyone will love Julia Child along with her eccentricity, undeniable wit, charm, and bubbliness.

***Forget ‘Julie and Julia’ (the book AND the movie). Just read this. But that is just me.

Julie and Julia

Based on a true events, this is about the story of Julie Powell, trying to restore her life, her marriage, career, and ambition, among other things. This book was gathered from Julie’s blog, as she attempts to live one year–365 days–cooking through the legendary Julia Child and her cookbook.

First of all, I have to admit this novel has a lot of charm. It is honest, and can actually pass as well-written. However, I do have to say that I did not know if I wanted to root for Julia or simply toss this book of hers to my “did not finish, never to be picked up again” pile. But I knew that if I did that, I wouldn’t be able to write a fair review. So I finished it.

The premise is interesting enough, and as I said, the author can write well. But throughout the book, I found her to be a little too self-indulgent, even for a memoir. There was not much humor, not much wit, not much thought. In truth, after reading this, I found myself to be a little bit depressed. Her “opinions” about her family, friends, politics, 9/11, Republicans, I found, were actually a bit offensive. I understand that this is a memoir, coming from a blunt blog, but please, there is no need to be this rude.

On a positive note, I wish I have just passed this one up and just watch the movie, mainly because of Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. And on the other hand, I wish I had just read more about Julia Child and her husband instead of Julie Powell.

Spare yourself, try not read it. You really don’t have to.