Julia Child's "My Life in France"

[bleudauvergne]

Julia Child's nephew edits her memoire, and a recount of her exasperating experience at the Cordon Bleu is recounted in this exerpt in the NYT.

Excerpt from J. Child's Memoire

I for one, will add this book with pleasure to my library.

[Lori in PA]

I will look forward to this as well.

[LaurieB]

It's now on my list, too.

[judiu]

Hmmm, April, huh? I feel a birthday coming on!

[Carolyn Tillie]

I was initially concerned that perhaps her own words might have been over-edited... the clip proves otherwise and I will also look forward to a full read!

[John DePaula]

For what it's worth, count me in too! She was such a Great Lady; I hope that her memoirs do her justice.

[suzilightning]

put a buy request in last month(actually a resubmit since i originally put the request in in the fall when i saw the publication notice) for the library where i work. if y'all want to borrow it wait 6 months after publication and do an interlibray loan - we will be glad to comply.....

[Chezkaren]

Just wondering if anyone has read this yet?

[Angela Alaimo]

Just wondering if anyone has read this yet?

←

I have. You can really hear Julia's voice throughout. I got a little sad when I finished, because there's no more Julia in real life, just like there was no more book to read.

I liked it very much and will read it again.

A

[Nancy HM]

Suzilightning - a fellow librarian! Nice to know.

I read the book over the weekend, and I was sorely disappointed. As a huge fan of both Julia's and of Paris, I was very excited about the publication. But neither came to life.

[mrsadm]

I am in the middle of the book now and enjoying it immensely. Of course. it is not pure Julia, but her memories as she sketched them, and as assembled by her nephew. I think one cannot expect more. For those of us who loved Julia, this is a final treat.

[russ parsons]

i just finished the book and found it absolutely delightful. i knew julia fairly well and the book sounds just like her. her nephew did a remarkable job of capturing both her personality and her way of speaking/writing. with public personalities, we frequently assign them characteristics we wish they had, and then are disappointed when they don't measure up. so if you don't like this book, it is quite possible that you might not have liked julia either (the real julia, not the tv one).

[oneidaone]

I just started it and it is so beautiful! The overwhelming evidence of love for France and that

they have for each other is so inspiring, makes me want to cry! I was able to buy it at Coscto

for $14.99. It is definitely a book to relax with and savor a nice glass of wine while

reading and enjoying the journey. Makes me wish I belong to a book club that was reading

this! a hui hou

[Music]

I read the book and loved it. Although I never met Julia personally, the book seemed to me to read as though she had personally written it with no outside help. I love France, and I thoroughly enjoyed her descriptions of various places she visited or lived in France. I was very sorry when the book ended. I wish there could have been a sequel.

[Nancy HM]

Well, I'm definitely in the minority here. I wish I had loved the book as much as you all have...

[Gifted Gourmet]

There is a long, lively discussion on Julia Child and this book right here

"Julia Child remains vibrantly interesting today, no such thing as "death" in publishing"

[daisy17]

I just finished it and loved it too. And she didn't start cooking until she was 37! Talk about inspiration for someone looking for a second career . . . .

[andiesenji]

Once I opened it, I couldn't put it down. Even knowing what came next, from various other writings, it was still enchanting to know all the little details that determined how she developed as a cook/chef/author and entertainer. I feel it is an intriguing portrait of a most remarkable person.

What I find most interesting is that non-foodies are buying and reading it with great enjoyment. One of the women in my office (a non-cook, empty-fridge, person) remarked that she had no idea of the complexities of cooking as a profession, the time consumed in writing cookbooks or putting on a TV show.

[Liz Johnson]

The description of the mistral was some terrific writing.

[elfin]

I am a HUGE Julia fan. I read Appetitie for Life and although very wordy and filled with IMHO unecessary facts i.e.what someone wore to an event- I learned a great deal about Julia and admired her more so. My favorite part of AL was her years in France . I wonder if the new book is repetitive in this regard. Anybody read both to make a comparison? It is on my list to read after a few other foodie books.

[russ parsons]

i've read both. this is a very different, very personal book. if you liked htat section of "appetite", you'll love it.

[kpurvis]

By coincidence, I had just bought the first set of the DVDs of her early shows when the book came out. It's particularly fun to watch those first shows, then read the descriptions in the book. It adds a new dimension to her troubled friendship with Simone Beck when you see the footage of them cooking at the house in France.

[Shaya]

I am almost at the end of this book and will be very sad when I am done. I can hear her voice, sense her tenacity, and her personality comes through loud and clear. She was a strong, determined woman who knew herself and worked hard for her rights. This adds a new dimension for me - up until now I thought of her as the woman who started every recipe with "five pounds of butter" . Her story is inspiring to anyone who wants to start on a new path but lacks the confidence to try. Bravo to her grand-nephew for doing such a great job.

[moosnsqrl]

I finished it at noon today and was so depressed that I would likely never hear anything new in her voice again, I drove two hours RT to buy some Heritage Pork for dinner

It was a wonderful read and, although most of the facts, chronology, etc were already known to me through other works, her tenacity really did come through in this book. Once the initial post legitum depression has subsided, it will give me the <bon courage> to tackle my own career transition and for that I thank her.