Thursday, February 28, 2013

My Life in France

It is still winter. I know it's February and that February means winter and so I should expect that it would be winter, but man, it is still winter. The thing is, that by now, the last day of February, it feels like we should be almost finished with winter, but I suspect that isn't the case. We had a pretty un-wintry December and January, and the late descent of winter is depressing with its cold and snow. It's the kind of weather that makes me want to hunker down indoors and read and knit and cook hearty meals, but the tricky thing about that (at least where cooking is concerned) is that I have to leave the house for groceries, and this weather makes me not want to go outside. Obviously I have to, but I'm doing it as little as possible, so instead of heading to the grocery store every time I feel like cooking, I've started turning to Julia Child instead. Her memoir My Life in France (written with her nephew Alex Prud'homme) is full of food and warm weather and it is exactly the kind of delicious escapist read I need to get me through the depths of winter.

In a nutshell, My Life in France is the story of the Childs' (Julia and her husband Paul) life abroad. They moved to Paris shortly after the Second World War and Paul worked as a cultural diplomat while Julia cast about for something to do. When she set upon cooking, she signed up for the Cordon Bleu and as dismayed to find she'd been placed in a class for housewives. After some trouble from the woman who ran admissions, she managed to be transferred into the main chef's class and although she didn't find success immediately, she was so determined to learn and so interested in everything that she, of course, was successful in the end. She became friends (as much as you can be, I suppose) with the chef who taught her class, and began working on her own recipes and versions of recipes in the evenings after class. She was, in a word, obsessed, and it was an obsession that drove her for the rest of her life.  

Julia Child was 91 when she sat down with Alex to write this book and I have to say, her memory is extraordinary. Although she had many, many letters to refer to, as well as photos to job her memory and, of course, her copious notes from the years she spent writing Mastering the Art of French Cooking, that does not entirely explain how she can remember such precise details about meals she and her late husband Paul ate some sixty years prior. It is astonishing, and from the very beginning it draws you in to her love affair with French food so completely that you'll wonder why you don't approach cooking with the same spirit of dogged determination and adventure. (You'll certainly be embarrassed you're avoiding the grocery store because of the cold.)

The first part of the book is mainly about Julia's introduction to French life and learning to cook and all the many amazing meals she and Paul enjoyed. It is also about their marriage, and their life together, which adds a perhaps unexpected love story to a memoir largely about food. It is so vivid and exciting to read that, really, you feel you could step right into that Paris and bump into her on the street. 

The second half of the book – no less enjoyable – is about the famous cookbook, or "cookery bookery," as Julia called it. Mastering the Art was an enormous undertaking. During the writing of it, the Childs were transferred from Paris to Marseille, meaning Julia was quite some distance from her writing partners (who, I should say, were the original forces behind the book, although that largely changed when Julia joined the team). The number of hours and ingredients that went into perfecting each recipe is unimaginable, and that these women did all this work without a proper commitment from a publisher is crazy. For a long time, it looked like the book might never even be published, since it was so long and detailed, and the market for that kind of cookbook didn't really exist in 1950s America, where they were hoping to sell it. Nonetheless, they persevered, and although the Childs were then transferred to Germany, and then to the U.S., and then to Norway (I had no idea they'd moved around so much), they didn't stop working.

Although non-fiction is not generally painted as an escapist genre, My Life in France is absolutely a book that will whisk you away and drop you into Julia's kitchen. The writing appeals to every sense, and if you have ever heard Julia Child speak, her voice will follow you loudly through the pages. As memoirs go, this one is detailed and fun without losing the narrative and becoming too revealing. It is a delicious read, and I heartily recommend it.

My Life in France
by Julia Child, with Alex Prud'homme
First published in 2006 (cover image shown from Anchor Books edition)

18 comments:

  1. I would like to say that this blog really convinced me to do it! Thanks, very good post. Professional France Tour Guides

    ReplyDelete
  2. A very awesome blog post. We are really grateful for your blog post. You will find a lot of approaches after visiting your post. France Tour Guide

    ReplyDelete
  3. Like a refreshing beverage, you can have your quad bike adventure wet, quad bike hire Santorini

    ReplyDelete
  4. When finished, you should print your E-visa and convey a duplicate with you. Biometric subtleties of the candidate will be compulsorily caught at Immigration on entry in India. indian visa

    ReplyDelete
  5. Please let me know if you’re looking for a article writer for your site. You have some really great posts and I feel I would be a good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off, I’d absolutely love to write some material for your blog in exchange for a link back to mine. Please send me an email if interested. Thank you! Hire Car with driver in Marseille

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yes i am totally agreed with this article and i just want say that this article is very nice and very informative article.I will make sure to be reading your blog more. You made a good point but I can't help but wonder, what about the other side? !!!!!!THANKS!!!!!! get instagram followers free app ios

    ReplyDelete
  7. Studies have found that vessels running on Liquefied Natural Gas are slightly more efficient, while electric and hybrid alternatives have also been developed in recent years. çeşme sakız feribot

    ReplyDelete
  8. Nice post… Thank you 🙂 for this article and very informative article. Wish to travel Visit turkey best place Mardin’s Old City is easily toured by walking Turkey apply for Trukish visa through e Turkish visa online application. The US visa for Turkey visitors need to fill online e visa application upload documents & photos, make online payment. Pakistan is a world's 26th largest economy City is easily toured by walking.they need to Pakistan business visa application and apply emergency visa to Pakistan. The process is so simple Just go to online emergency visa to Pakistan visa application form and fill out the Pakistan visa Information requirements application and UK all citizens traveling to Pakistan ,get the evisa.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Nice post! This is a very nice blog that I will definitively come back to more times this year! Thanks for informative post. virtual tour services

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great work.. Thanks for this post. Foreign travelers who wish to apply for Azerbaijan visa must check the Azerbaijan visa requirement before filling the application.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thank you �� The international travelers who travel to Kenya need visas Kenya. That they can apply online and can get the 24*7 customer assistant and pay online kenya visa costs.

    ReplyDelete
  12. It's such meaningful content. So nice words you are saying . I feel so glad to read it. I suggest that people read it once. It's really helpful. And also check out how to apply emergency business visa India for the foreigners who want to visit urgent in India for the purpose of business meeting, startup, seminar, sale/purchase etc.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks for your blog.This is a nice blog. Hiii guys, if you are willing to travel in India, now India is open for tourism, you can travel in India. But without a visa you can never enter India. Firstly You can apply for an Indian visa & you can fill yourself online Indian visa application form within 5 to 10 minutes.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi friends, every traveler will need a Turkey transit Visa for Turkey if they want to leave the Turkey airport, even if the stay is not more than a few hours. Applying for Turkey transit visa is a straightforward process

    ReplyDelete

Real Time Web Analytics
BooksANDBlogs
Powered By Ringsurf