Well, I think after reading these three chapters, we can all feel as if we've gotten a glimpse of Paris - or at least our imaginations have! The descriptions present in this book are out of this world. I think Julia Child can describe a dish she ate better than I could describe my own facial features! Her depictions are so vivid - I feel as if my imagination has taken the last 15 or so years off and has recently started working again, thanks to this woman.
One thing that stood out to me while reading chapter two was this sense of coming of age for Julia during her time in Paris. It seems strange to say that about a grown woman, but the fearless, earnest pursuit of her passion for learning to cook (and later writing cook books) and her own comment about being 37 years old and still discovering herself (p. 111) would seem to back it up. I like the idea of being a life learner though and constantly pursuing the things that make you happy, whether you're 18 or 37. Do any of you have similar experiences to Julia's (finding your passion later in life, feeling like you're still discovering yourself, etc.)?
I think these three chapters also gave more insight into the history of the time the Childs lived in Paris. I love hearing historical perspectives through people who lived it. I find the discussions on French-American relations and McCarthyism to be the most interesting. We also get some of Julia's family history (p.77-78), which is equally fascinating. I guess you could say Julia's dream of becoming a novelist somewhat came true. Her writing career took a different format than her original dreams, I'm sure, but what a success she became! I think it's inspiring that even though her life took many twists and turns, Julia still ended up in the same field as what she had wanted to do. How many of you has that happened to?
I think one of the other main things in these chapters I noticed was Julia's insane attention to details and her perfectionism. I don't believe I would have made mayonnaise long enough to perfect it, nor would I have had the patience to alter ingredient measurements and cooking times nearly as many times as she did in order to get just what she wanted.
While reading Chapter Four and Julia's description of Marseillaise, I found her initial disdain to be quite surprising. She had found such beauty in the ordinary while in Paris, but did not in Marseille. I wonder why that is? Why do you think Julia's experience and perceptions of Paris were so different than they were of Marseille? Do you think it was just because her heart already belonged to Paris so nothing else would compare, or do you think there was something else?
It seems like both Julia Child and her husband grow increasingly frustrated with their careers and possibly “take it out on” Marseille. I haven’t been to either Paris or Marseille and obviously never went in the time period she describes so I have no opinion about which city is “better,” although it’s difficult to see life on the French Riviera as too terrible. But it seems like Paul’s career, in this timeframe, is not as satisfying and her progress on her cookbook hits a bit of a slow period while they’re in Marseille. I don’t know which is the chicken and which is the egg, though. Does moving to Marseille cause their work malaise or vice versa?
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