As a preface, I would like to mention that I am reading out of the 2006 edition of this book.
I can tell from the pages we’ve read that I am really going to like this book. I must confess up front that all I previously knew of Julia Child was from the movie based on this book, “Julie and Julia,” which intrigued me to know more about this fascinating woman, so I was excited when this was the first book selected for our club. From the reading so far, it seems like Julia (I say that like we’re on a first name basis or something…) is the kind of lady you’d want in your inner circle of friends. She seems so down to earth and very passionate about life.
One of the things that struck me must through this reading was the first line of the introduction in which Julia mentions the things she loved most in life: “Paul Child, la belle France, and the many pleasures of cooking and eating.” I love how the things she loved most were a person, a place, and an act –nothing materialistic about it. It made me start to wonder how many people in today’s world would mention similar things.
I also loved the way Julia described her early years in France as when she found her “true calling, experienced an awakening of the senses, and had such fun that [she] hardly stopped moving long enough to catch [her] breath.” For me (so far), that time in my life was college – especially the point about not being able to catch my breath. What was it for some of you?
I chuckled when I read that Julia’s interest in cooking was sparked by a bride-to-be’s cooking course – kind of makes you think twice about shrugging off those crafty workshops Michael’s offers . There could be a future Martha Stewart among us :)
“The sight of France in my porthole was like a giant question mark (p. 13).” That phrase stuck out to me as very poignant. Perhaps it’s just because I am at a stage in life where I see quite a few portholes with question marks (marriage, job search, etc.), but I am interested in knowing if anyone else took note of that. What do you see in your portholes?
One of the more general things that has struck me so far has been Julia’s passionate nature. I could tell just from reading how deeply she loved Paul and how much she savored every experience she had, from eating to meeting new people to the Child apartment to walking down a Parisian street. Her perspective is one to be envied, in my opinion. I would love to savor every moment for what it is rather than be ticking things off my to-do list. Perhaps that passion is one of the reasons Julia was able to so recall so many vivid details about her time in France nearly 60 years later; it probably helped that her husband took such wonderful photographs along the journey. I also wonder if her passion and exuberance had something to do with her positive experience in France, a country which many Americans think of as unfriendly. What are your thoughts on this?
I feel like this first reading has really given me some insight into who Julia Child was. I love the imagery her words are able to concoct in my head, and I am excited to read further into Julia’s life. I have never been to France but would be interested in hearing from those of you who have as to how accurate her description is.
What have been your initial thoughts through this reading?
-Ellen Dutro
First, reading this book is making me hungry! Her descriptions of the food are luscious. Her passion for food is on every page.
ReplyDeleteSecond, it’s interesting how vividly her voice comes through in her writing. In the preface or introduction, her co-author and nephew talks about their writing process and how he tried to capture her manner of expression and I think he did. When I read the book, I can almost hear her saying, “HelLOOO!” the way she used to on her cooking show.
Third, I’m struck by how much “of her time” she was. I think the writing reflects a generational perspective: that typical American optimism and practicality, that “suck it up and get on with life” attitude, her good humor. The descriptions of letter writing, calling cards and traveling by boat to France were such a vivid portrayal of how much life has changed.
I always try to think not only about what an author is saying but what they’re not saying. There are some notable silences here: She clearly believes some things should be kept private, so she spends almost no time on them in the book (her struggles with infertility, for example). I found that quite refreshing, especially given our “let it all hang out/nothing is private” culture. Another thing she doesn’t seem to examine is the gender roles of the time and the poverty and deprivation that surrounded her in post-war France. She clearly abhors her father’s prejudiced views, although she acknowledges his kindnesses, so we see him as a real, complex person and not some caricature. She also made an unconventional life for herself when she felt she didn’t fit in with the conventional expectations of her upper middle class upbringing. But she doesn’t have much to say about that…she just does it. Was she aware of what she was doing – which was pretty amazing , by the way – or was she just pursuing happiness with no real understanding of the larger cultural forces at work?
I found her silence on the poverty and deprivation that surrounded her in post-war France to be a bit odd, if not disturbing, but given her sense of privacy, I had to wonder. Was she self-absorbed and didn’t notice it, or did she work to help those less fortunate than her and just didn’t believe it should be discussed in the book, so as not to draw attention to it in a self-congratulating way?
The one thing I envy is the freedom she had. She worked during her life both before and after her marriage, but it seems to have been an option she pursued rather than a necessity. That sounds like an amazing luxury to me.