Alex Prud'homme

I expected to enjoy this more than I actually did. Julia Child, French cuisine guru, arrived in Paris as a young woman with no particular cooking skills. But she became passionate first about eating, then about cooking - well and with understanding - the French classic repertoire. It became her life's work.

Though her enthusiasm is infectious, her deep knowledge obvious and admirable, and despite her francophilia, I rather wanted to get this book over and done with. I'm not the sort of cook who enjoys the fancy, rich classic cuisine of the time, or wants to have recipes in which every 1/4 teaspoonful matters, so she's not my sort of cookery writer. The story seemed sometimes disjointed, with episodes left up in the air.

For all that, she's a disarmingly warm and lively character, and her evocation of life in post-war Paris makes for an interesting read. But I probably shan't be looking out for more of her books, even though I could undoubtedly learn a huge amount.… (altro)

It's hard to imagine how reading a book about food and recipes could be so interesting and entertaining, but it is, and down to the very last page. When you read how much time and effort Julia put into each and every single recipe in both Mastering the Art of French Cooking 1 & 2, you may want to locate copies for your own library. I But beware, Julia claims in the book, "My Life in France", that every edition required revisions and things corrected that had been missed or measurements that had been written out wrong, i.e.: 2 cups corrected to 2 tsps. These mistakes infuriated her because no matter how many times she went over it, she would always find mistakes. And Julia was a perfectionist!

You will find that Julia drops the "f" bomb a lot during the first half of the book..."french" words, phrases and sentences without explaining what they mean. You can choose to just skim over them or, as I did, download a free French pronunciation app onto your phone to help pronounce and decipher the meanings. Don't let this deter you from reading the book. It's still an excellent story, an excellent book. She revisits France for the last time back in about 1992, to pack up the rest of her and Paul's things. It's very sad that many of her friends and co-author had already passed on. She doesn't find leaving her beloved France as hard as she thought because it was the people who made France home and a part of her heart, not France, itself.… (altro)

Heavenly inspiration! I want to be just like Julia Child, not for her cooking but for her enthusiasm for life. She doesn't know things and isn't afraid to ask (huge failing of mine), and when she sets about learning things she does so whole-heartedly. Not just with cooking - she didn't learn to cook a drop until she was 36!! - but in art and world affairs and foreign cultures. Truly, she seems to have said yes to living life, and I think she would have been the best of fun to know.

My favorite bit of advice: "I don't believe in twisting yourself into knots of excuses and explanations over the food you make. When one's hostess starts in with self-depreciations such as "Oh, I don't know how to cook...," or "Poor little me..," or "This may taste awful..." it is so dreadful to have to reassure her that everything is delicious and fine, whether it is or not. Besides, such admissions only draw attention to one's shortcomings (or self-perceived shortcomings), and make the other person think, "Yes, you're right, this really IS an awful meal!" Maybe the cat has fallen into the stew, or the lettuce has frozen, or the cake has collapsed - eh bien, tant pis!" (p. 77).… (altro)