Light and fun. I learned a few things, too! ( )

Even though this wasn’t highly rated, I had read and really enjoyed Ann Mah’s 2022 novel that also took place in Paris (“Jacqueline in Paris”) so was looking forward to this memoir about Ann’s year of living in Paris, published in 2013.

I have to admit I was disappointed. The title was clever, a riff on Julia Child’s famous cookbook “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” and the concept promised to be engaging. Like Julia Child, Ann’s husband was a diplomat and Ann was left alone for much of her year in France. As a foodie and Francophile, she used the time to explore the true stories behind the country’s signature regional dishes. Each of the ten chapters focuses on one traditional dish and includes Ann’s adventures in learning the dishes’ origins as well as how each is made. Recipes are included.

Yes, this is a book about living, working, shopping, cooking, and eating in Paris. But I didn’t like the way Ann padded each chapter with boring and dry statistics about ingredients, the region, the history of the dish, etc. She says she is telling the “link between history and place, culture and cuisine.” But it reads as if there are two books that don’t blend well – the nonfiction research and the personal memoir. And it was the memoir that was the part I wanted to read. She describes how, after her husband is suddenly assigned to a diplomatic placement in Iraq while she is left in Paris, she feels disconnected from Paris “an observer of the city rather than a participant.” This book becomes a way for her to practice her French, force herself out of a self-imposed isolation, and give her career a boost in a positive direction.

I know Ann Mah can write well because of the “Jacqueline” novel, but in this book she is timid, a little whiney, and spends too much time writing about feeling sorry for herself.

Two positive things: in addition to the recipes, the book has an index. But I can’t give this more than two stars – it was just OK. ( )

This book was a double delight for me to read, and took me a while to finish. Not because it was slow-moving or plodding, but because at the end of each chapter there are recipes; recipes I just had to try out, ingredients permitting.

This is a novel, a travel book and a foodies paradise all rolled into the memoirs of the Author, and anyone who delights in reading any of these genres, either as a whole or separately will revel in this book. The Author describes her love of Paris and how it came about, and the joy she felt at knowing they would actually be able to live there for a predetermined amount of time. I fully related with her life of having to pack up and move every three years and, her excitement at going to a place that had been on her ‘wish-list’ for such a long time really spoke to me, as I am sure it will to every reader who lives a nomadic work connected lifestyle.

Like the Author, I am a Gallophile and love Paris. This made it especially easy for me to fall into the book, and experience with her the sights and sounds of the city; remembering that same awkwardness of speaking French to a native. Some of the areas she travels to outside of the city, I had not visited but through the skilful writing style of the Author I was there with her speeding through the countryside with my large baguette and wine bottle snugly secure in the back seat. Into her memoir, the Author deftly weaves pertinent histories of the regions we travel with her to, and this just adds more flavour to those wonderful recipes. This is a book that is both mentally and visually pleasing, not because it is jammed packed with travel and food photographs, but because the Author has described every detail of the year of the title with such depth, humour and courtesy, the reader has a clear image of what is taking place on the pages before them.

The recipes are delicious, and so easy to follow. However, some of them require ingredients that may be difficult for the reader to come by depending on their location; do not be discouraged by this as there are plenty more that can be made with ingredients on hand and have you longing to travel to their region of origin.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves to travel, eat regional foods or just wants a good read with a little extra included.

Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.wordpress.com/2013/09/03/review-mastering-the-art-of-fren...




This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
( )

This was a delightful armchair romp through France by way of food. A memoir of one year spent discovering the history of some of France’s signature dishes. Any Francophile will be satisfied with this combination travelogue, food history and personal story. ( )

This book was a double delight for me to read, and took me a while to finish. Not because it was slow-moving or plodding, but because at the end of each chapter there are recipes; recipes I just had to try out, ingredients permitting.

This is a novel, a travel book and a foodies paradise all rolled into the memoirs of the Author, and anyone who delights in reading any of these genres, either as a whole or separately will revel in this book. The Author describes her love of Paris and how it came about, and the joy she felt at knowing they would actually be able to live there for a predetermined amount of time. I fully related with her life of having to pack up and move every three years and, her excitement at going to a place that had been on her ‘wish-list’ for such a long time really spoke to me, as I am sure it will to every reader who lives a nomadic work connected lifestyle.

Like the Author, I am a Gallophile and love Paris. This made it especially easy for me to fall into the book, and experience with her the sights and sounds of the city; remembering that same awkwardness of speaking French to a native. Some of the areas she travels to outside of the city, I had not visited but through the skilful writing style of the Author I was there with her speeding through the countryside with my large baguette and wine bottle snugly secure in the back seat. Into her memoir, the Author deftly weaves pertinent histories of the regions we travel with her to, and this just adds more flavour to those wonderful recipes. This is a book that is both mentally and visually pleasing, not because it is jammed packed with travel and food photographs, but because the Author has described every detail of the year of the title with such depth, humour and courtesy, the reader has a clear image of what is taking place on the pages before them.

The recipes are delicious, and so easy to follow. However, some of them require ingredients that may be difficult for the reader to come by depending on their location; do not be discouraged by this as there are plenty more that can be made with ingredients on hand and have you longing to travel to their region of origin.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves to travel, eat regional foods or just wants a good read with a little extra included.

Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.wordpress.com/2013/09/03/review-mastering-the-art-of-fren...




This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
( )