A Garden of Books: August 2009

"My Life in France"

by Julia Child

with

Alex Prud'homme

352 pages

Anchor Books

Movie--"Julie & Julia" written and directed by Nora Ephron
I went with a friend to see the movie Julie & Julia on Wednesday August 12.
I loved the movie!
Merle Streep is brilliant in her portrayal of Julia Child, and Stanley Tucci was wonderful in his role as Paul Child. The 2 of them worked in sync with each other, they were believable in the love and closeness that Julia and her husband Paul had.
I was amazed at Merle Streep's ability to mimic perfectly the mannerisms, tone of voice and speech, that Julia Child had. It is rare to see a couple on the screen that are such perfectly paired for their role.
I loved the scenes in the movie of France, it gave the audience a fresh fragrant view of the real France, not the touristy France.
Nearly every scene had food, I was glad to have bought bags of popcorn and m&m's to munch on during the movie.
I have read "not so nice" reviews on the character Julie Powell, the word I keep hearing is "whiny." I feel that greater understanding should be considered in that Julie had a job that was excruciatingly emotional, that she was searching for something more to add in her life, she wanted a "passion." Amy Adams I feel did a great job in her portrayal as Julie Powell. Julie was a young, cute, emotional young woman looking for "something more."
One thing I would change in that Stanley Tucci's name should be added to the top billing of names. They have him listed in the below information.

Book--"My Life in France" by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme
I love it when a book transports me to a time and a place far removed from my familiar reading chair.
The book gave the reader a greater understanding of post war France. Julia and Paul Child arrived in Paris only 3 years after World War II ended. Julia did not speak French, but Paul had lived there and could speak the language fluently. Later they would live in other places in Europe, yet it would be their time in Paris that they would love the most.
When arriving in Paris Julia fully committed herself to learning the culture and language, and later learning to cook masterfully.
The book gives a great and beautiful look into the marriage of Julia and Paul, they were fully committed to each other, it was a full partnership each encouraging each others endeavors. They were a passionate couple, they were in love with each other and in love with life.
Julia was a positive, self motivated, lively, intelligent breath of fresh air.
Before seeing the movie and then reading the book, I knew little about Julia Child. I knew she had had a cooking show on PBS, yet I don't think I watched but maybe 5 minutes of the program.
I am sad to say I cannot find the book "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" in my town, I will continue to keep looking.

joie de vivre

A Garden of Books

Sunday, August 30, 2009

New York Times Best-Sellers---"My Life in France"

Monday, August 24, 2009

A Book and a Movie on Julia Child

BBAW

Thursday, August 13, 2009

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