I watched the video, "Julie and Julia" again and though, "I stll haven't read, 'My Life in France'". I always thought I knew everything about her life. I'd read other books about her, but I'm really enjoying it and I either didn't know as much as I thought or I've forgotten.
The movie, of course is a little different than their actual life. This book shows France in a differnt era than other books I've read. They were there just after the war and the affects of the war still showed in the culture and the city itself.
Julia and her husband Paul were liberal people politically and they loved the life style in Paris. Julia especially really embraced the French people. They lived quite primitively compared to what the movie showed. They always seem to be cold and live in places with little or no heat and they always had to set up a kitchen she could work in.
It's not a book that makes me want to move to France or Paris but it does show me what a person can do if they are passionate about something. Getting her book published was quite a feat and took many years of hard work. Her husband was her support and her helpmate in so many ways. They had a lovely marriage.
You hear a lot about cooking but to be honest it's more than I would want to do at this time in my life, but I did have many of her cookbooks as a young wife and mother and learned a lot from them. Her tv show was probably the most helpful. Mastering the Art of French Cooking was something you opened when you had lots of time to cook and wanted a challenge. I didn't do that very often. Over the years though we had some amazing meals based on her recipes, some of our favorites.
Thankyou Julia.
Linda
I enjoyed the movie Julia and Julie. I thought Meryl Streep did an outstanding job portraying Julia. I also remember Saturday Night Live when Dan Ackroyd portrayed her cutting herself while cutting a fish,it was funny. I vaguely remember her show, I wasn't old enough at the time to want to cook. From watching the movie-that's really all I knew of her personal life,and career,she was an admirable woman. It made me want to try French cooking-maybe for a nano second!
Posted by: Becky Grundei | 06/26/2013 at 07:31 PM
I think she had her faults, as we all do, but she was quite passionate about food and we were the benefactors of that passion. She was ahead of her time in that area and that was what made her so unique. We use to make fun of her voice, but we learned a lot from her. Linda
Posted by: Linda | 06/26/2013 at 07:57 PM
I agree with you Linda. Comedians don't do justice to a person who worked hard,and were successful at what they did. She was the Food Network,before it even existed!
Posted by: Becky | 06/28/2013 at 01:01 PM
Becky, What I was thinking when I wrote that last comment was that the movie was an idealized version of Julia Child, but most movies are. I always hate it when I fall in love with a person and then read a biography that shows all the reality, but in Julia's case I saw the real her first so the movie seemed a little unrealistic.
Posted by: Linda | 06/29/2013 at 09:11 AM