My Life in France by Julia Child, Alex Prud'Homme Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of My Life in France
Book Review: As Satisfying as a Hand Made Bowl of Julia's Potage Veloute au Champignons
Summary: 5 Stars
It all began with a new bride wanting to learn to cook and progressed to owning a share in a cooking school, writing classic cookbooks that will be in print for many years, and becoming a television celebrity.
During her last years, Julia Child and her husband's grandnephew, Alex Prud'homme, met frequently to record her memories. The heart of the narrative is her first years in France, where she arrived in 1948 as a newly wed whose cooking repertoire was comprised of a bad job of boiling water. The serious home cook, who has dabbled in a variety of cuisines (and most certainly French), may reap the most enjoyment, yet her story is intensely interesting, on a personal and public level, and very well written. There were moments when I wished I had a French dictionary at my side, but those moments weren't frequent enough to spoil a good read.
Considering her age at the time of the writing, Prud'homme most certainly would have been responsible for the organization and undoubtedly did the bulk of the writing. But his contribution and his great aunt's voice are seamlessly interwoven. As I read, I could hear her warbling, high-pitched voice and was reminded of her wit from her television cooking shows.
I read the last page with a smile, shut the book, and felt as satisfied as if I had just finished making her recipe for Cream of Mushroom Soup and found it to be perfect in every respect. I get the feeling that Julia looked back on her life with that same sense of satisfaction. She doesn't apologize for her privileged background, and she doesn't complain about being a somewhat homely, well-educated, quite bright, six-foot-two-inch woman who didn't marry until she was well into her thirties and never had the children she and her husband wished for. She mentions her sadness at not being able to share a close relationship, or even a viewpoint, with her father, but she doesn't wallow in it. She incorporates names, but never drops them. She is unpretentious, natural, and disarmingly honest.
So many people look back with harrowing tales of disappointment and unhappiness; Julia gave us her joys and successes to share. I liked her before I knew anything about her life; now I like her a lot more.
Book Review: Bon Appetit!
Summary: 4 Stars
Published a couple of years after Child's death, "My Life in France" is a great book for anybody to read, whether you have been a lifelong fan of Child or are just learning about her. My only real memories of Child are from watching her PBS shows in the 70s when I was a kid and marveling at the tall chef with the distinctive voice.
The book is entitled "My Life in France" but is also about Child's time spent in Germany, Norway (which Child seems to love and I wish she's written more about her time in Oslo) and the United States. We learn about her family - her conservative father and spirited sister- life with her husband Paul and all the friends she makes along the way as she learns to cook and becomes the legendary chef.
I am not much of a non-fiction reader (maybe the last non-fiction book I read cover to cover before this one was 17 years ago) but this book is a fun read. Child makes a great, engaging narrator and I read this book in only a few days. Since I'm now inspired now to try my hand at some recipes by Child, I think this book did the trick.
Book Review: Faithfully captures Child's lively personality and her distinctive voice
Summary: 4 Stars
Alex Prud'homme (Julia Child's husband's great-nephew) wrote My Life in France in the voice of his great-aunt after spending many afternoons interviewing Child, then in her nineties. This "memoir" faithfully captures Child's lively personality and her distinctive voice, down to her idiosyncratic expressions: "Phooey!" "Ouf!" and "Bravo!" The photographs included in the book add further authenticity.
My Life in France is not a complete life story. Rather, the focus is on Child's time abroad with her husband, Paul, who worked in various diplomatic capacities over the years. During this time, Child shed her provincial ideas and discovered her love of gourmet cooking and French food. The book includes a detailed account of the genesis and the sometimes frustrating development of Child's masterpiece, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. This cookbookbrought French cooking within the grasp of American home cooks and is now widely regarded as a catalyst in the development of the appreciation of good food in America. My Life in France will appeal to lovers of French food and will inspire those who enjoy cooking.
Book Review: Flavor of France
Summary: 5 Stars
Love food? Enjoy Paris? Read Julia Child's lovely memoir compiled by her nephew from letters sent by Julia to her family during years of residence in France when she learned to cook and started producing the very first culinary instruction show on television back in the 1960's. All do-it-yourself and creative innovation, Julia and Paul, her spouse and food stylist, publicity agent and bottle washer, brought fine food to a vast American audience that didn't know much about international cuisine. Thank you Julia!Book Review: Fun Read
Summary: 4 Stars
My Life in France by Julia Childs was a delightful, easy read. Now I want
to read more about Julia!