I received this book from Blogging for Books for my review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
As someone who has always enjoyed cooking and food, I admired Julia Child for her accomplishments. Most of what I knew about her was very general or came from the movie Julia and Julia. I had never looked more into what all she did. When I saw this book pop up as an option to review I thought it would be a fun read. I had missed the part that it was an audio book, and was surprised when I opened the package. I had never actually listened to an audio book before and I must say I really enjoyed it and am looking for more to try.
On a drive to Northwest Arkansas, I popped in the first CD and was taken to the past as I learned about what Julia did in the second part of her career. The drive flew by and I was amazed at how amazing Julia Child was. The book is written and narrated by Alex Prud’homme Julia’s grand-nephew who also co-authored her autobiography, and it is clear that he knew her well and enjoyed telling her story. This book gives an insight on to what Julia experienced in the second part of her career after publishing The Art of Mastering French Cooking. From the new found stardom she had, her TV shows and how she paved the way to what food TV is today.
The book is set up into three sections each with multiple chapters. When listening and not being able to see how the sections are broken up it can be difficult to follow the timeline. But each chapter is written in a way that it can stand alone for the most part. The first section discusses the reality she had to face after the publishing of her the first cookbook. As she wrote The Art of Mastering French Cooking Volume 2 with her co-author Simca there were issues and the partnership had some struggles along the way. The second section talks about her time in America. Her relationship with the news stations and the shows that she was able to do. It also shares with us some insight on the White House Special she was able to do during a State Dinner. She was the first to be allowed back into the White House kitchen with a camera crew and show it to the American people. There are also stories of how she and Paul were a team, his health, and the things that they got to do together. In the third section Alex shares how Julia reinvented herself again after being the French Chef.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and learning more about Julia Child. Her dreams and passions drove her and what she set out to do she did. She had a husband that supported her, and in her eyes even though she was the face everyone knew, he was an equal partner in all her success. As I listened I saw similarities in my passions and Julia’s, I only hope that one day I can look back and say I went after my dreams and made an impact on the people around me. Because if we all had a little Julia in us, I think the world would be a better place.
Overall Rating: 4.5 stars knocked down just a little because as an audio book it was hard to follow the timeline.
Cover: 5
If you are interested in cooking, food tv history, French cooking or Julia Child this book is a must read/listen!
