My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme
Less of an autobiography than a collection of anecdotes and remembrances, My Life in France nevertheless is a compelling,and quick read that explains how Julia Child came to be the French Chef. But more than anything else, this book is a love story, both about Julia and her husband Paul, and about the love they both had for food and France. That passion is evident on every page.
Focusing primarily on the years from 1948 when she and Paul met to 1954 when Paul’s work with the USIS (later USIA) took him away from France, it begins with the first meal Julia had, sole meunière in Rouen, and the epiphany it brought about. From there, she attends École du Cordon Bleu, where she disagreed with the headmistress but loved a few of the chef instructors who became lifelong friends. It then describes how she fell in love with France, how she met Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, her co-authors for Mastering the Art of French Cooking, her later foray into television, and the eventual deaths of Paul and those around her.
What really comes across in the book is what a powerhouse she was and her fearlessness in speaking her mind. She was certainly an imposing presence. I got to meet her once. Well, “meet” in the way you meet an author at a book signing. In the late 80s or early 90s there was a fundraiser for AIDS Action Committee, a gourmet dinner at the old Boston Garden where she was the guest of honor, and I was working as an usher. She was very gracious and friendly, but there was no question as to who was in charge, and it wasn’t just that she was 6 foot 2. There are people who exude authority, and she was one of those.
While it has no place in this book, I’d really like to read something about where she fits in in the whole woman emancipation issue. This is the era where (American women at least) are supposed to be Donna Reed types, happily ensconced in the home, overcooking roast beef and making tasty gelatin deserts for their husbands who slave the day away at the office. Julia, however, was learning and teaching and writing and, frankly, doing anything she wanted. She, as a teacher and author, was uncompromising, yet never came across (at least to hear her tell it) as brash or domineering. Her relationship with Simone and Louisette (and, indeed everyone else) was not always smooth, yet she remained good and lifelong friends with all of them. Had an average American woman behaved in the way she did, she most certainly would have been called uppity.
Regardless, the interpersonal dynamics of the book are fascinating. The work she and Simone put into Mastering is stunning and the only thing I can think of that comes closest to it is the work America’s Test Kitchen puts into their work, but they have a 2500 square foot kitchen and staff of 60, quite a difference from two middle aged women in their own rented apartments.
But, as I say, this is primarily a love story. And it would work even on that level alone.
October 4th, 2011 at 4:51 pm
[...] just read My Life in France by Julia Child, I thought it would be interesting to read some of the source material for that book. I was [...]