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Imserba Webstore - My Life in France
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List Price: $25.95
Our Price: $17.13
Your Save: $ 8.82 ( 34% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Knopf
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.5092
EAN: 9781400043460
Feature: ISBN13: 9781400043460
Format: Deckle Edge
ISBN: 1400043468
Label: Knopf
Manufacturer: Knopf
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 336
Publication Date: 2006-04-04
Publisher: Knopf
Release Date: 2006-04-04
Studio: Knopf
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Editorial Reviews:
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In her own words, here is the captivating story of Julia Child’s years in France, where she fell in love with French food and found ‘her true calling.’
From the moment the ship docked in Le Havre in the fall of 1948 and Julia watched the well-muscled stevedores unloading the cargo to the first perfectly soigné meal that she and her husband, Paul, savored in Rouen en route to Paris, where he was to work for the USIS, Julia had an awakening that changed her life. Soon this tall, outspoken gal from Pasadena, California, who didn’t speak a word of French and knew nothing about the country, was steeped in the language, chatting with purveyors in the local markets, and enrolled in the Cordon Bleu.
After managing to get her degree despite the machinations of the disagreeable directrice of the school, Julia started teaching cooking classes herself, then teamed up with two fellow gourmettes, Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, to help them with a book they were trying to write on French cooking for Americans. Throwing herself heart and soul into making it a unique and thorough teaching book, only to suffer several rounds of painful rejection, is part of the behind-the-scenes drama that Julia reveals with her inimitable gusto and disarming honesty.
Filled with the beautiful black-and-white photographs that Paul loved to take when he was not battling bureaucrats, as well as family snapshots, this memoir is laced with wonderful stories about the French character, particularly in the world of food, and the way of life that Julia embraced so wholeheartedly. Above all, she reveals the kind of spirit and determination, the sheer love of cooking, and the drive to share that with her fellow Americans that made her the extraordinary success she became.
Le voici. Et bon appétit!
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: liked the cooking but...
Comment: I am surprised not to like this book but I do like the food descriptions. I've always loved to cook and, being Italian (Sicilian) this book helped me learn something about French cuisine which I appreciate. I also lived abroad in different countries, including within Europe so I can sort of relate to the feelings she describes about new experiences and romanticizing a place/people.
I have to say, though, something about her tone is really irritating to me. The way she constantly describes different crowds as "all French" and "intellectual" seemed like she was just trying to find validation in her identity as someone who had assimilated in France (which she may or may not have). I just can't imagine a French person coming to America and writing a book that constantly described every venue as containing "all Americans" or being "in English". Along those lines, it was also aggravating how she incessantly categorized everyone as intellectuals or not (including family and other Americans). It's kind of self-promoting/self-hating/identity-seeking.
I want to believe that this is a generation gap issue. Many people who are young now (her age in the book) are very aware and conscientious of ethnocentrism and self-hating identity issues and wouldn't express some of that in the way she did. She may have been just an exception for her time and excited to claim that identity as the adventerous woman abroad and that is what I picked up as obnoxious. I have to keep in mind that today in America it is a much more common practice to travel/live/study/work abroad than it was when she was young.
She also often made herself out to be broke and struggling and even said she was new to household help, however in the beginning of the book she tells us she had cooks all growing up. I don't have a problem with her being privileged but I just think she should own it instead of trying to pass herself off as suffering financially. She even described the the heating/plumbing issues as something she was coping with to see how the rest of the world lives and I felt like laughing. She with her maid and cook and scores of hired help for parties, galavanting in restaurants and buying tons of groceries and cookware, yeah, she is really in solidarity with the world's less fortunate. She just wasn't used to a more earthy way of life, that's all. She still lived in basically a mansion with hired help in a good neighborhood and attended an expensive school and ate the best food and wine in town! She reminded me of a college freshman, just separating from her parents' identities and coming into her own vehemently. Everything is always black and white first to establish differences and individuality.
The other stuff about her not liking Italian food didn't bother me. She exhibits an addictive personality that was stuck on France so of course she may not fully appreciate Italian cuisine.
Annoying qualities aside, I like her perseverance and positive attitude, even if it seems to border on delusional sometimes (like when all "Parisians were delighed with the tall California girl" and all that nonsense). I wonder how she would feel about her portrayal in the movie as someone who didn't fit in well in France and spoke almost no French? Considering all the French words she insisted on incorporating in the book I bet she would be mortified! Overall this book is okay and I am just overly sensitive to ethnocentrism and identity issues because I am lucky enough to have alot of experience as an expat and I also work as a therapist cross-culturally.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Disappointing!
Comment: I felt this was written like a travel log!Too many references to French resturants and food that I could care less about!!
Customer Rating:
Summary: A spendid read--fascinating and inspirational!
Comment: I finished My Life in France a couple of days ago and have carried it everywhere since, insisting I be allowed to read snippets aloud to a long-suffering audience (my husband) at frequent intervals. It's that good.
Alex Prud'homme had the sense to get out of the way and let Julia tell her own story. Meandering around Europe and the United States, and peppered with personalities from the chefs of the Cordon Bleu, cameo appearances by Alice B. Toklas and John Kenneth Galbraith and the fear caused by the long arm of HUAC, it contains one of the world's great love stories, that of Paul and Julia Child. There's something for everyone here; fascinating travelogue, wonderful descriptions of food, vivid personalities and intrigue.
I was inspired to dig out my very dusty copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking and plan an "Homage to Julia" dinner. I'd forgotten what a great cookbook it is; clear, thorough, concise and encouraging. The story of how it came to be is an adventure of the best sort, seen through the eyes of one of the most generous, hardworking and courageous personalities of the 20th century who used her time in Europe to immortalize and make accessible the world's greatest cuisine. How lucky are we that Julia Child existed and that we may get to know her through this book!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Comment: I really loved reading about Julia Child's time in France and her early TV shows. It was entertaining and a great read.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Delightful Narrative of Julia Child's Love of France
Comment: "My Life in France" is a wonderful autobiography. Julia Child recounts the joys of her life in France, and it's easy to see why her experiences led her to love both the food and the country. She also discuses how she came to become the famous figure we all know and love--from her modest expectations for her first cookbook to her first TV show. Throughout the narrative it is clear that this was a life well lived by someone who truly loved her life.
While I really enjoyed this book--what fan of Julia Child wouldn't love it--it's not the best written autobiography and at times I felt like I was reading a technical cookbook rather than an autobiography. I supposed Julia was simply writing in a style that she was comfortable with, but these more technical passages lessened some of the joy in the rest of the narrative.
This book is a must read for Julia Child fans. If you're interested in reading this because you enjoyed the film "Julie and Julia" I don't think you'll be disappointed with the original!
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