My Life in France: Julia Child, Alex Prud'homme: Kindle Edition: 2006: 336 pages print length.
I didn't know much about Julia Child before reading this book and I wasn't very interested to know more, but this delightful memoir just stole my heart. The book begins as newlywed Child moves to Paris for her husband's new position in the cultural affairs section of the Paris embassy. What begins as a whim to occupy her time quickly grows into a lifelong obsession as Child cooks her way through classic French dishes. Culminating in the publication of her first cookbook and the subsequent success of her television series, The French Chef, this novel is truly a Tour Du France, culinarily and geographically speaking.
I really came to admire Child's fearlessness and the way she looked life's dissapointments in the face while embracing its joys. She was certainly uncoventional and describes life long political sparring with her conservative father and being "cold blooded" when one of her cookbook's co-authors wasn't taking on her fair share of the work. But she was also hardworking, intellectually curious, and fully devoted to her husband. In fact, this novel is in part a very sweet love story. At times I wondered if there was more to the events than what she revealed, but her telling of them was marvelous none the less.
As a traveler, food lover, and wife of a Public Affairs diplomat I was smitten with this book from the first chapter.
(This was my first completed Kindle book and I can't say how much I love my kindle!)
