Julia Child's My Life in France
Hi all! I hope your week is off to a fantastic start. I'm finally starting to become more confident in myself as a real estate agent so this week I've found myself being more bold in reaching out to possible sellers, more communicative with my buyers, and all around more optimistic about my career. I've also applied to a few remote jobs to fill in the income gaps that come with switching careers- fingers crossed on those! It might just be the amazing weather, but I feel like I'm in a good place. One more thing- if you're a Realtor or have been in the past, I'm always up for some good advice. Send me a message!
Let's get to the topic on hand. Like all of my book blog posts, this will be more of my experience with the book than a "review". I just want to give you an idea of what to expect out of what I read and recommend. Without further ado- I finally finished My Life in France. I don't know why it took so darn long, I loved every second of it. The book is a cute account of how Julia Child grew into who we know her as- an acclaimed author, TV personality, and chef. I obviously didn't grow up seeing Julia Child on television (1963) or experience the release of her most popular cookbooks (1961, 1970) so my curiosity began with the movie Julie and Julia which came out in 2009 and is about a woman who cooks every recipe in Julia Child's first cookbook. I love the movie and have been infatuated with Julia Child since seeing it. Anyway, the book is of her life from before she even moved to France until after her television show airs. She wrote letters/journal entries throughout her life and the entire book is based around her and her husband's grandnephew Alex Prud'homme rereading those letters and entries and creating her story line from those memories. What I especially loved of the book was that it didn't feel like "I started here and then did this" it was more "One perfect French evening as I sat near our olive trees and I heard the birds chirping" if you know what I mean. She placed the reader there with her. I had no problem feeling and visualizing everything that happened and feeling as if I were a friend she was talking to- she even shared a bit of gossip here and there.
I loved experiencing her life before she knew a single thing about cooking all the way after she was famous for it. As I'm just starting my real estate career, it feels like I have a long road ahead of me to reach the kind of success I'm after, so reading and learning of Julia Child's pure grit is so refreshing and encouraging. The book doesn't just talk about Julia Child but of her determination, passion, endurance, and amazing ability to deal with roadblocks (some roadblocks being impossible people). It's truly inspiring to look at her career from the ground up. It helps me visualize myself achieving all of the goals I have set before myself.
You really must experience this book for yourself. Julia Child has a way of describing her cooking, her eating, her social encounters, her relationships, her travels, and so much more in a charming, comforting, nostalgic, and beautiful way. Even if you're not interested in cooking in the least, you'll want to hear of her success story or her relationship building in France or her travels all over and her comical commentary. You'll also come across a few darling French phrases that you'll surely want to bookmark. For instance, "Une maison sans chat, c'est la vie sans soleil!", or "A house without a cat is like life without sunshine!" to which I agree and must needlepoint into a pillow.
I was very sad to have finished this book. I felt like I had made a personal connection with not only Julia, but with her friends and her family and France. Luckily, in my next book I'm going only slightly south-eastern to Tuscany. I'll be reading Under the Tuscan Sun next! If you've read it I'd love to hear what you think!
Thank you for reading!
Comments
Post a Comment