As my Julia Child obsession continues I've now read her memoir of the time she spent in France.
The book opens up with a little background information ans then quickly moves to the first time she arrive in France. Julia is a wonderfully detailed story teller. She describes all the little nuances of her experience. The photographs done by Paul Child help to solidify the pictures that Julia is painting with her words.
She is a very inspirational person. I wish I could have met her, but that was not to be. I'm not sure if there is many of us out there who would willingly give up our lives to government work and be stationed at their whim. Her optimism pushes me to be a better person.
One of her rules for her self was to never apologize.
"I don't believe in twisting yourself into knots of excuses and explanations over the food you make. When one's hostess starts in with self-deprecations such as "Oh, I don;t know how to cook...," or "Poor little me...," or "This may taste awful...," it is so dreadful to have to reassure her that everything is delicious and fine, whether it is or not. Besides, such admissions only draw attention to one's shortcomings..." (pg 77)
I like this and feel it is a good rule to live by.
Additionally, as I said to my husband the other day, "we need to move to France". Now this is really not an option, but it sounds good. I would love to walk in her footsteps. Go to cooking school. Make life long friends. It all sounds so easy when she write about it. Even the hard parts like disagreeing with her MTAOFC collaborators.
This book spans her time in Paris, their move to Marseille, then Plittersdorf, Germany and finally Oslo, Normandy. She describes her trials and tribulations with writing Mastering the Art of French Cooking volume one and then volume two. And the beginnings of her television success.
I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to learn more about Julia Child or even someone who just wishes to be inspired to do great things.
As always, I appreciate your comments or book recommendations. ~Dianna
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