Book Review

In my first post I mentioned that I was reading Julie & Julia. Well, today I finished it and I thought I'd give a brief review for all who are interested.

Let me start off by saying that I absolutely loved the movie version of Julie & Julia. I thought it had the perfect balance of humor, warmth, and an inspirational message. If Julia Child were truly like the character Meryl Streep portrayed her to be, I have great admiration for her zest for life, her spirit, and the incredible relationship she had with her husband Paul. The only part that bugged me was Julie's husband who was such an obnoxious, disgusting, pig of an eater that it was almost distracting and made the decadent food Julie made look incredibly unappetizing.
But anyway, back to the book. Julie Powell humbles herself frequently throughout this enjoyable memoir as she describes her emotional roller coaster, temper tantrums and all, as she cooks her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Her casual writing style makes her so real and relatable that I feel like I know her by the end of the book. However, I have to say that Julia isn't as warm and sweet tempered as Amy Adams portrays her in the movie. In fact, if I were the casting director, Amy Adams would probably be one of the last actresses that would come to mind when casting for the role of Julie. The real Julie Powell is humorous in a feisty, and at times more vulgar way and has the mouth of a sailor when she gets upset. Though I was a little put off by the crudeness and language at times, I found myself too sucked in to put the book down. Powell grabs you through the very beginning and wets your appetite for each succeeding chapter. By the end of the book I felt satisfied as if I had just finished one of Julia Child's butter drenched meals. The books is vastly different from the movie, and only has little tid-bits into Julia Child's life every so often, so I recommend approaching it as its own entity without a preconceived idea based on the movie. I recommend it for those looking for a quick read and an enjoyable and escape from their daily routines. Who knows, you may find it inspirational...



While on the topic of food I just thought I'd share my amazing lunch with you. I love replacing mayonnaise with avocado in tuna so I made a tuna/egg salad with avocado and greek olives mixed in and topped with sun dried tomatoes and a dash of pepper all mounded on top of a rice cake. Divine.