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book_concierge's review against another edition
4.0
Audiobook read by Flo Salent Greenberg
From the introduction: This is a book about some of the things I have loved most in life: my husband, Paul Child; la belle France; and the many pleasures of cooking and eating. It is also something new for me. Rather than a collection of recipes, I’ve put together a series of linked autobiographical stories, mostly focused on the years 1948 through 1954, when we lived in paris and Marseille, and also a few of our later adventures in Provence. Those early years in France were among the best of my life.
My reactions
What a delightful – and delicious – memoir. I really got a sense for the determination with which Julia mastered the art of French cooking, and for the enthusiasm with which she set out to impart that love of French cooking to the rest of the world. The vignettes are charming, touching, funny, exasperating, worrisome, tender, and full of the joy of life. I liked the snapshots that were included, but wish that more of them had actual captions.
Flo Salent Greenberg does a marvelous job voicing the audio version. But be careful. A friend presented this to me as a gift, and it was only after I opened it that I realized it was abridged. I was able to get a UNabridged version through my library, however. Of course the audio book cannot include the wonderful photos, either.
From the introduction: This is a book about some of the things I have loved most in life: my husband, Paul Child; la belle France; and the many pleasures of cooking and eating. It is also something new for me. Rather than a collection of recipes, I’ve put together a series of linked autobiographical stories, mostly focused on the years 1948 through 1954, when we lived in paris and Marseille, and also a few of our later adventures in Provence. Those early years in France were among the best of my life.
My reactions
What a delightful – and delicious – memoir. I really got a sense for the determination with which Julia mastered the art of French cooking, and for the enthusiasm with which she set out to impart that love of French cooking to the rest of the world. The vignettes are charming, touching, funny, exasperating, worrisome, tender, and full of the joy of life. I liked the snapshots that were included, but wish that more of them had actual captions.
Flo Salent Greenberg does a marvelous job voicing the audio version. But be careful. A friend presented this to me as a gift, and it was only after I opened it that I realized it was abridged. I was able to get a UNabridged version through my library, however. Of course the audio book cannot include the wonderful photos, either.
evakins28's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
5.0
sportula's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
4.5
psyco12_2000's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.75
lumos_libros's review against another edition
Just a little too pretentious for my taste🤷♀️
casspro's review against another edition
3.0
Julia Child was one hell of lady. A fascinating read. Much needed for this wannabe cook and world traveler. Finished reading this in the office of a hotel gift shop during my first summer job.
sksrenninger's review against another edition
5.0
Just a total delight. I have no idea how you’d feel about this book if you didn’t love food and France (my hunch is you’d still find Pulia to be adorably engaging), but I do, and I loved it. #squadgoals indeed
kathleenguthriewoods's review against another edition
5.0
I re-read this book every couple of years because it's a guide on reinvention, persistence, and living well. And it's a lovely love story. Doesn't hurt that it also inspires me to get more creative in the kitchen. Bon appetit!
Having just finished this go-round, I'm eager to explore Provence, but the Provence of years past. Is there another small village in France that is more authentic, that hasn't been turned into an expensive tourist trap? Any recommendations?
Having just finished this go-round, I'm eager to explore Provence, but the Provence of years past. Is there another small village in France that is more authentic, that hasn't been turned into an expensive tourist trap? Any recommendations?
wanderingmole's review against another edition
5.0
A wonderfully colourful and inspirational book offering insight into the life of a fascinating woman who danced to the beat of her own drum and into France in the 1950s-70s. Her enthusiasm, curiosity and diligence are on every page and it is easy to see why she became so successful.
sarahlreadseverything's review against another edition
4.0
As seen on The Everyday Reader
My husband is ‘part French’ by virtue of many years lived in France and I have spent a lengthy amount of time there myself and expect to do so again in future. So I have a bit of a thing for English-speaker in France memoirs and My Life in France is one of several in my TBR Challenge for the year. This autobiography of Julia Child (partly ghost written by her great-newphew Alex Prud’Homme) follows her journey in France from the moment her and her husband Paul step off the ship when he takes up a diplomatic posting until she finally leaves France for good, long after her husband’s death, when it is realised that she can no longer make the trip or maintain their property there.
Frankly, this is a gorgeous book. The narrative is loose at best and really it is no more than a series of anecdotes, told in the frank, honest and exuberant way one has come to expect of the beloved food writer and presenter Julia Child. Her personality is larger than life, a fact that really shows on the page. The fact that it has been ghost written is not at all noticeably – the writing feels entirely authentic to a familiar Julia, which is probably due to the fact that the ghost writer is a close relative who knows her well. Julia’s love for both France and her husband shine through every paragraph of the book and it is truly a love letter to both. Her descriptions of their French apartments (horrible, and in my experience extremely typically French) made me laugh out loud!
My Life is France is also an extremely interesting piece from a historical point of view. Few realise that Julia and Paul first landed in France barely a year after the end of WWII, when France was still deeply in the midst of recovery (there was still severe rationing for example). Without concentrating on too many details, a vibrant and sometimes sad portrait of post-war France is built up by Julia’s recollections.
I thoroughly enjoyed this one and would recommend it to anyone looking for an honest life-in-France memoir (if one not entirely relevant to modern day France).
My husband is ‘part French’ by virtue of many years lived in France and I have spent a lengthy amount of time there myself and expect to do so again in future. So I have a bit of a thing for English-speaker in France memoirs and My Life in France is one of several in my TBR Challenge for the year. This autobiography of Julia Child (partly ghost written by her great-newphew Alex Prud’Homme) follows her journey in France from the moment her and her husband Paul step off the ship when he takes up a diplomatic posting until she finally leaves France for good, long after her husband’s death, when it is realised that she can no longer make the trip or maintain their property there.
Frankly, this is a gorgeous book. The narrative is loose at best and really it is no more than a series of anecdotes, told in the frank, honest and exuberant way one has come to expect of the beloved food writer and presenter Julia Child. Her personality is larger than life, a fact that really shows on the page. The fact that it has been ghost written is not at all noticeably – the writing feels entirely authentic to a familiar Julia, which is probably due to the fact that the ghost writer is a close relative who knows her well. Julia’s love for both France and her husband shine through every paragraph of the book and it is truly a love letter to both. Her descriptions of their French apartments (horrible, and in my experience extremely typically French) made me laugh out loud!
My Life is France is also an extremely interesting piece from a historical point of view. Few realise that Julia and Paul first landed in France barely a year after the end of WWII, when France was still deeply in the midst of recovery (there was still severe rationing for example). Without concentrating on too many details, a vibrant and sometimes sad portrait of post-war France is built up by Julia’s recollections.
I thoroughly enjoyed this one and would recommend it to anyone looking for an honest life-in-France memoir (if one not entirely relevant to modern day France).