Grade: A, served with foie gras and placed on a bed of minced, roasted shallots.
My apologies, as I am a little tardy in my book review.
Last month, I declared to read one book per month and announced my October selection: My Life In France by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme. As it turns out, Alex is a family member by marriage - her husband Paul's grandnephew. It apparently took a bit of time to convince Madame Child to document this story - and we are indeed fortunate for Alex's tenacity in writing this book!
Three main points:
1 - The story of Julia and Paul Child and their time is France is lovely. It's glamorous, and daring, and reminded me of a day long-gone-by. The details and photographs of events make it all seem so....first class, and left me wishing our culture had held on to more old-fashioned ideals, like etiquette...and four course meals. Additionally, I love that her husband loved her - and championed her even (at an age over 40), to become the Julia Child.
2 - Speaking of meals - this is a book about French food, and I was hungry the entire way through. The descriptions of the meals, the passion for the craft of preparing fine foods, and the almost reverence of the Cordon Bleu's chef professors - was infectious even in the printed word. It's inspired me to research some of the recipes she's described in her collaborative cookbook: Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Which of course, I ran right out to buy - and you will too after you read this book.
3 - Finally, dust off your dictionary. Rarely do I read anything that tickles my brain cells. I guess because typically I am reading Harry Potter, or the Twilight series - and it's middle-school level prose, for the most part. This book was elegantly written, and I feel like I've improved my vocabulary tremendously.
So, with dictionary in one hand, and a good snack in the other - I recommend this one to (you know) girls 40 and over.
Bon Appetit - of course,
GT40
Next up: November Book Selection! Stay tuned...
No comments:
Post a Comment