Flight into Fantasy

Title: Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen
Author: Julie Powell
Genre: nonfiction/memoir
Source: Bookshare
Reason for Reading: I saw the recent movie made of this book. Since it was a movie about a blogger, I naturally loved it, and so hunted down the book, hoping it would be just as fun as the movie.
Synopsis:

With the humor of Bridget Jones and the vitality of Augusten Burroughs, Powell recounts how she conquered every recipe in Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”–and saved her soul.

My Thoughts: I read this book while I was battling round 2 of the Killer Sinus Infection from Hell (TM). I wanted something that would take me away from myself, and this book certainly did the trick. I will never, in a million years, do anything like what Powell undertook. My idea of fancy cooking involves plugging in the crockpot. Also, though I am not a small woman, I’m not really much of a foodie. But, all that being the case, it was fun to read about Ms. Powell’s adventures in the kitchen. I also found her imaginings about Julia Child fascinating. Julia Child was obviously a very interesting person.

I do have to say, though, that I wasn’t entirely in love with this book. Ms. Powell shares a lot of deeply personal information about her friends and family. Even if what she says is true about her making most of it up and changing the details, I still felt uncomfortable getting such a close look at the lives of strangers I didn’t know. There were several points at which I just wanted to skim past her commentary on her friends and felt kind of embarrassed for said friends, reading about themselves in this way. I also didn’t really like the persona Ms. Powell presents us with. She seemed a little hysterical, a little crazy, and a lot high-maintenance. Plus, the Republican bashing was gratuitous, even to this non-Republican reader.

In the end, though, I guess I’m just disappointed the book wasn’t more like the movie, which isn’t really fair. I did enjoy it, for the most part, for its humor, its descriptions of the foibles of cooking, and its insights into Julia Child.

Final Thoughts: If you’re a foodie, or if you enjoyed the recent movie, definitely pick this one up. Recommended.

Final Grade: B-

Other Opinions:

• A Guy’s Moleskine Notebook: He didn’t like it at all.

• At Home with Books: She felt about the same as I did.
• Books, Movies and Chinese Food: mostly positive