This magnificent biography-memoir is a must for everyone who loved (or even just remembers her fondly) Julia Child, or who loves France, French cooking, cooking in general, or post-WWII Europe. Alex is the grandnephew of Julia’s beloved husband, Paul. Alex spent hours with Julia, faithfully recording her memories, sorting with her through her private photographs, most of which were taken by Paul. After her death, he carried on the task to see her words and pictures published.
The book encompasses the years she and Paul lived in France from 1948 till 1954, while Paul ran the Visual Presentation Department for the US Information Service (a sort of public relations/art curator/photographer position). The reader gets an intimate look at their life in the cold Paris apartment, their excursions into the countryside with friends in the Buick they nicknamed the Blue Flash, and Julia’s wide-eyed absorption of her first glimpse of a new culture. Julia describes her first meal in France as they drove from the port at Le Havre to Paris. They stopped in a restaurant in Rouen, where Julia was shocked at the idea of ordering wine at lunch (she quickly adapted to the situation) and let Paul and the waiter decide on the food. Her love affair began before even the first bite had been taken. She told Alex, “Our first lunch together in France had been absolute perfection. It was the most exciting meal of my life” (Chapter 1). The book takes us through her struggles to make the perfect sauces, choose the best chickens, and master the slicing of vegetables at the famous Cordon Bleu cooking school. We can enjoy the photos peppered throughout the pages and only wish we could taste the meals. Don’t read this hungry. This is not only a keeper—it’s a re-reader extraordinaire!
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