Book 31 - My Life in France by Alex Prud'homme

I'm going to say something shocking... so beware. My Life in France, Alex Prud'homme's wonderful biography of Julia Child (sort of auto-biography since he worked closely with her to write it) is the best book I have read this year. I'm not speaking about literary worth or linguistic talent (though both are quite good) but about sheer, actual joy of the process of reading this book. For the entire week that I was reading this, I walked around with a slight smile on my face... happy. This book made me happy. I know that shouldn't be revolutionary but for me, a person who tends to prefer books that are dense and complicated and (gasp) even depressing, it's not that often that a book makes me gleeful.

For those of you who aren't familiar, My Life in France chronicles Julia Child's life but focuses on her most joyous years - those that she spent in France with Paul. Sure they moved around, sure there were years in cold, Germanic countries; but all of those experiences were told in how they juxtaposed against the rose colored years in France. The descriptions of France, of their quirky apartments, of the characters and experiences... it's all quiet beautiful.

And the food! Oh the food. It's delightful to hear about Julia's early *ahem* failures with food, before she become the Julia Child and was only a very tall, outspoken woman who burned things. It should give every food lover hope. Innate talent helps out sure, but it's a quality of spirit and confidence that will win out in the end. And, of course, a wonderful life partner.

Reading Julia's stories did more than make me happy. I found myself daydreaming all the time (ksbooks agrees that it "sparked her wanderlust". What if I moved to France? What if I focused on food and cooking (something I fantasize about...)? I am by no means getting on in years but even if I were, there is comfort in Julia's unquenchable spirit. Even in her later years, she was still on the go - cooking, getting filmed, etc.

If you like food or France or Julia Child or really, just life (Rainy's Reading Room calls this a book about life) - read this book. Daydream and float off on the plans that you can build in your head.

Additional Reading:

• NY Times: Julia Child's Memoir of when Cuisine was French for Scary
• NY Times: Becoming Julia Child