Book Review: Julie & Julia, a Memoir, by Julie Powell

Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is fabulous. It really spoke to me, and at the risk of sounding cliche and silly, it's more about the meaning of life than it is about cooking all the recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in only 365 days (there are over 500 crazy-difficult recipes in there, by the way). Cooking all those recipes in a years' time is simply how one person found her way in the world. Which, I believe, is a tricky thing to do, and not everyone is lucky enough to find their way.

I read other reviews on here that said Julie Powell was whiny in this book. I disagree. To me, she was ballsy enough to write in front of the world all of the crazy, insecure thoughts that every woman experiences at some point in her life.

Or maybe you have never thought you were so grotesque and hideous and your husband is clearly falling out of love with you. Well, you are lucky. And I can see why you don't get this book.

Julie Powell's book gave me hope that I too can realize my dreams. She swore too much and didn't give a shit about it. She fumbled and fell down and wrote about it with sincerity and levity. She, in my opinion, was very brave and giving to do this, to share this with us.

It's been a while since I read a book where I was sad to be done because I enjoyed it so thoroughly. This was one such book. Though in the beginning it took me a bit to get into it, once I realized Powell is basically as funny as Chris Rock with the mindset and emotions that I so clearly recognize in my own self, well then I was hooked.

Well done, Julie Powell, and thanks for everything.


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