Julia Child by Laura ShapiroMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
As usual, I like to start with what the audio version adds or deducts from a piece of writing. In this case, I thought the narrator did such a poor job impersonating Julia Child’s unusual intonations that it was distracting! I could always hear the narrator’s normal voice behind her “Julia” voice, and I wish she just didn’t even try!
Now that that’s out of the way, I thought this biography provided detailed and honest insights into Julia’s true personality. I had no idea she was homophobic, did not like women gatherings, or that she had plastic surgery three times! The book is balanced in the beginning with life experiences, and later with Julia’s interpretation of the world. Shapiro portrays the public’s love for Julia while also pointing out Julia’s own hypocrisies and inconsistencies. Overall the book had an admiring tone, because after all, Julia was human like the rest of us with her share of flaws. Shapiro points out Child never fell from grace unlike so many celebrities, and unlike so many celebrities most of her fans really felt like they KNEW her. She was so honest and charming on camera that viewers tended to feel enveloped in the kitchen.
I love that Julia came to cooking as an adult, and was so passionate throughout her long life for fine dining. I was also interested to hear how Julia public opposed food safety reforms and people considering their food for its health benefits. Julia also resisted any type of convenience foods. I wonder if she ever acknowledged how fortunate she was to be able to go to cooking school and invest the time and money to educate herself, and spent the rest of her 60 years cooking for hours on end each day. All the same, it’s amazing what someone can accomplish with passion driven focus.
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