We met at Matthews yard - now the official venue due to awesomeness (and availability of cakes) to talk about 'My Life in France' which is about the Life of Julia Child and how she became a chef. I think I was the only one who had seen the film 'Julie and Julia' which is loosely based on some of Julia's experiences and time in France, and I loved the film so much that I thought the book would be interesting, which is why I added it to our list.
It was a really mixed bag in terms of everyone's thoughts and opinions about the book and the characters. I had mixed feelings myself...I really liked Julia's personality, her husband and the other characters in the book, but what was interesting is that other people read her in a completely different way and I'm not sure if that's because I have seen Meryl Streep's quirky interpretation of Julia or whether each of us just processes what we read in a different way. A couple of us myself included, thought Julia was a very strong, passionate woman who was ambitious and inspirational in that after trying her hand at a few random hobbies she threw herself into cooking and made a career out of it. But she didn't just cook she took preparation and technique to extreme, she was a perfectionist and became a writer and a TV personality, all with the help and support of her husband and the people around her. But others who read the book felt she was too strong willed, she almost trampled over people and pushed her way to the limelight, and she was more out for herself. Another thing that was interesting was talking about class. Its clear in the book that Julia didn't consider herself and her husband to be wealthy but in fact the way of life she describes was very upper class particularly for a time in France where many people were very poor. They ate out ALOT, they could afford to spend a lot on ingredients which would often have been thrown away after several trial recipes a day and just the fact that they were so well travelled. Money never appeared to be an issue and her husband had a very high level job with the government. But I didn't so much get the impression that they were snobs but others did feel Julia came across this way.
I think for me about two thirds of the way through I began to struggle with the book and it was because it was just so detailed, specifically about the food and recipes that she prepared and ate. Obviously being a book about a chef I was expecting her to talk about food but I began to find it tiresome, particularly when some sentences were in French and then explained in English but others were in French and then there was no translation at all, as if it assumed the reader would know what she was talking about. I also found it incredulous that at 92 years old Julia would remember all these details about what she ate in each restaurant including which wines went with which course, but perhaps being so obsessed with food she would have written these details down in a diary or letters.
Overall I enjoyed reading it because it was totally different to anything else we have read and it was a change to read something about a real persons life rather than fiction, however I think it makes an interesting addition to watching the film 'Julie and Julia' and is enjoyable if you have an interest in Julia Child and/or cooking. If not I think random readers may find this less interesting and hard to wade through. The scores for the book averaged around 5-6 out of 10 although Neil gave it a generous 7.5.
This month we decided we needed a good bit of fiction to dig our teeth into so we decided to go for a 'who done it' that our newest addition Brenda suggested and here it is:
'Gone Girl' by Gillian Flynn
'On a warm summer morning in Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favours with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behaviour. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?
As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?'
Grab your copy and get reading!
Next Book Club:
Date: 4th June 2014
Time: 7.30pm
Location: Matthews Yard
No comments:
Post a Comment