I received Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen {the book} as a gift from my mom for my 24th birthday. I, of course, read it immediately, absorbed it, and then put it on my book shelf to collect dust among my collection of beloved pages. When I first heard talk about a movie, I purposely chose not to re-read the book. Instead, I waited for Netflix to pick it up. Last night, after nearly six years of collecting dust, I allowed Meryl Streep and Amy Adams to take me back into the lives of Julie & Julia.
I'm assuming that if you're here reading this, you don't live under a rock and you know the synopsis. However, in short... Julie Powell, 29-year-old government employee, wife, and cat owner, recounts how she conquered every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking and saved her soul in a tiny kitchen in Queens.
From what I remember, the book was quick, witty, and inspiring. I nearly picked up a copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, but after reading the first chapter, I decided my kids, ages 2 and newborn at the time, needed me to Master the Art of Fast Cooking. So, I started spending 30 minutes of my afternoons with Rachael Ray instead.
The movie was cute. My memory isn't as crisp as it used to be, which worked to my advantage this time. I didn't feel like I was cheated or Nora Ephron strayed from what Julie Powell originally intended. I think both, book and film, were excellent tributes to Julia Child and the wonderful mark she left in the culinary world.
I will be re-reading Julie & Julia in the next two weeks or so to see what Nora couldn't fit in to 120 minutes and I hope I'm not greatly disappointed.
You are the butter to my bread, the breath to my life. -Paul Child
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