simplicity itself
kelly | 16 December 2006 - 10:35pm
been reading: Julie & Julia by Julie Powell
So Julie Powell decides one day that she is going to cook every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. In one year. That's 524 recipes in 365 days. And she's going to blog about it.
Which she does, along the way getting all sorts of publicity and, in the end, a book deal, the lucky bitch. She says we're allowed to hate her for that and I totally do.
But apparently not so much that I refuse to contribute to her wealth, because I bought the book. And I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's not a literary masterpiece by any means, but for what it is (a blog turned book) it's enjoyable. And, oh my god, she is just like me! No, really. Her existential crisis, her hissy fits when recipes don't go right, her relationship with her husband. And her husband is a lot like Rob, too, especially in the way he handles her, and I do mean "handle" like how a zookeeper handles a wild animal.
The book is hilarious at times and consistently entertaining. And surprisingly inspiring. The Project quickly becomes her respite from a life she feels is going nowhere. She devotes herself to it, zealously. She is fearless, determined, and perhaps a wee bit insane. And when she has finished, she finds herself no longer a discontent secretary but, instead, a well-paid writer who gets to spend each day in her pajamas.
And what she has discovered along the way is that the key to happiness is following what brings you joy. It seems so simple, really. And yet at the beginning of the book, she writes about learning the difference between simple and easy. The first recipe she makes is one Julia Child describes as "simplicity itself" and while it is wonderfully simple in its modest ingredients and pure flavor, it's far from the easiest dinner Julie has ever made. And I would say that fearlessly following what brings you joy is the same sort of thing - so simple and yet so damned difficult.
- 924 reads
all comments photoblog
I had heard an interview with her on NPR and thought, wow, why can't I think of something like that? In the end I too totally hated and admired her for her challenge and success.
You are so on your way to success in writing, I can feel it. You're that good.
XOXO Kitten
Follwoing what brings you joy is a key to happiness, but also being joyful in what you do can bring happiness. "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one your with."
i think that is very awe inspiring. She should be proud of herself for such a great accomplishment, and you should be proud of yourself for getting out of it what you did. Bravo!
Thanks for the review here. I've wondered about this book and it's actually been mentioned as a possible title for bookclub; now I can push for it!
I guess you are into cooking? or not? Your answer would dictate whether or not I ever read this book. Because if it is only enjoyable to those who like to cook, then I'd never read it. If you don't like to cook, but found a lot of joy in it, then I'd likely read it. So, let me know, if you could. I'm curious. I've not yet read any blog turned books, but I can imagine that I'd like them.
Even when you're writing about someone else's writing, you do so beautifully and eloquently. And for that, I respect and admire you so much.
In other news, when will you be reporting back to us on the whole "K"-gift thing?
sounds like a great read! i'll have to pick it up sometime. maybe it will make me like cooking more? i doubt it.
Thank you for saying that, greenie. And also, you are one of the people I admire for following the joy. I remember when you made the switch back to the greenhouse. I was so proud of you for making that leap, because I know such a thing isn't an easy decision. It requires bravery.
Yeah, that's a really good point, William. I need to work on that a bit.
What's amazing, janasayqua, is that she had no idea when she started that it would change her life. I guess you never know where life will lead, what you might be doing now that will have huge ripples on your future.
kristen, I dunno if this would be useful for your book club, but it actually has a study guide in the back. At least the copy I bought did - I bought the paperback that was just released: "My Year of Cooking Dangerously." Same book, but they tweaked the title because the original title put too much emphasis on cooking.
Which brings me to Danielle's question. Powell actually got some criticism because the book wasn't enough about cooking. I do like to cook, but I don't particularly like to read about cooking. The book does center on her evenings spent cooking, but it's really a story about her life. Any culinary techniques she discusses are almost entirely for the purpose of hilarity.
Thank you, LadyBug. And just this weekend I settled on my K gift! I LOVED the 1000 pennies thing, so I decided to do something with $10. Geeky gave me the idea of Kohls, so I got a $10 gift card from there. Except it's not a $10 gift card, it's one K of pennies! LOVE it.
It did make me a little more curious about cooking, geeky. Although so many of the Child recipes she made call for bizarro ingredients which she had no trouble finding in New York City but which I'm pretty sure we'd never be able to locate here in Redneck Valley. Well, except for the calf livers. Those we could find in nearly any farmer's freezer...
Dammit.
Pretty much everyone in the world is smarter and more on the ball than me.
omg. i read and loved this book too. we need to have an online book club or something. and don't forget to add it to librarything.com.
I feel the same way, TKW.
I did, anna! That's the first thing I do now when I finish a book. I'm such a goody-goody that it gives me a sense of accomplishment to add it to my LibraryThing list. It's like when I was a kid and during each summer the library did a reading promotion for kids and if you read so many books, you got a coupon for a free meal at Pizza Hut or something. It was something lame, but I busted my ass to read enough books, and I loved writing each title on the sheet as I finished them.