Appetite for Life
by Noel Riley Fitch
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Book Summary Information
Author: Noel Riley FitchEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1999-05-04
ISBN: 0385493835
Number of pages: 592
Publisher: Anchor
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780385493833
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of Appetite for Life
Book Review: A fair, not great biography of a great subject
Summary: 3 Stars
Julia Child is such a fascinating subject that it's almost impossible for a biographer who does good research, to write a dull book. Appitite for Life turns out to be an extremely uneven book. When the author focuses solely on Child's letters or those of Paul Child or her friends, the book remains interesting. How could a book about a woman who served in the OSS, became one of most America's famous cookbook authors and then broke new ground teaching Americans about French food, be less than fascinating?
The book's main problems result from the author's poor grasp on American social and cultural history. It's fairly obvious that the author's understanding of American cooking in the 1940s comes exclusively from social historians and a review of popular magazines like Ladys Home Journal--not from any understanding of American regional cooking. According to this author The Joy of Cooking was the first good cookbook American women had that didn't reduce cooking to the bland home economist science. (Um, hello--every heard of Fannie Farmer? Ever made clam chowder or fried chicken from Fannie Farmer? She was one of those dull home economists and the food was---delicious.)
Some observations are downright weird. The author says that like most American households the house Julia grew up in had an upstairs maid. (Wow! Did the maid's family have an upstairs maid too?) According to her Julia was unaware of the Great Depression when she headed off to work in the early 30s because "college students don't read newspapers." Guess those guys with the apple selling stands didn't make much of an impression, nor did the radio, movies or everything else. 30% unemployment and she didn't notice? Give me a break.
These are just a few examples. The author leaves sex discrimination out of the book, implying that Julia's lack of ambition in school is something of a mystery. (Hello--why kill yourself studying when secretarial work is almost your only career option?) I listened to the audio version of this book which added to the oddness. The narrator has an English accent resulting in some prounciations that Julia herself would have found odd. The Willard Hotel in Washington becomes the Will-ard making that famous hotel almost unrecognisable.
Despite this the book is worth a read. Its not nearly so interesting as Julia's own memoir, My Life in France, but the story of Julia Child is almost as foolproof as her best recipes.
Summary of Appetite for Life
Julia Child became a household name when she entered the lives of millions of Americans through our hearts and kitchens. Yet few know the richly varied private life that lies behind this icon, whose statuesque height and warmly enthused warble have become synonymous with the art of cooking.In this biography we meet the earthy and outrageous Julia, who, at age eighty-five, remains a complex role model. Fitch, who had access to all of Julia's private letters and diaries, takes us through her life, from her exuberant youth as a high-spirited California girl to her years at Smith College, where she was at the center of every prank and party. When most of her girlfriends married, Julia volunteered with the OSS in India and China during World War II, and was an integral part of this elite corps. There she met her future husband, the cosmopolitan Paul Child, who introduced her to the glories of art, fine French cuisine, and love. Theirs was a deeply passionate romance and a modern marriage of equals.
Julia began her culinary training only at the age of thirty-seven at the Cordon Bleu. Later she roamed the food markets of Marseilles, Bonn, and Oslo. She invested ten years of learning and experimentation in what would become her first bestselling classic, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Now, her career is legend, spanning nearly forty years and still going strong. Generations love the humor and trademark aplomb that have made Julia a household name. Resisting fads and narrow, fanatical conventions of health-consciousness, Julia is the quintessential teacher. The perfect gift for food lovers and a romantic biography of a woman modern before her time, this is a truly American life.
Noel Riley Fitch's savory new biography, Appetite for Life, reveals a woman as appealing as the good food and serious cooking she popularized. As a California girl and Smith College undergraduate, Fitch writes, Julia McWilliams was notable for her high spirits and voracious appetite. Performing intelligence work in Asia during World War II, she met Paul Child, and their marriage of mutual devotion and affection endured until his death in 1994. His postwar assignment took them to France, where she discovered her true calling.
Fitch reminds us that Child championed fresh ingredients at a time when frozen foods and TV dinners dominated American supermarket shelves, and that she demystified haute cuisine with her earthy humor and casual attitude toward mistakes. This affectionate portrait of the remarkable Julia Child reflects her fervent belief that the pleasures of the table are a natural accompaniment to the pleasures of life.
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