Wednesday, April 15, 2009

JULIE AND JULIA by Julie Powell



My book club is reading JULIE AND JULIA this month. There has been renewed buzz about this book as it will soon be made into a movie starring Amy Adams and Meryl Streep. It sounded like a lot of fun but I have to admit I was a bit disappointed.

JULIE AND JULIA follows the adventures of disgruntled government worker Julie Powell as she tries to find meaning in her life right after 9/11. Julie is about to turn 30and decides that she needs a project. She decides to cook all of the recipes in Julia Child's MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING over one year and blog about it. This memoir chronciles that project.

The subject matter of this memoir had such potential but it ended up plodding along from one recipe to the next. Powell occasionally spices up the book with tidbits from her personal life and those of her friends. However, the book came to feel as if it were a list of recipes with a few life vignettes in between. I found it to be really slow. Powell herself seems to be charming and the reader is left wanting to know more about her and her life. Overall, however, the book fell flat for me. Perhaps the movie will prove more entertaining.

BOTTOM LINE: Not recommended. The idea is great but the execution is poor. Very slow read.

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