My Life in France by Julia Child

 Shortly before Christmas I decided it was a good idea to try to clear some of my personal (as opposed to book review) TBR pile, especially any that could have been last year's Christmas presents. Hence the seemingly random 'My Life In France' by Julia Child. 

Despite her celebrity status in the US, I wasn't aware of Julia Child before watching the film Julie and Julia which follows a cookery blogger Julie Powell in her attempts to work her way through Child' s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, interspersed with excerpts from Child's life in France and her rise as an early TV cook.

This book is, as it says, primarily about Julia Child's years spent in France - though it follows her and her diplomat husband in the years after. 

Arriving in France in 1948 as a young woman with no culinary skills, Julia Child immersed herself in  French culture and cookery, exploring the fresh food markets, dining out on traditional French food, and enrolling at the famous Cordon Bleu cookery school. Although food was undoubtedly her passion there's more to her story than that; her relationships with friends and family, the troubles of relocating due to her husband's diplomatic career, and his growing disillusionment with it.

It's very readable; a story of enthusiasm and new experiences; full of life and, of course, food (though this isn't a recipe book).