Christine (luvmygem) - reviewed on 6/1/2010 + 86 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 2

I had actually heard some negative reviews of this book before I started reading it - I think that made me put it off for a while, because I liked the movie, and followed that up with Julia Child's "My Life In France", which gave great insight into her early years in cooking. When I finally did put aside my preconceived notions about this book, and Julie Powell herself, I found I actually enjoyed it! Sure, she is far from perfect, but in truth, none of us are. She smokes, drinks, sometimes has the mouth of a truck driver, but so what? To me, I think that's better than being a pretentious,"I'm better than you are" kind of person. I kind of chuckled at one reviewer that complained "all she does is badmouth Republicans"...yeah right, like no Republican has ever done likewise to a Democrat! (I'm neither, by the way - hate 'em both...just in case you were wondering...)

ANYWAY! I liked this book mainly for this reason: I get a feel for exactly what led Julie Powell to attempt "The Project", what it felt like for her to experience the failures, learn from her mistakes and finally win. I felt the heartache of the strain it put on her marriage, as well as Julia Child's response to "The Project". I celebrated her successes right along with her, and while I think the Julie/Julia Project was a brilliant idea and I wish I thought of it first, I know that I would never in a million years have been able to pull it off, and for that this book and this author have earned my respect.

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