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Book Review of As Always, Julia: The Letters of Julia Child and Avis DeVoto: Food, Friendship, and the Making of a Masterpiece

kdurham2813 avatar reviewed on + 753 more book reviews


Well, this book was a hard and long read. I am a fan of Julia Childs and loved reading about her life in the parts of Julie and Julia, but this book was rough.

A book that is 90% letters between the pen pals - Julia Childs and Avis DeVoto. This was a great way to get to know two women who changed the face of not only cookbooks, but food on tv. The structure of the book was appealing - but I had a few issues.
I did not enjoy the parts of the letters between Avis and Julia that pertained to politics. I skimmed sweetly over it to get back to the writing of the cookbooks. The length of the book was overwhelming. I am not sure if this is due to my reading it on the computer, but I felt like a few to some of the letters could have been ommitted to make for quicker reading.

The one positive take away - is that I enjoyed reading the extensive work that went into publishing the cookbook. The rounds of edits and revisions was beyond comprehension.

I would send this book off to friends that like a book formatted in letters and who don't mind reading about the politics of the time.