I haven't watched the movie.. I recently read the book!! Wanted to write about it even before I finished it!!
It is not a book that you can read like regular books... by regular books i mean fiction! It is about .. difficult to articulate.. what i can tell you is what it is not about - it is not about cooking!!!!! It is about having one .. one project.. a goal (kind of)...
(Well, it is about cooking.. but it is not.. a part of the book does have her making various recipes.. but it is not about the cooking!!! One needs to read it to understand that i guess)
Maybe its a phase i have been going through.. and hence can identify with it!!! At times you need it .. that project to get back the zing.. the wanting to / the needing to work towards something!!!! And in this book... that something is cooking through a recipe book in a year!
Julie is bored.. with her work (arent we all)... and needs that extra fillup (all of us can identify with this i think)!!! So suddenly she decides that she will cook her way through 500+ recipes of Julia Child's book (mastering the art of french cooking).. she is no cook.. but muddles her way through deboning a duck.. making and eating poached egg (was it?) in red wine.. her husband / friends live and eat (should it be the other way round.. eat and live to talk about it.. :)) through it all of course.. and are a tremendous support.. who necessarily and bravely eat various parts of the animals!!!!
She is no cook mind you!!! Its a project.. which she takes on.. and suddenly there is a meaning to her life.. something to look forward to.. the book in between hops over to Julia Child and tells her story (a little.. whatever is available / through letters).. which forms a really nice context.. you feel that you know about julia child too.. well somewhat....she paints a really interesting picture!
And julie writes a blog about it :D.. her everyday escapades ... and finds hordes of followers.. and she becomes semi- famous as she is interviewed by many people exploring her quest!!
And yes, she does bring it to completion!!! It is an extremely witty account of her travails.. a pile of ever increasing utensils.. the guests.. the weird comments on her blog (ha, that sounds familiar :)) ..
I finished the book last week.. and was inspired to make chicken biriyani over the weekend.. turned out nice enough though dry :( .. planning to take another shot at it next weekend!!!
What I liked about it - the sense of purpose.. maybe its because I too am trying to find it... right now I just oscillate between work and home.. and suddenly there is this yawning gap.. its boredom... not knowing what to do.. knowing that life is passing by, without you doing much...
Learn a language.. learn to swim.. learn to ride a bike... ho hum
6 comments:
Though I cannot associate with a bad-cook kind of thing, but I completely get the 'purpose-in-life' part....almost a serious issue among all the so called well settled people with jobs, houses and all....its also the lack of challenge makes us bored at times!
learning a language would be fun :) and you can post all abt it here
me afraid of commenting (!!!) - after reading ur earlier post (!!!!!!)
but could'nt avoid it..
ITS SO BEAUTIFUL..
yeah! I can identify with this kinda boredom too! So Im going to focus on learning Photography (im not sure how successful I will be in hanging on to it!).. Probably you should find out where your interest lie..try and give it a shot, its ok if you don't like it later..atleast you tried! :)
I'm in the same place as you. Oscillating b/w work & home..knowing that I'm meant for much more but don't know how to go about it...know what I want to do in life but don't have the resources. It can get very frustrating.
I saw the movie and i really liked it :) Am wondering how the writer has managed the 'hopping back and forth' between Julia and Julie in the book - It is so much easier to show that in a movie!
@melee It is the LACK of Challenge.. totally!!!!!!!!! Especially hits you on days when you are home early.. by 7.. and then not knowing what to do!!! Learning a language can be fun yes.. i am lazy !!! :p
@Moony I dont know where my interests lie!!!!!!!!!!!! I am one totally talentless person!!!! I like reading, traveling, watching crappy shows on TV, blogging.. thats bout it. I cannot sing.. i cannot paint.. :( .. actually i start things and leave it midway!!! Best of luck with your photography!
@Scarlett you are in a better position then... :) at least you know!! I think i need to get a a hobby. Or a project like Julie!!!!
@Shruti You come to know about Julia more from what Julie thinksb than the excerpts and all.. there is not so much hopping that happens in the book.. Now i feel like watching the movie! It must be good.
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