Peachy Reads

The Julia Child portion of the film Julie & Julia was based on this book by Alex Prud’Homme (look below for the review of Julie Powell's book). It’s the story about how she followed her husband in the foreign service to France, where she discovered gastronomy and her raison d’etre . Her love of food and cooking was backed up by a meticulous and painstaking approach, every recipe she included in her groundbreaking cookbook was tested and retested, always with the American cook in mind, with American kitchens and provisions from American grocery stores. The book also chronicles her post-France years and her rise to fame as America’s original celebrity TV chef, but my interest somewhat flagged after the Childs left Marseille. The first part of the book was what was featured in the movie version as well. If you are a francophile or a gastronome, or are simply interested in reading about one of TV’s early and most colorful personalities, don’t hesitate to read My Life in France . (

I must admit I’ve not yet seen the John Wayne version of the film True Grit (costarring the "Rhinestone Cowboy" Glen Campbell, if you can imagine that!)-- or even the new one with Jeff Bridges (though it’s in my Netflix queue), but all the Oscar buzz around the 2010 version got me interested in this little novella. I really quite enjoyed it. Originally published in 1968, the novel had the feel of Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses trilogy with the strong male characters, the untamed West, the horses, and the violence. But it was the plucky character of Mattie Ross that made this book a memorable one. There was a little Addie Pray in her, I dare say. I think I prefer the original 1968 book cover that shows Mattie prominently.