Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child by Bob Spitz (Knopf, 2012; 529 pp)

This book, a biography of American food writer and pioneering television cook, was one of my Christmas presents. As I wrote on January 20th:

“It’s an impressive looking book and I loved the film Julie: Julia so am going to be very interested to see if my interest in food and in Julia Child will see me through the 529 pages, given biography is generally not my vein of reading gold.”

The verdict is that I did enjoy the book overall, quite a lot even, in places. The biography is comprehensive, and I found the sections on Julia Child’s family background and early life, as well as the French era when she was learning to cook and then developing The Art of Mastering French Cooking very interesting. This latter period is that covered in the film Julie: Julia, by the way.

The level of detail is good and the writing style very accessible, although I did find some of the “teasers” that subsequently went nowhere a little annoying. For example, when talking about the French holiday home built on friends’ land, the writer suggests that Julia would be learn to “be careful what she wished for.” This hints at ructions ahead—but there are then none reported.

I would also say that this book takes a very kindly view of Julia Child. The author’s gloves are very much on—but nonetheless one catches glimpses of a Julia who was a relatively tough customer, and possibly difficult to work with, although the construction in the book always falls to the positive side of any event or circumstance. I believe it’s a true picture, but gained this sense of the glasses used being rose tinted—which made me wonder if there might not be other, less kindly ‘takes’ on the same events out there.

Having said that, one thing that really impressed me in the book was the rigour of Julia Child’s approach to French cooking and developing recipes that would work—really work—for American home cooks, and quite simply, how hard she worked. I also gained the sense that she was very generous to the causes she supported. These qualities alone are enough to make me raise my glass and say: “Salut, Julia.” (Although her phrase, of course, was always: Bon appetit!”)

If you like biography, particularly of contemporary figures, are interested in food and its history, or in stories of women who have changed their—and our—world, then I think you will enjoy Dearie.