Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I purchased "Julie and Julia" with great anticipation after reading a positive review in a national magazine. The book is based on a terrific premise - author Julie Powell decided to tackle in one year all 524 recipes from Julia Child's seminal 1960s cookbook, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1." At the time, Powell was a temp secretary, and she initiated her "project" as a blog before Little, Brown came knocking. I really enjoy non-fiction about cooking and food. However, what I expected to be an homage to Julia Child turns out to be something else entirely. Really, the premise turns out to be nothing more than a gimmick. In essence, this book is not about Julia Child or even about cooking. It's simply a jokey memoir - the author's musings about her very average life during that year. In the end, "Julie and Julia" is an expanded blog by an amateur writer. I approached this book imagining Powell as a talented cook trying to perfect her craft through Julia's cookbook. However, Powell apparently has no formal training; as a result, she often botches the recipes. That's not really a problem, because Powell probably spends as much time talking about her friends as she does about cooking. The times when she does discuss making the recipes end in one of two scenarios, 1) Powell and/or her husband somewhat grudgingly admits that the food tastes good or 2) Powell becomes hysterical, throws objects, or screams at her husband because the recipe is difficult. At one point, Powell even calls Julia Child a foul name because she cannot get a recipe to work. Not funny. I don't think that she needed to approach her "project" as a deadly serious endeavor; Julia Child certainly had a sense of humor. However, hearing her rant and rave is tiresome. It's rare for me to finish a book and feel hostility toward the author. However, Powell essentially has commandeered the good will people have toward Julia Child and used it to justify this book, which really is just a memoir. In addition, it's a rather bad memoir because Powell does not have an interesting life. Powell tries to frame her project as an attempt to find her life's path. If she grew at all, then it's in a way not reflected in this book. The blog probably was very enjoyable; however, a blog does not a book make. The next time I'm tempted to buy a book of this sort, I'll remember this bitter lesson. If you have a burning desire to read the ramblings of a somewhat hysterical New York secretary, then this book is for you. Otherwise, I cannot think of any reason to recommend it. Apparently, before her death, Julia Child heard about the author's "project." A journalist asked Julia for comment, and she refrained, noting that the author was not serious. As always, Julia was spot on; even in her nineties, she could tell the real deal.