Dearie

The Remarkable Life of Julia Child

By: Bob Spitz

Narrated by: Kimberly Farr

Length: 25 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

The definitive biography of Julia Child - with access to Julia's diaries and letters - written by the author of the best-selling and critically acclaimed The Beatles and timed to Julia's 100th birthday.

From Pasadena to Cambridge to New York, Washington, D.C., India, Ceylon, Paris, Marseilles, Santa Barbara, and Maine, Bob Spitz re-creates an extraordinary life. He takes us beyond the image of Julia as the tall, eccentric woman with a funny voice who taught America how to cook, to establish her as a genuine rebel and beloved icon, a woman who redefined herself in middle age, helped to change the role of women in America, set the standard for how to create a public personality in the modern media world, and altered the way America eats and thinks of food. There might not be a Food Network or even a PBS if Julia had not blazed the trail.

Spitz chronicles Julia's friendships, her struggles, her heartwarming romance with Paul, and of course, the story of the publication of Mastering the Art of French Cooking and her triumphant TV career. A thorough, surprising, affectionate, and extraordinarily entertaining account of a truly remarkable life.

©2012 Bob Spitz (P)2012 Random House Audio

Outstanding biography of Julia Child.

Julia Child knew how to do little more than boil water before the age of 34. Then she learned some general kitchen prep from her sister-in-law, and then studied at the Cordon Bleu School of Cooking in Paris for the basics and more. Julia’s life, even before her cookbooks and t.v. shows, was pretty remarkable. She came from old money conservative republicans in California and there were more things she couldn’t discuss with her family than those that she could. She joined the OSS, (precursor to the CIA) during WW II, and in that organization met Paul Child. They lived in Ceylon, Paris, Oslo, Berlin, and finally back to the U.S. in Boston. Spitz details her hard work and constant devotion to French cooking, the hard time she had getting and keeping shows on television, the huge amount of time it took her to publish each of her books as she insisted that all her recipes be tested over and over to get the kinks out. She was married to Paul, who was with her for most of her endeavors second-in-command, for 40 years. Then he details how Paul’s failing health put another burden on Julia, about which she never complained. Paul had Alzheimer’s but until the very end when he forgot how to use a phone and didn’t recognize her anymore, she spoke with him daily and visited him daily when she was in town after he was placed in the nursing home. Julia was passionate, committed to several liberal causes, including Planned Parenthood, and from her first book and PBS t.v. show, changed the relationship Americans had with food. Until the very end of her life, (she lived until her mid ‘90’s, she was always ready for new adventures in cooking and maintained her leading edge status in modern cooking. Without Julia and the cooks who followed her, there probably wouldn’t be a food network today. Kimberly Farr did a great job narrating this book and portraying Julia’s character without trying to imitate her voice.

Smart and bawdy..let's eat something or someone.

Would you consider the audio edition of Dearie to be better than the print version?

Easier to get through than the book. Jucier than the movie "Julia and ..."

Who was your favorite character and why?

Julia, of course is the favorite. Too charming and straight forward to keep in France.

What about Kimberly Farr’s performance did you like?

Enough like Julia's voice to be "authentic", but easier on the ear.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Cooking, swearing and laughting are three good courses. Makes it easier to understand and appreciate a good cook and a good cookbook.

Any additional comments?

So good it will make you hungry.

Simply...perfect.

This book tells you about Julia Child. Her personal history is embellished with extra narrative license to pad out the stories to create a full length book. Here it does not take away, instead giving you time to truly absorb the varied aspects of Julia's life. It makes sense, otherwise a book like this couldn't be written. Her life has been in the public eye since The French Chef in 1963, or '61 if you count Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Dearie will take you slowly through a very interesting and long, poignant life. I encourage you to return to it often for advice, and, of course, to befriend Julia Child.

Enjoy it. I continue to do so.

Reads like a novel

Where does Dearie rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Of the few nonfiction books I've read/listened to, this one ranks close to the top.

Who was your favorite character and why?

JULIA, of course! She led such an interesting life and had so much drive and commitment to the integrity of her craft. I want to be more like Julia when I grow up.

What about Kimberly Farr’s performance did you like?

Ms. Farr captured the essence of Julia's warbling without going overboard. She has a pretty good French accent too.

Fascinating look inside the life and loves of Julia Child

I've always loved Julia Child, and admired all her accomplishments. This book was fun to read, made me laugh out loud as well as cry at the end. Great read. Narration was perfect and enhanced the story, didn't detract from it, happily.

Excellent Book - A Realistic Biography

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would highly recommend this book. Both the story and the narrator had my attention from the first paragraph.

What did you like best about this story?

I love that we get the background for both Julia and Paul. Anything that I have seen previously regarding Paul was not in-depth. I love that both Julia and Paul, who had a true love affair that lasted 40+ years, were presented as the human beings they were with all of their faults and foibles and not some perfect super-human beings.

Which character – as performed by Kimberly Farr – was your favorite?

I think Kimberly did a wonderful job by not trying to overdue "the voice" that plagued Julia's maternal family as a result of elongated vocal cords.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Both. I laughed, I cried, I laughed again.

Any additional comments?

I am a review reader, not a review writer as a rule. When I purchased this book, it had one star and no reviews. I normally would not buy a book without reviews as I ALWAYS read reviews before purchasing, especially if the author is not known to me. But I love Julia Child. So I was quite pleased to find this was both wonderfully written and narrated. I have no clue as to why it was initially given one star. I can only say, I was sad to have finished the book. I loved feeling like a close friend to Julia.

A Familiar Surprise

Any additional comments?

Bob Spitz got it right! While I loved, "My Life in France", it was more of a family rememberance. "Dearie" is not a fluff piece. It's not a damning piece. This is a good, honest look At Julia Child. A peek behind the curtain at private moments that will melt your heart, and some the will make you wince. Julia Child changed the way America looked at food, and she almost single handedly got PBS off the ground. And along the way she didn't just step on some toes, sometimes she made sure she broke them in the prosese. In "Dearie" you'll find the Julia you didn't know, and by the end of "Dearie" you find she's still the Julia you wish you had known. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to listen to it again. Please forgive the cliché, Bon Appetite!

Compared to My Life in France

Compared to Julia's memoir co-authored by her nephew, this tells a fuller story of Julia Child's life since the other, as the title says, focuses on her life in France with some description of the years that followed, but less detail. This includes the challenges she faced in later years including Paul's illnesses and her adjustments in the decade after Paul died. If you are interested in the breadth of Julia Child's life, you will find all the details interesting.

Enjoyable.

Overall: Julia Child's life was remarkable. This book is worth listening to if for no other reason than that- the subject matter is gold. I haven't enjoyed an Audible book this much in a long time. Would recommend if you are interested in learning about Julia Child.

Performance: The narration is good, but I had to get used to the narrator trying to imitate Julia's worble- not great, but you get used to it after a while. What I never got used to was the narrator's inability to pronounce "February." A small thing, but it took me out of the story every time she stumbled over the word and you'd be amazed how often the month is recorded in this book.

Story: a comprehensive cradle to grave account. The writing is, at times, repetitive. So much so, that I often wondered if I had accidentally "rewound" the story to a previous chapter. But again, I found the story of the adventurous Julia so engaging that I didn't mind a little repetition.

Wonderful life story

Such a heartfelt wonderful tribute to a remarkable woman. Recommend this book to all who love to cook.