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

Storytelling and narration over the top

Would you listen to Dearie again? Why?

No. Once is enough. That's not a bad thing. I rarely listen to audio books twice. I might buy the book in print or electronic to read parts of it again, but would not listed again.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Dearie?

Julia Child's challenges to keep an active career while caring for her husband as his health failed.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The narrator was far too animated with exaggerated vocal highs and lows and accents in all the wrong places. This was particularly jarring when she had to speak Julia's voice. She gave Julia a high-pitched, fast-paced whiny tone. Julia Child did have a unique voice but it was neither fast nor whiny. You can find dozens of videos of Julia Child online and Kimberly Farr's imitation sounds nothing like the real thing.

Farr also has a tendency when reading lists of things (ingredients in a dish, restaurant names, dinne party guests) to accelerate the pace and increase the tone as she reads. This got very tiring to listen to.

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

I think I laughed in some spots, but I can't remember.

Any additional comments?

The story itself is a little over the top. For example, Spitz has a tendency to over-dramatize instances that most people who lived through them know were more mundane. His use of exaggerated metaphor is also overdone, like when he calls someone "more connected than an IBM mainframe."

Bon Appetite!

An excellent narrative of Julia Child's life. I started to understand her passion, care and her forward thinking ways. The history of Pasadena was well done. The various anecdotes were shared brilliantly. I now understand why she did not like the book 'Julia and Julie'. That author played at cooking while not perfecting the process! Julie did not do her homework on Julia or Julia's cooking. Dearie is an excellent book and one I will not forget anytime soon.

Loved it

What was one of the most memorable moments of Dearie?

The moment when Julia and Jacques discuss the drawbacks of the Cuisinart food processor.

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

I like the way Kimberly Farr performed Julia. Rather than trying to impersonate Julia, Kimberly voiced her in a way that captured Julia's spirit and personality.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I was particularly moved by Julia's farewell to La Pitchoune.

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed Kimberly Farr's narration of this book. She was very natural, expressive without being melodramatic, and adjusted her tone and rhythm to suit the storyline.

I love Julia Child!

I love her spirit, her personally, her character, her determination; her story is truly entertaining.

delightful

So much fun learning about this pioneer in not only food and cooking, but in TV and cookbooks. What a full and uncompromising life she led.

Thank you, Julia....

How different our culinary world would be without Julia Child's monumental contribution of Mastering The Art Of French Cooking. Her personal influence went far beyond her masterpiece of a cookbook, which made her a house-hold name. This tells her story in great detail from beginning to end. Let's just say, if it weren't for her, we, in the U.S. would be salivating over Vienna sausages baked with peaches, and spam casseroles, followed by a beautiful, jiggly green jello mold for dessert!

Great story but so-so narration

This book does give you an in depth view of Julia’s life covering both the good and bad. Much more so than My Life in France (solely Julia’s perspective). The voice actor would try to do Julia’s warble from time to time and I found in annoying. Either do it well or don’t do it all. I think I would have preferred to do the latter.

More than a Chef

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

Julia led an interesting life. Her journey is worth listening to.

Would you be willing to try another book from Bob Spitz? Why or why not?

Maybe. There were a couple of things I would have liked better about the book that wasn't there. Such as, Julia had a wicked sense of humor, I wish that I could have heard more stories about that part of her personality.

Also, I felt there was too much time spent on talking about the meals. I know she was known for her cooking, but after a while I felt like "enough already". Especially since the book was so long to begin with.

Have you listened to any of Kimberly Farr’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I've never listened to Kimberly Farr, but I was very please with her performance. She provided enough of the "Julia voice" to make it feel like it was really her...but not so much that it could be grating. I love Julia, but I wouldn't want to listen to her voice the whole time.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Keep looking and you'll find your destiny.

Any additional comments?

It was worth my time.

Outstanding biography, beautifully read

If you could sum up Dearie in three words, what would they be?

Thorough, fascinating, excellent.

What did you like best about this story?

It seems very well-researched and complete. I'm much more in awe of Julia Child after reading it.

Have you listened to any of Kimberly Farr’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Not yet, I'm new - but I'll seek her out; her performance does justice to the subject.

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

It definitely made me laugh.

Any additional comments?

I'm listening to it again right now to catch what I might have missed the first time, and am looking forward to every minute.

Excellent.

Excellent book and audiobook performance is perfect, thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend this one.