A strange little book. Interviews with Julia Child from 1961, 1984, 1989, 1991, 1999, and then, finally, THE LAST INTERVIEW! of the title from 2004 – which is barely more than a page long. This should have been titled better.
By now we (I) know all about Julia Child; lots of repetitive biographical information could fall by the wayside, but then, the 140-page book would be even thinner. The interviews are vaguely interesting; as Child grows older and starts to hold forth on matters beyond cooking, some unlikability starts to show through. She’s human, after all. She brings up her support for Planned Parenthood and abortion rights, which is laudable; but a comment like “Who wants a baby that is from a crack mother?”, well, not so much. It’s funny back in 1991 to hear her and the interviewer complain about Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, though, and the Supreme Court and the Republicans. O’Connor “has been a zero, hasn’t she”. What we wouldn’t give now to have a Justice O’Connor, and the state of the nation in 1991. Oh well. Bon Appetit!
Tytania 