In 1948, the newly-wedded Julia Child settled into married life with Paul in Paris. She loved the sights, sounds, smells, and of course the food. But her life wasn't complete until an adorable little feline joined their household. Minette was supposed to be a mouser, but as Julia's culinary skills took off, the cat enjoyed far better fare.
Minette helped Julia's French skills take off. One day she stopped at the local market to buy fish and stumbling over the words, asked if there were any fish heads. The fishmonger gave her one and the following week, asked Julia about her cat. The two became friends and often exchanged stories about their cats (34).
Minette
Julia's Cats follows Julia's career across France, in the United States, and elsewhere in Europe, almost always accompanied by a minou. A cat-lady through and through, Julia listened for the "minouminouminouminou" (here kitty kitty kitty) of French housewives wherever she went, and more often than not, stumbled upon a feline friend. So enamored with cats, she created a new word for them, "poussiequette".
I am a cat-lady as well and love to look for cats in the neighborhood. Our honeymoon in France was peppered with cats, included "Minou" the local village cat, and we still talk about the feral/mangy street cat that I wasn't allowed to pet, but did take a picture of.
Julia's Cats is filled with anecdotes and stories from Julia and Paul's letters, friends, and family. Julia's Cats is an ode to the felines (and other furry friends) who enrich our lives.
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