On a freezing mid December night, I wandered over to The Meat Hook at 100 Frost Street in Williamsburg to listen to Julie Powell read from her controversial new book, “Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession.”
Having heard about the controversy over Julie's extramarital affair, but not having read the book yet, I wasn’t sure what to expect as far as the content of the book reading. The twitter post that lead me to this event noted Julie would be reading some of the juicy bits.
Hmm....ok I guess it will be a bit racy.
After listening to Julie read about her butchering experience at Fleisher’s butcher shop in Kingston, NY, the chapter segued right into some accounts of her romps with the gentleman known only as “D.”
She’s a sub? I thought to myself. Funny, I’d have pegged her as a dom.
A few more risque passages were read and yes, its glaringly obvious why some of her devoted readers are upset that their snarky, yet sweet, Julie Powell from the book “Julie & Julia” has another side to her. A side that some women will object to. A side that will make some women extremely uncomfortable because it directly hits on lust, betrayal, and deception.
I’m not sure how well the threads of butchering and an extended affair tie together since I only heard a small section of the book. I felt the writing about butchering seemed forced and heavy with jargon. But I was quickly absorbed into the affair because I felt her writing was stronger on that subject.
Julie’s taken a risk with “Cleaving” and has already alienated some of her readers as evident by the scorching comments which often appear below her online interviews.
Was the affair written about to drive sales? Was it written for therapeutic reasons?
I can’t say for sure. But Julie must now constantly defend herself in interviews, defend herself against criticism about the movie adaptation of “Julie & Julia,” and defend her marriage. She did it during Q & A and I'd imagine it must be exhausting.
Towards the end of Q & A, Julie disclosed she’s in the early phases of her next book project - which will be fiction. Interesting choice. I wonder if Julie Powell has had enough about writing about her personal life.
1 comments: