"Cleaving"

In between Nicholas Sparks sobfests, I read this jewel. I read "Julie and Julia"...around the same time I started this blog (coincidence?). During one of my many trips through Borders I scooped up the second novel by Julie Powell, which you should be aware, is a COMPLETE departure from her first book. Thank goodness. I enjoyed both the book and movie of "Julie and Julia". But, in "Cleaving" we meet the real Julie Powell...at least I think...and I was happy to have met her--a rogue, lost, butcher. This book is yet another journey to find herself. I feel bad for her. Two books of soul searching through cooking, traveling, and butchering and her search for meaning (of her reality) is sadly still incomplete. In "Cleaving", bravely, she takes a step back from married life and the riches I'm sure publishing a successful novel can bring. She finds herself in upstate New York as a butcher's apprentice. Small in stature and big on crazy. She hacks, whacks, and bleeds herself into personal discovery. An affair, MEAT, a swollen, broken wrist, and six months of physical separation from her public identity and husband, and the author is only a few steps closer to realizing what is truly important to her. The Julie I read about in this book had to butcher her life to come to terms with demons I suspect she has been running from her whole life. I laughed and judged (she is morally corrupt) while reading this book. In the end, the book was wholly satisfying (much like a good piece of meat...the memory of meat is still strong). I am still pondering many aspects of this book and plan to read it again...in a few years when I'm ready for a career change...or to eat meat again, whichever comes first.

I liked this book.