On the surface of things, Julie Powell has lived every aspiring
writer’s dream over the past few years. Her blog, about her
attempts to cook all the way through Julia Child’s MASTERING
THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING in one year, was published and went on to
become a bestselling book (JULIE & JULIA) and was recently made
into a high-profile feature film that’s getting plenty of
Oscar buzz. Suddenly, Julie was propelled from the anonymity of a
cubicle dweller to the kind of acclaim most people only dream
about.

Perfect, right?

Well, not exactly. It turns out that Julie’s marriage,
which was chronicled so lovingly and affectionately in JULIE &
JULIA, was actually becoming something of a nightmare just as her
professional dreams were coming true. Both Julie and her husband,
Eric, conducted affairs with other people. In Julie’s case,
her affair with a man known for most of the book simply as
“D” became increasingly obsessive and damaging. Both
spouses knew what was going on but were unable to talk about their
problems, both clinging to the security of each other and seething
with anger and sadness about the state of their marriage.

In the midst of this deeply confusing and conflicted time, Julie
decides to embark on another culinary adventure, this time as an
apprentice butcher at a family-owned butcher shop in the Catskill
Mountains of upstate New York. Julie’s apprenticeship at
Fleisher’s is a chance for her to forget her messy domestic
life while she’s elbow-deep in work that, by necessity,
requires her entire concentration. She and Eric also begin a trial
separation, and Julie rents a small apartment near the butcher and
stays there instead of returning home to Queens several nights a
week.

Julie’s education in butchery is not for the squeamish or
the devotedly vegetarian; she describes her work in painstaking,
sometimes appropriately gory detail and offers up plenty of simple
recipes that will delight carnivores. All this, however, takes
place in the context of Julie’s struggles to figure out
what’s going on (and going wrong) in the personal life
she’s tried --- and often failed --- to leave behind. Each
chapter presents a sort of example of “meat as
metaphor,” as Julie finds lessons --- or more often questions
--- in a painful cut, a sharp knife, a dangerous saw.

The liveliest aspects of CLEAVING are Powell’s depictions
of the behind-the-scenes work at the butcher shop --- not only the
dangerous, complicated work but also the good-natured competition
and camaraderie among its colorful practitioners. When Julie heads
off to Argentina, the Ukraine and Tanzania to broaden her education
about meat, the memoir loses a bit of its sharp edge; readers, like
Julie, may find themselves longing to be back in the oddly
comforting realm of Fleisher’s back room.

CLEAVING is the kind of memoir that will prompt strong reactions
in virtually every reader. Some may become irate at Julie’s
matter-of-fact approach to infidelity and may lose sympathy for her
as they read her unabashed confessions; others may welcome her
honesty about the challenges of marriage. Some may be disgusted by
her descriptions of the slaughterhouse and the cutting table;
others may be enthralled. Although some readers may have a hard
time even finishing Powell’s surprising follow-up to JULIE
& JULIA, virtually everyone will have something to say about
it, making it a perfect choice for what’s sure to be a
lively, if controversial, book club discussion.