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About the Book

About the Book

Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, And Obsession

Julie Powell thought cooking her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking was the craziest thing she'd ever do --- until she embarked on the voyage recounted in her new memoir, Cleaving.

Her marriage challenged by an insane, irresistible love affair, Julie decides to leave town and immerse herself in a new obsession: butchery. She finds her way to Fleischer's, a butcher shop where she buries herself in the details of food. She learns how to break down a side of beef and French a rack of ribs --- tough, physical work that only sometimes distracts her from thoughts of afternoon trysts.

The camaraderie at Fleischer's leads Julie to search out fellow butchers around the world --- from South America to Europe. At the end of her odyssey, she has learned a new art and perhaps even mastered her unruly heart.

Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, And Obsession
by Julie Powell

  • Publication Date: November 17, 2010
  • Genres: Nonfiction
  • Paperback: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Back Bay Books
  • ISBN-10: 0316003379
  • ISBN-13: 9780316003377