Cleaving by Julie Powell

I loved Julie and Julia and was excited to find out that she'd written another book, however this is not the kinder/ gentler Julie who cooked her way through Mastering the Art of French Cooking. This is a memoir of a woman who's having an affair, who's husband knows she's cheating on him, who is given permission to do the same and who seem to be living separate lives within the same space.

While this is going on Julie decides to take on an apprenticeship as a butcher. You should know - I don't have the love of raw meat that Julie Powell does. In fact, I really dislike raw meat and there's a lot of talk about breaking down animals. I found it intriguing how this discussion mirrored the breaking down of her relationships. Not unintentional, of course.

I usually fly through books but this one has taken me nearly two months. It's captivating but disturbing and even though there's a satisfying ending I'm not sure you can exactly call it happy.