While digging around in our greeting-card drawer post, I came across several artsy choices. I flipped them over to check the creator’s name and realized the cards must have been a long-ago gift from Mom and Dad, as the artist was their “neighbor” Jacques Pépin.

They weren’t borrow-a-cup-of-sugar neighbors (although both parties would surely have been generous with their sucre); they lived about a mile apart. My parents were delighted to stop for a casual chat with Chef when they passed one another on the boardwalk at the nearby beach.

And so, when this memoir was released, they sent me a copy:

Book 1: The Apprentice by Jacques Pépin

C’est magnifique! What an amazing life story Pépin presents in this memoir. He even includes recipes.

Pépin’s story begins in a French village during World War Two. When he realizes how much he enjoys helping his mother in their restaurant (unlike his older brother), the die is cast.

To me, the appeal of this memoir is that he has so many wonderful stories of his everyday life. He stitches them together without show-off-y name-dropping. (Although: personal chef for Charles de Gaulle? Sacré bleu!)

Book 2: Work in Progress by James Martin, SJ

I first “met” Father Martin in 2019 when he was a guest on comedian Judy Gold’s podcast. I called Dad that evening and suggested he and Mom would no doubt enjoy the rollicking interview.

It turns out they already knew Fr. James Martin in his position as editor of America magazine. They were long-term subscribers – in fact, Mom even had a poem published in one issue.

The Jesuit priest’s long journey to ordination is a fun batch of tales about boyhood summer jobs, working at a bank, and even a position with General Electric. His GE career didn’t overlap with Dad’s, but it came close.

Book 3: Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

Did you see the movie? Be sure to read the book …

This is the story of three brilliant minds who helped America win the space race back in the 1960s. Equally important is the timeline of history, as these “human computers” were female and Black. They faced discrimination at every turn, but didn’t let that stop them.

Book 4: The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo

… and here is our chef-d’oeuvre for the month.

Thirty years before Les Misérables, Victor Hugo penned Notre Dame de Paris. He was not at all pleased that Quasimodo got top billing in the novel’s eventual name change. That’s because the bell ringer was only one of the main characters.

The “lead” in the classic story, though, was actually the cathedral.

My double-major in college included French. I remember the class lectures about Notre Dame de Paris, reading the tome in both French and English. And yet it wasn’t until this month that I learned the purpose of the book was to praise the Gothic architecture that France was not concerned about preserving. The book did the trick, n’est-ce pas?

Also … did you know Quasimodo Sunday is a thing? It’s the Sunday after Easter. That was the day the unwanted toddler was dropped off at Notre Dame, in the hopes someone would adopt him.

I didn’t know that, either. Hey, Indiana University French Department – I want my money back!

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