Last night I finished reading Simone de Beauvoir: A Biography – all 600 something pages of it – then launched right into her own 600+ page book, The Mandarins. Man, the first chapter alone was so poignant; I found myself exclaiming, “Harsh!” out loud after reading the final scene between Henri and Paula. I can certainly see why the friends she patterned these characters after would be upset… I have to admit that this is actually the first de Beauvoir book I’ve read. I picked up the biography because I’ve read so much about the turn of the century French art and intellectual scene, I though I might enjoy her story, as well.
I’d read Jean-Paul Sartre’s Nausea, a few years back. I found it in a box of Ryan’s college books. He said he didn’t care for it, but I enjoyed it. Of course, I also enjoyed Crime and Punishment, which a lot of folks seem to find unreadable these days. I have a pretty high tolerance for “unreadable” literature in general, owning a fairly complete collection of William S. Burroughs and more than one book each by Gertrude Stein and James Joyce. (I was going to type a tongue-sticking-out smiley here, but on second thought, it seemed inappropriate.)
My favorite writer for years and years was Anais Nin, whose prose work is also a bit ah… what is the word I’m searching for? Formless, perhaps? I think everyone agrees that it is her vast journal writing that is most fascinating, but still, I own everything. Fills up a whole bookshelf. Perhaps one day I’ll make a page on the site to list some of my favorite books.
“Being and Nothingness” is here in the bookshelves. I’ll have to give it a spin. Just picked up Paul Bowles’ “The Spider’s House” yesterday.
BTW, my favorite local bookstore is being shut down by the city for redevelopment. Total BS. I posted a story about Acres of Books closing on digg.
Ya Simone is a great writer. I enjoyed “The Second Sex” more than any of her other works. I have read a lot of Sartre so I ended up reading a lot of her stuff just because.
If you like Sartre you should read “Being And Nothingness”, it’s a little bit heavy but worth it. Another Sartre book worth reading is”No Exit”, a play he wrote which he said best captured all his philosophical beliefs. I have read “No Exit” quite a few times and it is always a good time.
Yeah, you know what I like… I’ll write about Henry another day for sure.
What a great era of writing. Seems like a little Henry Miller might just fit into your reading list. Those Americans “trapped” in Paris during that time were doing some amazing things. Put a little Piaf in the background, light some candles, sit under a Man Ray photograph and go back in time.