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噩丿丕賳卮丿賳蹖鈥属囏�
噩丿丕賳卮丿賳蹖鈥属囏� 趩卮賲鈥屫з嗀ж槽� 噩丿蹖丿 亘乇 爻丕賱鈥屬囏й� 賳禺爻鬲 夭賳丿诏蹖 爻蹖賲賵賳 丿賵 亘賵賵丕乇 丕爻鬲貨 夭賳丿诏蹖賳丕賲丞 卮禺氐蹖 讴賵鬲丕賴蹖 讴賴 丕丨爻丕爻丕鬲 賵 賴卮蹖丕乇蹖 賲賵噩賵丿 丿乇 丿賵爻鬲蹖 倬乇卮賵乇 丿賵 丿禺鬲乇 噩賵丕賳 賵 爻乇讴卮貙 爻蹖賲賵賳 丿賵 亘賵賵丕乇 (爻蹖賱賵蹖) 賵 夭丕夭丕 (丌賳丿乇賴)貙 乇丕 丿乇 胤賵賱 乇卮丿 噩爻賲蹖 賵 賮讴乇蹖 丌賳 丿賵貙 賵 爻倬爻 鬲丕 倬丕蹖丕賳 睾賲鈥屫з嗂屫� 丌賳 丿賳亘丕賱 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗀�. 丕蹖賳 丕孬乇 亘夭乇诏鈥屫臂屬� 賮蹖賱爻賵賮 賮賲蹖賳蹖爻鬲貙 亘丕夭诏賵讴賳賳丿丞 鬲噩乇亘賴鈥屬囏й屰� 丕爻鬲 讴賴 賳丕賮乇賲丕賳蹖 賵 胤睾蹖丕賳 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴 乇丕 卮讴賱 賲蹖鈥屫囐嗀� 賵 乇賴丕蹖蹖 倬乇鬲賱丕胤賲 賵 鬲毓丕乇囟 亘賳蹖丕丿蹖 賲蹖丕賳 乇賵卮賳賮讴乇丕賳 賵 丿蹖賳鈥屫ж必з� 賲鬲馗丕賴乇 乇丕 乇賵卮賳 賲蹖鈥屫池ж藏� 賲賵囟賵毓蹖 讴賴 卮丕賱賵丿丞 讴鬲丕亘 亘毓丿蹖 丕賵貙 禺丕胤乇丕鬲 蹖讴 丿禺鬲乇 賲胤蹖毓貙 乇丕 倬蹖鈥屫臂屫槽� 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗀�.
192 pages, Paperback
First published October 7, 2020
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33030 people want to read
About the author
Simone de Beauvoir
395听books10.7k听followersSimone de Beauvoir was a French author and philosopher. She wrote novels, monographs on philosophy, political and social issues, essays, biographies, and an autobiography. She is now best known for her metaphysical novels, including She Came to Stay and The Mandarins, and for her 1949 treatise The Second Sex, a detailed analysis of women's oppression and a foundational tract of contemporary feminism.
----
Simone de Beauvoir est n茅e 脿 Paris le 9 janvier 1908. Elle fit ses 茅tudes jusqu'au baccalaur茅at dans le tr猫s catholique cours D茅sir. Agr茅g茅e de philosophie en 1929, elle enseigna 脿 Marseille, 脿 Rouen et 脿 Paris jusqu'en 1943. C'est L'Invit茅e (1943) qu'on doit consid茅rer comme son v茅ritable d茅but litt茅raire. Viennent ensuite Le sang des autres (1945), Tous les hommes sont mortels (1946), Les Mandarins (prix Goncourt 1954), Les Belles Images (1966) et La Femme rompue (1968).
Simone de Beauvoir a 茅crit des m茅moires o霉 elle nous donne elle-m锚me 脿 conna卯tre sa vie, son 艙uvre. L'ampleur de l'entreprise autobiographique trouve sa justification, son sens, dans une contradiction essentielle 脿 l'茅crivain : choisir lui fut toujours impossible entre le bonheur de vivre et la n茅cessit茅 d'茅crire ; d'une part la splendeur contingente, de l'autre la rigueur salvatrice. Faire de sa propre existence l'objet de son 茅criture, c'茅tait en partie sortir de ce dilemme.
Outre le c茅l猫bre Deuxi猫me sexe (1949) devenu l'ouvrage de r茅f茅rence du mouvement f茅ministe mondial, l'艙uvre th茅orique de Simone de Beauvoir comprend de nombreux essais philosophiques ou pol茅miques.
Apr猫s la mort de Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir a publi茅 La C茅r茅monie des adieux (1981) et les Lettres au Castor (1983) qui rassemblent une partie de l'abondante correspondance qu'elle re莽ut de lui. Jusqu'au jour de sa mort, le 14 avril 1986, elle a collabor茅 activement 脿 la revue fond茅e par Sartre et elle-m锚me, Les Temps Modernes, et manifest茅 sous des formes diverses et innombrables sa solidarit茅 avec le f茅minisme.
----
Simone de Beauvoir est n茅e 脿 Paris le 9 janvier 1908. Elle fit ses 茅tudes jusqu'au baccalaur茅at dans le tr猫s catholique cours D茅sir. Agr茅g茅e de philosophie en 1929, elle enseigna 脿 Marseille, 脿 Rouen et 脿 Paris jusqu'en 1943. C'est L'Invit茅e (1943) qu'on doit consid茅rer comme son v茅ritable d茅but litt茅raire. Viennent ensuite Le sang des autres (1945), Tous les hommes sont mortels (1946), Les Mandarins (prix Goncourt 1954), Les Belles Images (1966) et La Femme rompue (1968).
Simone de Beauvoir a 茅crit des m茅moires o霉 elle nous donne elle-m锚me 脿 conna卯tre sa vie, son 艙uvre. L'ampleur de l'entreprise autobiographique trouve sa justification, son sens, dans une contradiction essentielle 脿 l'茅crivain : choisir lui fut toujours impossible entre le bonheur de vivre et la n茅cessit茅 d'茅crire ; d'une part la splendeur contingente, de l'autre la rigueur salvatrice. Faire de sa propre existence l'objet de son 茅criture, c'茅tait en partie sortir de ce dilemme.
Outre le c茅l猫bre Deuxi猫me sexe (1949) devenu l'ouvrage de r茅f茅rence du mouvement f茅ministe mondial, l'艙uvre th茅orique de Simone de Beauvoir comprend de nombreux essais philosophiques ou pol茅miques.
Apr猫s la mort de Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir a publi茅 La C茅r茅monie des adieux (1981) et les Lettres au Castor (1983) qui rassemblent une partie de l'abondante correspondance qu'elle re莽ut de lui. Jusqu'au jour de sa mort, le 14 avril 1986, elle a collabor茅 activement 脿 la revue fond茅e par Sartre et elle-m锚me, Les Temps Modernes, et manifest茅 sous des formes diverses et innombrables sa solidarit茅 avec le f茅minisme.
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March 7, 2025
鈥�There鈥檚 a problem child in every family: and that鈥檚 me.鈥�
Written in 1954, Inseparable by the great Simone de Beauvoir was only recently released into print and provides a look into the author鈥檚 life and friendships that would help shape her existentialist works on freedom and gender. Best known for her monumentous work , which lit the spark for second-wave feminism, or her winning novel , Inseparable is a very intimate look at de Beauvoir鈥檚 real-life friendship with 脡lisabeth Lacoin, called Zaza, who appears in the novel as Andr茅e Gallard (Simone appears as narrator Sylvie Lepage). Zaza, who tragically died just before her 22nd birthday, was a major figure in Simone鈥檚 young life, the two of them deemed to be 鈥榠nseparable鈥� by their teachers, and in this story we see the early gears of thought in young Sylvie鈥檚 mind on the confines of a religious and patriarchal society on young women and those who choose to seek an independence and uniqueness of self. Having been deemed too intimate for publication in the 50s, we are now graced with this moving portrait of friendship and struggle that foreshadows the philosophical works the great feminist existentialist would write throughtout her lifetime, being a sharp criticism of oppressive systems and religion that Beauvior found suffocating to being an authentic person.
Zaza and Simone (Andr茅e and Sylvie)
While the official story is that Beauvoir thought the novel too intimate and claimed it had 鈥�no inner necessity and failed to hold the reader鈥檚 interest,鈥� there is much speculation that it was the dismissal of the work by friend and philosopher contemporary that caused her to lose faith in it. As states in the book鈥檚 introduction (she does not hold back against Sartre) that Sartre found the book trivial, shocked that 鈥�for a materialist Marxist鈥he book is intensely descriptive of the physical and social conditions of its two young female characters,鈥� and that it was inconsequential when 鈥榮erious鈥� literature dealt with the means of production of factories and agriculture. Written five years after The Second Sex, it is tragic to see the points within her great work of philosophy be made so blatantly against her own novel and the notion that the interior life of a intelligent young woman be deemed trivial. The novel is quite engaging in fact, and Beauvoir鈥檚 prose (gorgeously translated her by ) is very fluid鈥攕omething I鈥檝e enjoyed with her philosophical works and have found them very readable and accessible. So without further adieu, let鈥檚 talk about this work that we are finally able to read because it hit me right in the gut and I love it for it.
鈥�Andr茅e was one of those child prodigies whose lives would later be recounted in books.鈥�
The dedication to Zaza at the start of Inseperable reads 鈥�If I have tears in my eyes tonight, is it because you have died, or rather because I鈥檓 the one who is still alive?鈥� Which, spoilers much? but also the framing of the novel knowing the tragic end even before beginning allows the reader to focus in with heightened attention on the emotional turmoil bubbling within the two characters that will lead to the untimely end of Sylvie鈥檚 great friendship. 鈥�When I was nine, I was a very good girl,鈥� the story begins, and Sylvie is soon acquainted with Andr茅e who鈥檚 bold and direct way of speaking beguiles and intrigues her as does her freedom to roam about the streets alone. The two become inseparable and while they both are top of their class their attitudes are deemed impertinent. Sylvie decides she will pursue individual freedom, inspired by Andr茅e鈥檚 own actions and beliefs such as when surreptitiously smoking she remarks 鈥�Mama forbids it; but when you start to disobey . . .鈥� which leads to her falling out of Christian faith.
This lack of belief changes her perception on the world and in her outsider status as a non-believer she begins to observe how much human nature is restricted by notions of sin, especially women.
鈥�I still haven鈥檛 told Mama that I disobeyed her, and the worst part is that I鈥檓 not sorry.鈥�
While initially rebellious, the confines of society begin to close in around 础苍诲谤茅别. At home she is hardly afforded a moment to herself, beleaguered by an 鈥�enormous family: a prison, whose exits were carefully guarded.鈥� At the head of the household is her mother, Madame Gallard, who is said to have refused her husband twice before being obliged to marry him, and through Sylvie we witness a view of how once independent women are not only torn from their beliefs, but social expectations corner them into being authoritative parents that then perpetuate the oppressive behavior upon their daughters. The belief that getting married is the purpose of a young girl鈥檚 life is shown here, though Sylvie observes that even a partner in marriage is less a choice and more an obligation imposed. Her friend is twice removed from someone she is romantically involved with due to parent鈥檚 belief that it is not the right match, and religious beliefs inform much of the resistance.
This even applies to Pascal (a stand-in for French phenomenology philosopher ), a man who 鈥�could be categorized as 鈥渁 young man suitable in all respects鈥�鈥� The mother demands Andr茅e be sent away until marriage so as not to be tempted to be in Pascal鈥檚 company, something that causes her extreme emotional distress and pressures Pascal to consider a marriage he does not find himself yet ready to enter. Which is all perpetuating a sad society of people being socially locked into actions that they are not emotionally ready for all for the sake of social manners and a fear of being 鈥榮inful鈥� if they follow their desires. This instilled fear of temptations of the flesh is part of what makes women view their own bodies with shame, de Beauviour writes in The Second Sex, adding a layer that the attraction of their body is sinful only burdens young women further and objectifies them even more.
鈥�Do I have to spend my life fighting with the people I love?鈥�
In The Second Sex, Beauvoir examines how narratives have contributed to the Othering of women, from myths to religious stories that have been used to treat women as subservient to men and enforce moral behavior. While Sylvie feels herself free from these worries of sin, she sees the obligations imposed on her friend鈥檚 relations as a restriction of freedom, a caging of women and men into unhappy lives and marriages for no reason beyond upholding a narrative. Andr茅e is an interesting person in this respect, loving out of pure intentions and upholding religious beliefs out of love while acknowledging many use religion as an instrument of oppression. 鈥�She had discovered, with outrage, the chasm that separated the teaching of the Gospels and the self-serving, egotistical, petty behavior of self-righteous people.鈥� In the afterword by , Simone鈥檚 daughter, she writes that for Andr茅e:
Her belief in wanting to be good and wanting to be happy is frequently blocked by people who claim to be doing it for her own good. 鈥�We were only the instruments of God,鈥� says Monsieur Gallard when it is already too late, and here we see how religion also becomes a scapegoat to wash one鈥檚 hands of their complicity in oppression and Andr茅e鈥檚 own demise. She also demonstrates how it becomes a way to avoid acknowledgement of class oppression, seeing the poor as unclean and being that way due to sin, their status as upper class being a gift from God and under no obligation to deconstruct the class structure that they profit from and use to keep others beneath them. In , Beauvior writes 鈥�If we do not love life on our own account and through others, it is futile to seek to justify it in any way,鈥� condemning the way religion forces young women to push aside their identities and convictions to create one through the justification of religious narratives. The aspects of Sylvie being condescended by Pascal for not being a believer felt all too true living in a community where I see this in my daily life.
To be clear, Beauvoir鈥檚 criticism is not with religion itself, but in the ways it is wielded by others as a tool of behavior modification and subservience. She demonstrates how the narrative is used in ways that instill guilt and fear that is used to uphold systems that are in need of ethical refurbishing in order to be more equitable and humane.
Most impactful is when Sylvie observes 鈥�The grave was covered in white flowers. In some strange way, I understood that Andr茅e had died, suffocated by that whiteness.鈥� The book is a sharp critical look at the way whitewashing life and human nature restricts freedom and suffocates people, men and women alike. This is very indicative of its time, of course, and the sexual revolution was still a decade in coming, but the lessons still echo in our world today.
鈥�Zaza died because she tried to be herself and was convinced that such a desire was evil,鈥� states Le Bon-de Beauvior, and the novel functions as a chronicle on how Andr茅e鈥檚 desire to be good under the restrictions of social enforcement of behavior clashed with her desire to be a unique, loving individual and the friction of this due to her self-analysis as being sinful for simply being herself causes her to fracture mentally and physically. The book is a beautiful tribute to a friend now gone. As Atwood observes, the lessons Beauvior took from the time of friendship with Zaza blossomed into her philosophical lessons. 鈥�Perhaps she herself worked so hard to become who she was as a sort of memorial,鈥� Atwood writes, 鈥�Beauvoir must express herself to the utmost, because Zaza could not.鈥� It took decades to reach a mass audience, but I am thankful Inseparable has finally made it to print. This is a quick read but one that had me by the throat the whole time, all the more engaging as I am currently half-way through The Second Sex. This is a moving book and a loving look at a friendship that helped shape the philosophical world forever.
4.5/5
鈥�At every instant, blessed eternity was in play, and no clear sign was given to indicate if you were about to achieve it or lose it!鈥�
Written in 1954, Inseparable by the great Simone de Beauvoir was only recently released into print and provides a look into the author鈥檚 life and friendships that would help shape her existentialist works on freedom and gender. Best known for her monumentous work , which lit the spark for second-wave feminism, or her winning novel , Inseparable is a very intimate look at de Beauvoir鈥檚 real-life friendship with 脡lisabeth Lacoin, called Zaza, who appears in the novel as Andr茅e Gallard (Simone appears as narrator Sylvie Lepage). Zaza, who tragically died just before her 22nd birthday, was a major figure in Simone鈥檚 young life, the two of them deemed to be 鈥榠nseparable鈥� by their teachers, and in this story we see the early gears of thought in young Sylvie鈥檚 mind on the confines of a religious and patriarchal society on young women and those who choose to seek an independence and uniqueness of self. Having been deemed too intimate for publication in the 50s, we are now graced with this moving portrait of friendship and struggle that foreshadows the philosophical works the great feminist existentialist would write throughtout her lifetime, being a sharp criticism of oppressive systems and religion that Beauvior found suffocating to being an authentic person.
Zaza and Simone (Andr茅e and Sylvie)
While the official story is that Beauvoir thought the novel too intimate and claimed it had 鈥�no inner necessity and failed to hold the reader鈥檚 interest,鈥� there is much speculation that it was the dismissal of the work by friend and philosopher contemporary that caused her to lose faith in it. As states in the book鈥檚 introduction (she does not hold back against Sartre) that Sartre found the book trivial, shocked that 鈥�for a materialist Marxist鈥he book is intensely descriptive of the physical and social conditions of its two young female characters,鈥� and that it was inconsequential when 鈥榮erious鈥� literature dealt with the means of production of factories and agriculture. Written five years after The Second Sex, it is tragic to see the points within her great work of philosophy be made so blatantly against her own novel and the notion that the interior life of a intelligent young woman be deemed trivial. The novel is quite engaging in fact, and Beauvoir鈥檚 prose (gorgeously translated her by ) is very fluid鈥攕omething I鈥檝e enjoyed with her philosophical works and have found them very readable and accessible. So without further adieu, let鈥檚 talk about this work that we are finally able to read because it hit me right in the gut and I love it for it.
鈥�Andr茅e was one of those child prodigies whose lives would later be recounted in books.鈥�
The dedication to Zaza at the start of Inseperable reads 鈥�If I have tears in my eyes tonight, is it because you have died, or rather because I鈥檓 the one who is still alive?鈥� Which, spoilers much? but also the framing of the novel knowing the tragic end even before beginning allows the reader to focus in with heightened attention on the emotional turmoil bubbling within the two characters that will lead to the untimely end of Sylvie鈥檚 great friendship. 鈥�When I was nine, I was a very good girl,鈥� the story begins, and Sylvie is soon acquainted with Andr茅e who鈥檚 bold and direct way of speaking beguiles and intrigues her as does her freedom to roam about the streets alone. The two become inseparable and while they both are top of their class their attitudes are deemed impertinent. Sylvie decides she will pursue individual freedom, inspired by Andr茅e鈥檚 own actions and beliefs such as when surreptitiously smoking she remarks 鈥�Mama forbids it; but when you start to disobey . . .鈥� which leads to her falling out of Christian faith.
鈥�I was resolutely determined to continue to eat, read, speak, and dream in whatever way I pleased. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 believe in God!鈥� I thought. How was it possible to believe in God and deliberately choose to disobey Him? I sat stunned for a moment by this revelation: I did not believe.鈥�
This lack of belief changes her perception on the world and in her outsider status as a non-believer she begins to observe how much human nature is restricted by notions of sin, especially women.
鈥�I still haven鈥檛 told Mama that I disobeyed her, and the worst part is that I鈥檓 not sorry.鈥�
While initially rebellious, the confines of society begin to close in around 础苍诲谤茅别. At home she is hardly afforded a moment to herself, beleaguered by an 鈥�enormous family: a prison, whose exits were carefully guarded.鈥� At the head of the household is her mother, Madame Gallard, who is said to have refused her husband twice before being obliged to marry him, and through Sylvie we witness a view of how once independent women are not only torn from their beliefs, but social expectations corner them into being authoritative parents that then perpetuate the oppressive behavior upon their daughters. The belief that getting married is the purpose of a young girl鈥檚 life is shown here, though Sylvie observes that even a partner in marriage is less a choice and more an obligation imposed. Her friend is twice removed from someone she is romantically involved with due to parent鈥檚 belief that it is not the right match, and religious beliefs inform much of the resistance.
This even applies to Pascal (a stand-in for French phenomenology philosopher ), a man who 鈥�could be categorized as 鈥渁 young man suitable in all respects鈥�鈥� The mother demands Andr茅e be sent away until marriage so as not to be tempted to be in Pascal鈥檚 company, something that causes her extreme emotional distress and pressures Pascal to consider a marriage he does not find himself yet ready to enter. Which is all perpetuating a sad society of people being socially locked into actions that they are not emotionally ready for all for the sake of social manners and a fear of being 鈥榮inful鈥� if they follow their desires. This instilled fear of temptations of the flesh is part of what makes women view their own bodies with shame, de Beauviour writes in The Second Sex, adding a layer that the attraction of their body is sinful only burdens young women further and objectifies them even more.
鈥�Do I have to spend my life fighting with the people I love?鈥�
In The Second Sex, Beauvoir examines how narratives have contributed to the Othering of women, from myths to religious stories that have been used to treat women as subservient to men and enforce moral behavior. While Sylvie feels herself free from these worries of sin, she sees the obligations imposed on her friend鈥檚 relations as a restriction of freedom, a caging of women and men into unhappy lives and marriages for no reason beyond upholding a narrative. Andr茅e is an interesting person in this respect, loving out of pure intentions and upholding religious beliefs out of love while acknowledging many use religion as an instrument of oppression. 鈥�She had discovered, with outrage, the chasm that separated the teaching of the Gospels and the self-serving, egotistical, petty behavior of self-righteous people.鈥� In the afterword by , Simone鈥檚 daughter, she writes that for Andr茅e:
鈥�faith was not, as it was for so many others, a complaisant dependence on God, a means of being right, of self-justification or fleeing responsibilities but the painful questioning of a silent, obscure, hidden God.鈥�
Her belief in wanting to be good and wanting to be happy is frequently blocked by people who claim to be doing it for her own good. 鈥�We were only the instruments of God,鈥� says Monsieur Gallard when it is already too late, and here we see how religion also becomes a scapegoat to wash one鈥檚 hands of their complicity in oppression and Andr茅e鈥檚 own demise. She also demonstrates how it becomes a way to avoid acknowledgement of class oppression, seeing the poor as unclean and being that way due to sin, their status as upper class being a gift from God and under no obligation to deconstruct the class structure that they profit from and use to keep others beneath them. In , Beauvior writes 鈥�If we do not love life on our own account and through others, it is futile to seek to justify it in any way,鈥� condemning the way religion forces young women to push aside their identities and convictions to create one through the justification of religious narratives. The aspects of Sylvie being condescended by Pascal for not being a believer felt all too true living in a community where I see this in my daily life.
To be clear, Beauvoir鈥檚 criticism is not with religion itself, but in the ways it is wielded by others as a tool of behavior modification and subservience. She demonstrates how the narrative is used in ways that instill guilt and fear that is used to uphold systems that are in need of ethical refurbishing in order to be more equitable and humane.
Most impactful is when Sylvie observes 鈥�The grave was covered in white flowers. In some strange way, I understood that Andr茅e had died, suffocated by that whiteness.鈥� The book is a sharp critical look at the way whitewashing life and human nature restricts freedom and suffocates people, men and women alike. This is very indicative of its time, of course, and the sexual revolution was still a decade in coming, but the lessons still echo in our world today.
鈥�Zaza died because she tried to be herself and was convinced that such a desire was evil,鈥� states Le Bon-de Beauvior, and the novel functions as a chronicle on how Andr茅e鈥檚 desire to be good under the restrictions of social enforcement of behavior clashed with her desire to be a unique, loving individual and the friction of this due to her self-analysis as being sinful for simply being herself causes her to fracture mentally and physically. The book is a beautiful tribute to a friend now gone. As Atwood observes, the lessons Beauvior took from the time of friendship with Zaza blossomed into her philosophical lessons. 鈥�Perhaps she herself worked so hard to become who she was as a sort of memorial,鈥� Atwood writes, 鈥�Beauvoir must express herself to the utmost, because Zaza could not.鈥� It took decades to reach a mass audience, but I am thankful Inseparable has finally made it to print. This is a quick read but one that had me by the throat the whole time, all the more engaging as I am currently half-way through The Second Sex. This is a moving book and a loving look at a friendship that helped shape the philosophical world forever.
4.5/5
鈥�At every instant, blessed eternity was in play, and no clear sign was given to indicate if you were about to achieve it or lose it!鈥�
December 16, 2020
Una historia entra帽able. Novela corta autobiogr谩fica de una amiga que tuvo Simone de Beauvoir, una amistad preciosa. Pero no es solo eso, la manera en como describe cada momento, cada actitud, te da un retrato super completo de esa 茅poca de su vida, de la infancia y adolescencia, del primer amor, la religi贸n, la vida espiritual, y como eran tan definidas por la vida en sociedad, y por la familia en la que crec铆as. Tambi茅n ese cambio tan fuerte que se vive entre la infancia y la adolescencia, y como empieza la vida adulta. Muy hermoso y recomendado.
March 12, 2024
i'm a simone stan first and foremost...
and while this was very predictable and not very fun or interesting, it was written by simone de beauvoir.
so that counts for something.
bottom line: sometimes when a book is like "Never Before Published" or "Now In Print For The First Time," it's like...yeah. i see why.
and while this was very predictable and not very fun or interesting, it was written by simone de beauvoir.
so that counts for something.
bottom line: sometimes when a book is like "Never Before Published" or "Now In Print For The First Time," it's like...yeah. i see why.
December 8, 2023
It's amazing to me that this completed novel was only just published, given that it was finished in 1954. The author died in 1986. The introduction by Margaret Atwood tells us that it was thought 鈥榯oo intimate鈥� but I don鈥檛 think that's true even by the standards then. It probably has more to do with the author's relationship with Jean-Paul Sartre. We are told that in the introduction (and also in this quote from a NYTimes review by Leslie Camhi): 鈥淎pparently, she showed the manuscript of this brief novel to Sartre, who 鈥渉eld his nose鈥� at it, she writes in 鈥淔orce of Circumstance,鈥� the third volume of her memoirs. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 have agreed more,鈥� she tells us there; 鈥渢he story seemed to have no inner necessity and failed to hold the reader鈥檚 interest.鈥� So she set the manuscript aside.
It's the semi-autobiographical story of de Beauvoir and her best friend, Zaza, starting at about ten years old. They met at an exclusive French Catholic school for girls from the 鈥榖est families.鈥� They were the two best students and Simone was more dependent on the relationship than was the other girl who came from a large family with parents obsessed by their Catholic religion. Both parents were active in church groups and the religious family took an annual pilgrimage to the shrine at Lourdes. One daughter was already a nun, and one son a priest.
The author wrote many autobiographical and semi-autobiographical novels and Zaza is featured in four of her novels. Even in this story, we learn more about Zaza鈥檚 family and life than that of Simone鈥檚. In the second half of the book it becomes Zaza鈥檚 tragic story, not the author鈥檚.
Simone hung out with Zaza鈥檚 family. Zaza鈥檚 mother kept all her children occupied in an endless swirl of chores, visits to relatives, picnics and outings, so much so that Simone and Zaza seldom had a chance to converse together. (Idle hands are the devil's workshop, I guess.)
The mother also feared Simone was a bad influence on her daughter because Simone drifted away from religious feelings very early in her life. The mother broke up a romance between Zaza and a neighbor boy because he was half-Jewish. Simone later 鈥榞ives over鈥� her boyfriend to Zaza. The mother, who ruled with an iron fist, felt that she would be 鈥榟eld responsible' for the 鈥榮ins鈥� of her daughters. (I'm using too many little 鈥榪uotes,鈥� I know!)
A good read, worth a 鈥�5.鈥� I鈥檓 glad it finally got published. I've also enjoyed another novel by this author:
Top photo, Simone and Zaza from newyorktimes.com
The author from theparisreview.org
[Revised 12/7/2023]
It's the semi-autobiographical story of de Beauvoir and her best friend, Zaza, starting at about ten years old. They met at an exclusive French Catholic school for girls from the 鈥榖est families.鈥� They were the two best students and Simone was more dependent on the relationship than was the other girl who came from a large family with parents obsessed by their Catholic religion. Both parents were active in church groups and the religious family took an annual pilgrimage to the shrine at Lourdes. One daughter was already a nun, and one son a priest.
The author wrote many autobiographical and semi-autobiographical novels and Zaza is featured in four of her novels. Even in this story, we learn more about Zaza鈥檚 family and life than that of Simone鈥檚. In the second half of the book it becomes Zaza鈥檚 tragic story, not the author鈥檚.
Simone hung out with Zaza鈥檚 family. Zaza鈥檚 mother kept all her children occupied in an endless swirl of chores, visits to relatives, picnics and outings, so much so that Simone and Zaza seldom had a chance to converse together. (Idle hands are the devil's workshop, I guess.)
The mother also feared Simone was a bad influence on her daughter because Simone drifted away from religious feelings very early in her life. The mother broke up a romance between Zaza and a neighbor boy because he was half-Jewish. Simone later 鈥榞ives over鈥� her boyfriend to Zaza. The mother, who ruled with an iron fist, felt that she would be 鈥榟eld responsible' for the 鈥榮ins鈥� of her daughters. (I'm using too many little 鈥榪uotes,鈥� I know!)
A good read, worth a 鈥�5.鈥� I鈥檓 glad it finally got published. I've also enjoyed another novel by this author:
Top photo, Simone and Zaza from newyorktimes.com
The author from theparisreview.org
[Revised 12/7/2023]
May 11, 2023
The reader is presented with an autobiographical story of friendship. It traces the relationship between two young girls. One of them is Simone herself, who turns into Sylvie in the novel, another is Zaza, who becomes 础苍诲谤茅别.
By writing this concise and evocative memoir, Simone wanted to pay homage to the friend of her youth, and she succeeded in "fighting against time, fighting against forgetfulness, fighting against death."
Sylvie was nine years old when a new girl joined her class. Andr茅e was brilliant and not too diligent, talented and audacious. She dared to express her opinions to teachers. Sylvie and Andr茅e became so close that teachers christened them 鈥渋nseparable.鈥�
Andr茅e was even permitted to go home from school alone.
Although it might look like freedom, Sylvie, as she came to know her friend better, soon realized that when anything important was involved, it was to be agreed with Andr茅e鈥檚 mother.
Both girls had pretty much the same background. They both were the daughters of 鈥榞ood鈥� Catholic parents. However, after the First World war, a gap opened up between them. Sylvie鈥檚 father had lost much money during that time, whereas Andr茅e鈥檚 family continued to enjoy financial stability. She was part of a family with "strict traditions that required a dutiful daughter to be selfless, resigned, and malleable."
This difference would play a significant role in their future lives.
Sylvie was intent on studying to be able to earn her living.
Andr茅e was bound to marry a proper guy as befitted a decent girl from a well-off family. Unsolicited feelings had to be suppressed. Andr茅e鈥檚 mother had herself in her youth gone through this necessity to conform.
Sensitive and hesitantly opinionated, Andr茅e craved to practice her violin, read and spend time alone without having to wear one of the socially approved masks. Instead, she had to attend noisy family parties, busy herself with various chores, social events, and collective outings, and wait for an acceptable groom to appear on the horizon.
Solitude is the privilege in that world.
Andr茅e attempted to escape from the track assigned to her but, alas, her plans seemed to be mere castles in the air. But were they?
Simone-Sylvie, using the magic of literature, converted Andr茅e鈥檚 aspirations, little joys, and bitter disappointments into a brilliant story and justified the "absolute importance of the moment, the eternity of the moment that would last forever."
In addition to being a very personal account, the story is very well written and reflects the mores of European society in the early 20th century. The two friends used the formal Vous to address each other. The dinner bell announced that it was time to have dinner.
Selected letters between Simone and Zaza are also included.
By writing this concise and evocative memoir, Simone wanted to pay homage to the friend of her youth, and she succeeded in "fighting against time, fighting against forgetfulness, fighting against death."
Sylvie was nine years old when a new girl joined her class. Andr茅e was brilliant and not too diligent, talented and audacious. She dared to express her opinions to teachers. Sylvie and Andr茅e became so close that teachers christened them 鈥渋nseparable.鈥�
Andr茅e was even permitted to go home from school alone.
Although it might look like freedom, Sylvie, as she came to know her friend better, soon realized that when anything important was involved, it was to be agreed with Andr茅e鈥檚 mother.
Both girls had pretty much the same background. They both were the daughters of 鈥榞ood鈥� Catholic parents. However, after the First World war, a gap opened up between them. Sylvie鈥檚 father had lost much money during that time, whereas Andr茅e鈥檚 family continued to enjoy financial stability. She was part of a family with "strict traditions that required a dutiful daughter to be selfless, resigned, and malleable."
This difference would play a significant role in their future lives.
Sylvie was intent on studying to be able to earn her living.
Andr茅e was bound to marry a proper guy as befitted a decent girl from a well-off family. Unsolicited feelings had to be suppressed. Andr茅e鈥檚 mother had herself in her youth gone through this necessity to conform.
For a daughter, the predetermined path led straight to marriage or a convent; she could not decide her fate according to her own desires or feelings. It was up to the family to arrange marriages: organizing 鈥渋nterviews,鈥� selecting candidates depending on ideological, religious, social, and financial interests. Marriages took place within the same social circle.
Sensitive and hesitantly opinionated, Andr茅e craved to practice her violin, read and spend time alone without having to wear one of the socially approved masks. Instead, she had to attend noisy family parties, busy herself with various chores, social events, and collective outings, and wait for an acceptable groom to appear on the horizon.
Solitude is the privilege in that world.
Andr茅e attempted to escape from the track assigned to her but, alas, her plans seemed to be mere castles in the air. But were they?
Simone-Sylvie, using the magic of literature, converted Andr茅e鈥檚 aspirations, little joys, and bitter disappointments into a brilliant story and justified the "absolute importance of the moment, the eternity of the moment that would last forever."
In addition to being a very personal account, the story is very well written and reflects the mores of European society in the early 20th century. The two friends used the formal Vous to address each other. The dinner bell announced that it was time to have dinner.
Selected letters between Simone and Zaza are also included.
September 7, 2021
"Inseparable" by Simone de Beauvoir is a French novel written in 1954 and remained unpublished until today, September 7, 2021!
At nine years old, Sylvie and Andr茅e meet at their Paris school and form a friendship that takes them into young adulthood.
Sylvie is watchful and conflicted. She is philosophical and not afraid to form her own opinion.
Andr茅e is emotional and unpredictable. She is idealistic, and often unable to find her voice within her circumstances.
Although very different, their loyalty to each other never falters. Their discussions explore and challenge the current norms of post WWI France: arranged marriages, religious conformity, social class and why women are viewed so poorly in the world.
This story is told through the voice and memory of Sylvie and recounts their friendship through November 25, 1929 when it abruptly ends. It is beautifully written and a startlingly poignant autobiographical Coming-of-Age story about Simone de Beauvoir (Sylvie) and her 'inseparable' friend, Elisabeth 鈥榋aza鈥� Lacoin (Andr茅e).
This story is a novelized account of a friendship that ends too soon, yet continues to live in the mind and heart of the author and begs to be told. In 1954 it was considered too bold for publication so it remained in Ms. de Beauvoir's possession until she passed in 1986. Her literary executor was given the rights to move forward with her unpublished work when they deemed it to be the right time.
That day has finally arrived!
Thank you to NetGalley, Ecco Publishing and Simone de Beauvoir for a free ARC of this book. It has been an honor to give my honest and voluntary review.
At nine years old, Sylvie and Andr茅e meet at their Paris school and form a friendship that takes them into young adulthood.
Sylvie is watchful and conflicted. She is philosophical and not afraid to form her own opinion.
Andr茅e is emotional and unpredictable. She is idealistic, and often unable to find her voice within her circumstances.
Although very different, their loyalty to each other never falters. Their discussions explore and challenge the current norms of post WWI France: arranged marriages, religious conformity, social class and why women are viewed so poorly in the world.
This story is told through the voice and memory of Sylvie and recounts their friendship through November 25, 1929 when it abruptly ends. It is beautifully written and a startlingly poignant autobiographical Coming-of-Age story about Simone de Beauvoir (Sylvie) and her 'inseparable' friend, Elisabeth 鈥榋aza鈥� Lacoin (Andr茅e).
This story is a novelized account of a friendship that ends too soon, yet continues to live in the mind and heart of the author and begs to be told. In 1954 it was considered too bold for publication so it remained in Ms. de Beauvoir's possession until she passed in 1986. Her literary executor was given the rights to move forward with her unpublished work when they deemed it to be the right time.
That day has finally arrived!
Thank you to NetGalley, Ecco Publishing and Simone de Beauvoir for a free ARC of this book. It has been an honor to give my honest and voluntary review.
February 12, 2024
" 賱丕 兀噩賲賱 賮賷 賴匕丕 丕賱毓丕賱賲 賲賳 丕賱卮毓賵乇 亘兀賳 孬賲丞 卮禺氐丕賸 賲丕 賷賲賰賳 兀賳 賷賮賴賲賰 鬲賲丕賲 丕賱賮賴賲 貙 賵賷賲賰賳賰 兀賳 鬲毓鬲賲丿 毓賱賶 氐丿丕賯鬲賴 賰賱 丕毓鬲賲丕賲 "
丕賱氐丿丕賯丞 丕賱丕賵賱賶 賵丕賱丨亘 丕賱兀賵賱 ..
氐丿賷賯丞 賵丨亘 丕賱胤賮賵賱丞 ..
丕賱氐丿賷賯 丕賱匕賷 鬲鬲胤賱毓 賱賴 .. 鬲賳馗乇 賱賴 亘廿毓噩丕亘 賵丕賳亘賴丕乇 .. 鬲丨亘賴 兀賰孬乇 賲賲丕 鬲丨亘 匕丕鬲賰 賵鬲爻鬲毓丿 賱賱鬲囟丨賷丞 賲賳 丕噩賱賴 亘丨賷丕鬲賰 .
" 丕丿乇賰鬲 亘睾鬲丞 賮賷 噩賵 賲賳 丕賱丿賴卮丞 賵丕賱賮乇丨 貙 兀賳 賮乇丕睾 賯賱亘賷 貙 賵丕賱胤毓賲 丕賱賰卅賷亘 丕賱匕賷 賲賷夭 兀賷丕賲賷 賰丕賳 賱賴 爻亘亘 賵丕丨丿 賱丕 睾賷乇 : 睾賷丕亘 兀賳丿乇賷賴 . 丕賱丨賷丕丞 亘丿賵賳賴丕 賱賷爻鬲 丨賷丕丞 "
兀賳丿乇賷賴 睾丕賱丕乇 賮賷 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 兀賵 賮賱賳賯賱 廿賱賷夭丕亘賷鬲 賱丕賰賵丕賳 丕賱卮賴賷乇丞 亘廿爻賲 夭丕夭丕 貙 丕賱氐丿賷賯丞 丕賱兀賵賱賶 賮賷 丨賷丕丞 爻賷賱賮賷 賱賵亘丕噩 賮賷 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賵賮賷 丕賱賵丕賯毓 爻賷賲賵賳 丿賵 亘賵賮賵丕乇 .氐丿賷賯鬲賴丕 丕賱賲賯乇亘丞 兀賵 賰賲丕 賰丕賳鬲 鬲賯賵賱 賱賴丕 賮賷 乇爻丕卅賱賴丕 " 毓夭賷夭鬲賷 丕賱鬲賷 賱丕 鬲賳賮氐賱 毓賳賷 "
"賰丕賳賵丕 賷爻賲賵賳賳丕 丕賱毓氐賮賵乇鬲賷賳 丕賱賱鬲賷賳 賱丕 鬲賮鬲乇賯丕賳 "
兀賳丿乇賷賴 丕賵 夭丕夭丕 卮毓乇鬲 賲賳 禺賱丕賱 丨丿賷孬 爻賷賲賵賳 毓賳賴丕 兀賳賴丕 賯乇賷亘丞 賲賳賷 噩丿丕 賰賲丕 丕賳賶 兀毓鬲賯丿 賵 賲毓 賯乇丕卅鬲賷 賱賱乇賵丕賷丞 兀賳賴丕 兀丨丿 兀爻亘丕亘 鬲卮賰賷賱 卮禺氐賷丞 爻賷賲賵賳 賵賯賳丕毓丕鬲賴丕 賵卮噩丕毓鬲賴丕 賵丨乇賷鬲賴丕 亘毓丿 匕賱賰 .. 氐丿賷賯鬲賴丕 丕賱鬲賷 馗賳鬲 丕賳賴丕 鬲丨賷丕 丨賷丕丞 丕賱丨乇賷丞 賮賷 丕賱亘丿丕賷丞 賱賰賳 丨賷賳 鬲鬲毓乇賮 毓賱賶 馗乇賵賮賴丕 賵丨賷丕鬲賴丕 兀賰孬乇 鬲毓乇賮 兀賳 賲丕 鬲乇丕賴 賴賵 丕賱賯卮乇丞 丕賱禺丕乇噩賷丞 丕賱鬲賷 鬲禺賮賷 丕賱賰孬賷乇 ...
賴匕賴 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 鬲禺賱賷丿 賱匕賰乇賷 氐丿丕賯鬲賴賲 賵鬲禺賱賷丿 賱賵賮丕亍 爻賷賲賵賳 賱賴匕賴 丕賱氐丿丕賯丞 賵賴匕丕 丕賱丨亘 丕賱兀賵賱 丕賱胤賮賵賱賷 ..
兀爻賱賵亘 爻賷賲賵賳 乇丕卅毓 賵爻賱爻 噩丿丕 賵丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 禺賮賷賮丞 賵賲賲鬲毓丞 丕賷囟丕 賮賷 賯乇丕卅鬲賴丕.. 賴賳丕賰 丨丕賱丞 賲賳 丕賱丨亘 賵丕賱氐丿丕賯丞 爻鬲丨賷胤 亘賰 兀孬賳丕亍 丕賱賯乇丕亍丞.. 兀丨亘亘鬲 氐丿丕賯鬲賴賲 賵兀丨丕丿賷孬賴賲 賵賲卮丕毓乇賴賲 鬲噩丕賴 亘毓囟賴賲 丕賱亘毓囟 ..
賮賷 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 丕賷囟丕 氐賵乇 賱爻賷賲賵賳 賵夭丕夭丕 賵丨亘賷亘賴丕 賵氐賵乇 賱爻賷賲賵賳 賲毓 爻丕乇鬲乇 賵兀賲丕賰賳 丨賷丕鬲賴賲 .. 賵亘毓囟 丕賱賲乇丕爻賱丕鬲 亘賷賳 爻賷賲賵賳 賵夭丕夭丕
賯乇丕亍丞 賲卮鬲乇賰丞 賲毓 丕賱睾丕賱賶 兀丨賲丿 賳賵乇 丕賱丿賷賳 賵氐丿賷賯鬲賷 丕賱噩賲賷賱丞 爻丕乇丞 爻賲賷乇 鉂も潳
侃 / 佗 / 佗贍佗伲
"賲賳 乇爻丕卅賱 夭丕夭丕 廿賱賶 爻賷賲賵賳 "
丕賱氐丿丕賯丞 丕賱丕賵賱賶 賵丕賱丨亘 丕賱兀賵賱 ..
氐丿賷賯丞 賵丨亘 丕賱胤賮賵賱丞 ..
丕賱氐丿賷賯 丕賱匕賷 鬲鬲胤賱毓 賱賴 .. 鬲賳馗乇 賱賴 亘廿毓噩丕亘 賵丕賳亘賴丕乇 .. 鬲丨亘賴 兀賰孬乇 賲賲丕 鬲丨亘 匕丕鬲賰 賵鬲爻鬲毓丿 賱賱鬲囟丨賷丞 賲賳 丕噩賱賴 亘丨賷丕鬲賰 .
" 丕丿乇賰鬲 亘睾鬲丞 賮賷 噩賵 賲賳 丕賱丿賴卮丞 賵丕賱賮乇丨 貙 兀賳 賮乇丕睾 賯賱亘賷 貙 賵丕賱胤毓賲 丕賱賰卅賷亘 丕賱匕賷 賲賷夭 兀賷丕賲賷 賰丕賳 賱賴 爻亘亘 賵丕丨丿 賱丕 睾賷乇 : 睾賷丕亘 兀賳丿乇賷賴 . 丕賱丨賷丕丞 亘丿賵賳賴丕 賱賷爻鬲 丨賷丕丞 "
兀賳丿乇賷賴 睾丕賱丕乇 賮賷 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 兀賵 賮賱賳賯賱 廿賱賷夭丕亘賷鬲 賱丕賰賵丕賳 丕賱卮賴賷乇丞 亘廿爻賲 夭丕夭丕 貙 丕賱氐丿賷賯丞 丕賱兀賵賱賶 賮賷 丨賷丕丞 爻賷賱賮賷 賱賵亘丕噩 賮賷 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賵賮賷 丕賱賵丕賯毓 爻賷賲賵賳 丿賵 亘賵賮賵丕乇 .氐丿賷賯鬲賴丕 丕賱賲賯乇亘丞 兀賵 賰賲丕 賰丕賳鬲 鬲賯賵賱 賱賴丕 賮賷 乇爻丕卅賱賴丕 " 毓夭賷夭鬲賷 丕賱鬲賷 賱丕 鬲賳賮氐賱 毓賳賷 "
"賰丕賳賵丕 賷爻賲賵賳賳丕 丕賱毓氐賮賵乇鬲賷賳 丕賱賱鬲賷賳 賱丕 鬲賮鬲乇賯丕賳 "
兀賳丿乇賷賴 丕賵 夭丕夭丕 卮毓乇鬲 賲賳 禺賱丕賱 丨丿賷孬 爻賷賲賵賳 毓賳賴丕 兀賳賴丕 賯乇賷亘丞 賲賳賷 噩丿丕 賰賲丕 丕賳賶 兀毓鬲賯丿 賵 賲毓 賯乇丕卅鬲賷 賱賱乇賵丕賷丞 兀賳賴丕 兀丨丿 兀爻亘丕亘 鬲卮賰賷賱 卮禺氐賷丞 爻賷賲賵賳 賵賯賳丕毓丕鬲賴丕 賵卮噩丕毓鬲賴丕 賵丨乇賷鬲賴丕 亘毓丿 匕賱賰 .. 氐丿賷賯鬲賴丕 丕賱鬲賷 馗賳鬲 丕賳賴丕 鬲丨賷丕 丨賷丕丞 丕賱丨乇賷丞 賮賷 丕賱亘丿丕賷丞 賱賰賳 丨賷賳 鬲鬲毓乇賮 毓賱賶 馗乇賵賮賴丕 賵丨賷丕鬲賴丕 兀賰孬乇 鬲毓乇賮 兀賳 賲丕 鬲乇丕賴 賴賵 丕賱賯卮乇丞 丕賱禺丕乇噩賷丞 丕賱鬲賷 鬲禺賮賷 丕賱賰孬賷乇 ...
賴匕賴 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 鬲禺賱賷丿 賱匕賰乇賷 氐丿丕賯鬲賴賲 賵鬲禺賱賷丿 賱賵賮丕亍 爻賷賲賵賳 賱賴匕賴 丕賱氐丿丕賯丞 賵賴匕丕 丕賱丨亘 丕賱兀賵賱 丕賱胤賮賵賱賷 ..
兀爻賱賵亘 爻賷賲賵賳 乇丕卅毓 賵爻賱爻 噩丿丕 賵丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 禺賮賷賮丞 賵賲賲鬲毓丞 丕賷囟丕 賮賷 賯乇丕卅鬲賴丕.. 賴賳丕賰 丨丕賱丞 賲賳 丕賱丨亘 賵丕賱氐丿丕賯丞 爻鬲丨賷胤 亘賰 兀孬賳丕亍 丕賱賯乇丕亍丞.. 兀丨亘亘鬲 氐丿丕賯鬲賴賲 賵兀丨丕丿賷孬賴賲 賵賲卮丕毓乇賴賲 鬲噩丕賴 亘毓囟賴賲 丕賱亘毓囟 ..
賮賷 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 丕賷囟丕 氐賵乇 賱爻賷賲賵賳 賵夭丕夭丕 賵丨亘賷亘賴丕 賵氐賵乇 賱爻賷賲賵賳 賲毓 爻丕乇鬲乇 賵兀賲丕賰賳 丨賷丕鬲賴賲 .. 賵亘毓囟 丕賱賲乇丕爻賱丕鬲 亘賷賳 爻賷賲賵賳 賵夭丕夭丕
賯乇丕亍丞 賲卮鬲乇賰丞 賲毓 丕賱睾丕賱賶 兀丨賲丿 賳賵乇 丕賱丿賷賳 賵氐丿賷賯鬲賷 丕賱噩賲賷賱丞 爻丕乇丞 爻賲賷乇 鉂も潳
侃 / 佗 / 佗贍佗伲
April 16, 2021
Escrito em 1954, 鈥淎s insepar谩veis鈥� 茅 um romance p贸stumo in茅dito no Brasil, e foi a minha primeira experi锚ncia lendo a memor谩vel Simone de Beauvoir. A leitura tem como pano de fundo a amizade entre duas amigas, Sylvie e 础苍诲谤茅别. Mas, na verdade, a autora criou essas duas personagens para escrever um romance sobre a sua pr贸pria hist贸ria e de sua amiga 脡lisabeth Lacoin, a Zaza. 鈥淎s insepar谩veis鈥� pode, portanto, ser classificado com um romance autobiogr谩fico, em que h谩 elementos de fic莽茫o (em maior ou menor grau) junto com um narrador que conta a sua pr贸pria historia, em primeira pessoa.
A hist贸ria das duas garotas come莽a ainda na inf芒ncia, quando Sylvie e Andr茅e se conhecem no col茅gio Desir, em Paris. A rela莽茫o entre duas meninas t茫o diferentes acaba se desenrolando em uma amizade intensa e conflituosa, sobretudo em virtude dos contrastes na educa莽茫o que cada uma recebe dentro de casa. Um contaste entre mulheres que aceitavam ou se opunham 脿s imposi莽玫es de uma sociedade conservadora e religiosa do in铆cio do s茅culo XX.
E 茅 a partir das diferen莽as de pensamentos, e de como Sylvie se opunha aos pensamentos da conservadores da fam铆lia de Andr茅e, que podemos ver pontos que posteriormente marcariam a filosofia da autora sobre as diferen莽as de g锚nero.
Al茅m das quest玫es mais ideol贸gicas, o que temos nesse livro 茅 uma narrativa sobre uma amizade marcante e que faz sofrer. A autora enfrenta ang煤stias da sua inf芒ncia e adolesc锚ncia, passando por temas como primeiro amor, religi茫o e a dificuldade do amadurecimento.
A edi莽茫o conta com fotos de Simone e sua melhor amiga e cartas trocadas entre as duas amigas, al茅m de um 贸timo pref谩cio escrito pela filha da autora, Sylvie Le Bon de Beauvoir. Um romance curto, delicioso e que ficar谩 marcado para leitor!
Nota 9/10
Leia mais resenhas em
A hist贸ria das duas garotas come莽a ainda na inf芒ncia, quando Sylvie e Andr茅e se conhecem no col茅gio Desir, em Paris. A rela莽茫o entre duas meninas t茫o diferentes acaba se desenrolando em uma amizade intensa e conflituosa, sobretudo em virtude dos contrastes na educa莽茫o que cada uma recebe dentro de casa. Um contaste entre mulheres que aceitavam ou se opunham 脿s imposi莽玫es de uma sociedade conservadora e religiosa do in铆cio do s茅culo XX.
E 茅 a partir das diferen莽as de pensamentos, e de como Sylvie se opunha aos pensamentos da conservadores da fam铆lia de Andr茅e, que podemos ver pontos que posteriormente marcariam a filosofia da autora sobre as diferen莽as de g锚nero.
Al茅m das quest玫es mais ideol贸gicas, o que temos nesse livro 茅 uma narrativa sobre uma amizade marcante e que faz sofrer. A autora enfrenta ang煤stias da sua inf芒ncia e adolesc锚ncia, passando por temas como primeiro amor, religi茫o e a dificuldade do amadurecimento.
A edi莽茫o conta com fotos de Simone e sua melhor amiga e cartas trocadas entre as duas amigas, al茅m de um 贸timo pref谩cio escrito pela filha da autora, Sylvie Le Bon de Beauvoir. Um romance curto, delicioso e que ficar谩 marcado para leitor!
Nota 9/10
Leia mais resenhas em
August 6, 2024
4,5*
Este livro 茅 uma preciosidade, sobretudo para quem admira Simone de Beauvoir, e desde que soube da sua publica莽茫o que fiquei desejosa de o ler. 鈥淎s Insepar谩veis鈥� s贸 foi publicado agora, quase sete d茅cadas depois de ter sido escrito, e al茅m do prazer que 茅 ler um in茅dito desta autora, 茅 de grande valor hist贸rico o facto de conter excertos das cartas trocadas entre ela e a sua amiga Zaza, a qual serviu de inspira莽茫o a esta novela, bem como v谩rias fotografias das duas jovens e dos locais que as marcaram.
Iniciei a leitura pelo enriquecedor posf谩cio escrito por Sylvie Le Bon de Beauvoir, filha adoptiva da escritora, j谩 que, conhecendo o desfecho desta amizade gra莽as a 鈥淢em贸rias de Uma Menina Bem Comportada鈥�, queria perceber o que era ver铆dico ou ficcionado.
Ao lado de Simone de Beauvoir, de 9 anos de idade, aluna da escola cat贸lica Adeline Desir, senta-se uma morena de cabelo curto, 脡lisabeth Lacoin, conhecida por Zaza, poucos dias mais velha. Espont芒nea, engra莽ada e atrevida, destaca-se do conformismo reinante. (...) Disputam os primeiros lugares da classe, tornam-se insepar谩veis. (...) O sentimento que nutre por Zaza 茅 de paix茫o, venera-a, estremece s贸 de pensar em desagradar-lhe.
Quando Sylvie conhece Andr茅e, admira a sua liberdade, mas essa independ锚ncia tem um lado negro e opressivo.
Muitas vezes invejara a independ锚ncia de Andr茅e; de repente, pareceu-me muito menos livre do que eu. Havia todo um passado atr谩s de si; e 脿 sua volta aquela grande casa, aquela fam铆lia numerosa: uma pris茫o cujas sa铆das estavam cuidadosamente vigiadas.
脡 por esta altura que Sylvie enfrenta as suas primeiras crises de f茅...
Uma noite, estendida num prado h煤mido, diante da Lua, pensei: 鈥淪茫o pecados!鈥� e, todavia, estava firmemente decidida a continuar a comer, ler, falar, sonhar a meu bel-prazer. 鈥淣茫o acredito em Deus!鈥� disse a mim mesma. Como poderia acreditar em Deus e desobedecer-lhe deliberadamente? Por momentos, aquela evid锚ncia deixou-me estupefacta: n茫o acreditava.
...embora a sua amiga seja uma cat贸lica fervorosa, quase m铆stica, o que se torna uma ang煤stia nas suas rela莽玫es amorosas menos plat贸nicas.
A rela莽茫o que mantinha com ele n茫o devia ser f谩cil; de uma coisa eu estava certa: n茫o conseguia convencer-se de que ele era bom; por茅m, queria agradar-lhe e esfor莽ava-se por am谩-lo: tudo teria sido mais simples se, tal como eu, tivesse perdido a f茅 quando a sua f茅 perdeu a sua candura.
Apesar de ser convidada para a casa de f茅rias da fam铆lia Gallard, a matriarca n茫o simpatiza com Sylvie, principalmente porque esta pretende estudar na Sorbonne e trabalhar, enquanto as suas filhas est茫o destinadas a casarem-se com bons partidos escolhidos pela fam铆lia.
- N茫o deve ser nada agrad谩vel viver de manh茫 脿 noite com algu茅m que n茫o se ama 鈥� disse eu ent茫o.
- Deve ser horr铆vel 鈥� concordou 础苍诲谤茅别.
Ela teve um calafrio, como se tivesse visto uma orqu铆dea; os seus bra莽os ficaram com pele de galinha.
- Na catequese ensinam-nos que devemos respeitar o nosso corpo: logo, vender-se no casamento 茅 t茫o mau como vender-se fora dele.
- N茫o somos obrigadas a casar 鈥� disse eu.
Ainda que esta obra esteja somente compreendida entre a Primeira Guerra e 1929 e explore acima de tudo a intensa amizade das duas raparigas, mencionam-se algumas convuls玫es sociais na sociedade francesa ainda extremamente conservadora.
Mantinha com Malou e o senhor Gallard uma discuss茫o, que parecia cr贸nica, sobre o sufr谩gio feminino; sim, era escandaloso que uma m茫e de fam铆lia tivesse menos direitos que um servente b锚bedo: mas o senhor Gallard objetava que, entre os oper谩rios, mas mulheres s茫o mais vermelhas do que os homens; no fim de contas, se a lei fosse aprovada, iria beneficiar sobretudo os inimigos da Igreja.
Recomendo sem reservas, mesmo a quem nunca se estreou nas letras da grande Simone de Beauvoir, pois 茅 uma excelente porta de entrada no seu universo: um livro acess铆vel, rico e terno.
[Obrigada, Celeste, por teres apaziguado a minha impaci锚ncia.]
Este livro 茅 uma preciosidade, sobretudo para quem admira Simone de Beauvoir, e desde que soube da sua publica莽茫o que fiquei desejosa de o ler. 鈥淎s Insepar谩veis鈥� s贸 foi publicado agora, quase sete d茅cadas depois de ter sido escrito, e al茅m do prazer que 茅 ler um in茅dito desta autora, 茅 de grande valor hist贸rico o facto de conter excertos das cartas trocadas entre ela e a sua amiga Zaza, a qual serviu de inspira莽茫o a esta novela, bem como v谩rias fotografias das duas jovens e dos locais que as marcaram.
Iniciei a leitura pelo enriquecedor posf谩cio escrito por Sylvie Le Bon de Beauvoir, filha adoptiva da escritora, j谩 que, conhecendo o desfecho desta amizade gra莽as a 鈥淢em贸rias de Uma Menina Bem Comportada鈥�, queria perceber o que era ver铆dico ou ficcionado.
Ao lado de Simone de Beauvoir, de 9 anos de idade, aluna da escola cat贸lica Adeline Desir, senta-se uma morena de cabelo curto, 脡lisabeth Lacoin, conhecida por Zaza, poucos dias mais velha. Espont芒nea, engra莽ada e atrevida, destaca-se do conformismo reinante. (...) Disputam os primeiros lugares da classe, tornam-se insepar谩veis. (...) O sentimento que nutre por Zaza 茅 de paix茫o, venera-a, estremece s贸 de pensar em desagradar-lhe.
Quando Sylvie conhece Andr茅e, admira a sua liberdade, mas essa independ锚ncia tem um lado negro e opressivo.
Muitas vezes invejara a independ锚ncia de Andr茅e; de repente, pareceu-me muito menos livre do que eu. Havia todo um passado atr谩s de si; e 脿 sua volta aquela grande casa, aquela fam铆lia numerosa: uma pris茫o cujas sa铆das estavam cuidadosamente vigiadas.
脡 por esta altura que Sylvie enfrenta as suas primeiras crises de f茅...
Uma noite, estendida num prado h煤mido, diante da Lua, pensei: 鈥淪茫o pecados!鈥� e, todavia, estava firmemente decidida a continuar a comer, ler, falar, sonhar a meu bel-prazer. 鈥淣茫o acredito em Deus!鈥� disse a mim mesma. Como poderia acreditar em Deus e desobedecer-lhe deliberadamente? Por momentos, aquela evid锚ncia deixou-me estupefacta: n茫o acreditava.
...embora a sua amiga seja uma cat贸lica fervorosa, quase m铆stica, o que se torna uma ang煤stia nas suas rela莽玫es amorosas menos plat贸nicas.
A rela莽茫o que mantinha com ele n茫o devia ser f谩cil; de uma coisa eu estava certa: n茫o conseguia convencer-se de que ele era bom; por茅m, queria agradar-lhe e esfor莽ava-se por am谩-lo: tudo teria sido mais simples se, tal como eu, tivesse perdido a f茅 quando a sua f茅 perdeu a sua candura.
Apesar de ser convidada para a casa de f茅rias da fam铆lia Gallard, a matriarca n茫o simpatiza com Sylvie, principalmente porque esta pretende estudar na Sorbonne e trabalhar, enquanto as suas filhas est茫o destinadas a casarem-se com bons partidos escolhidos pela fam铆lia.
- N茫o deve ser nada agrad谩vel viver de manh茫 脿 noite com algu茅m que n茫o se ama 鈥� disse eu ent茫o.
- Deve ser horr铆vel 鈥� concordou 础苍诲谤茅别.
Ela teve um calafrio, como se tivesse visto uma orqu铆dea; os seus bra莽os ficaram com pele de galinha.
- Na catequese ensinam-nos que devemos respeitar o nosso corpo: logo, vender-se no casamento 茅 t茫o mau como vender-se fora dele.
- N茫o somos obrigadas a casar 鈥� disse eu.
Ainda que esta obra esteja somente compreendida entre a Primeira Guerra e 1929 e explore acima de tudo a intensa amizade das duas raparigas, mencionam-se algumas convuls玫es sociais na sociedade francesa ainda extremamente conservadora.
Mantinha com Malou e o senhor Gallard uma discuss茫o, que parecia cr贸nica, sobre o sufr谩gio feminino; sim, era escandaloso que uma m茫e de fam铆lia tivesse menos direitos que um servente b锚bedo: mas o senhor Gallard objetava que, entre os oper谩rios, mas mulheres s茫o mais vermelhas do que os homens; no fim de contas, se a lei fosse aprovada, iria beneficiar sobretudo os inimigos da Igreja.
Recomendo sem reservas, mesmo a quem nunca se estreou nas letras da grande Simone de Beauvoir, pois 茅 uma excelente porta de entrada no seu universo: um livro acess铆vel, rico e terno.
[Obrigada, Celeste, por teres apaziguado a minha impaci锚ncia.]
December 29, 2022
En una familia de tradiciones r铆gidas, el deber de una chica consiste en olvidarse de si misma, en renunciar as铆 misma, en adaptarse. Pero si eres excepcional y no puedes adaptarte al molde prefabricado te aplastaran.
Andree (Zaza) no pudo adaptarse y trituraron toda su singularidad.
Andree (Zaza) no pudo adaptarse y trituraron toda su singularidad.
July 30, 2021
This is a French novel written in 1954 by Simone de Beauvoir, just recently translated and to be released on September 7 鈥�..35 yrs after the author鈥檚 death.
Beautifully written, this tells the story of an intense friendship that starts when Simone and Zaza
(Andree in the book) are 9 and they meet at school.
Follows their friendship until one of them dies at age 20 due to encephalitis (you won鈥檛 believe the reason why this occurred) tragic and unnecessary.
Anyway.. a beautifully written short novel.. topics: female friendship, oppression of women.
The cover made me interested in the book!
Thank you to Netgalley and Ecco for the ARC!
Beautifully written, this tells the story of an intense friendship that starts when Simone and Zaza
(Andree in the book) are 9 and they meet at school.
Follows their friendship until one of them dies at age 20 due to encephalitis (you won鈥檛 believe the reason why this occurred) tragic and unnecessary.
Anyway.. a beautifully written short novel.. topics: female friendship, oppression of women.
The cover made me interested in the book!
Thank you to Netgalley and Ecco for the ARC!
December 18, 2022
At first, I loved this so much. The portrayal of childhood in all its innocence, yet still such complex feeling and the intensity of first times. The writing never loses its beauty, but the themes become less relational to humans, and more towards the god of organized religion. As I grew up without, I could no longer fully connect - but I suspect lots could. It鈥檚 really very short, the already slim book plumped with extras that I enjoyed as much as the story.
Worthwhile, but my first of an author who I suspect peaks with a different work.
Worthwhile, but my first of an author who I suspect peaks with a different work.
April 27, 2021
鈥淚nseparable鈥� .....[a never before published novel]...at 208 pages....was a story about an intense friendship 鈥� between Sylvie and Andree 鈥攁s intoxicating [one sitting read]....as the enmeshed friendship between Lila and Elena in 鈥淭he Neapolitan Novels鈥�, by Elena Ferrante. ( only shorter).
Being as short as it is ....I hesitate to share specific content details....
Most important thing to say:
This book is gorgeous right from the title. The writing is achingly beautiful. It鈥檚 bruised and breathtaking鈥� a powerful story of love and loss....of a passionate friendship.
Autobiographical in nature鈥攚ritten in 1954, 鈥淚nseparable鈥� was inspired by an inseparable friendship鈥攂etween Simone de Beauvoir and her friend Elisabeth 鈥榋ara鈥� Lacoin. Zara died of encephalitis at the age of twenty-one.
The storytelling, written in first person, is seen through the eyes of Sylvie (who was Simone de Beauvoir). It鈥檚 Sylvie who recounts events - their friendship - coming of age experiences - between she and her Andree Gallard ( who in real life was Elisabeth Lacoin, Simone鈥檚 closest friend).
Le Bon-de Beauvoir, Simone鈥檚 literary executor鈥� is planning on releasing more unpublished fiction novels in the coming years.
Before Simone died she told Le Bon 鈥測ou鈥檒l do as you think right鈥�.... in reference to publishing her unread work.
So, 鈥淚nseparable鈥�, is just the first of other unpublished novels to follow.
Sylvie and Andree first meet as young girls - nine years of age. Andree was the 鈥榥ew鈥� girl in class (having been homeschooled for the entire year before due to needing to recover from an accident). Sylvie was often ranked top student in her academics 鈥� Andree was brilliant as well....but she just wasn鈥檛 attached to her results. Andree鈥檚 aloofness and independence enchanted Sylvie.
Their friendship grows. We learn of the different philosophies in which each were raised鈥攎eet the mothers- siblings - other friends - boyfriends - etc.
Sylvie鈥檚 and Andree struggled against conventional ideas of what a woman should be in the early 20th century (obedient, devout, chaste, arrange marriages within the same circles, idealogical, religious, social, and financial status).
We are taken on a journey of conflicts......the conflicts of conformity....
tragedy, deadly rules, love separations, spiritual brokenness, and repression. Andree could see right through the hypocrisy, the lies of life, the egotism of moralism....(of the elite social circle).....
Andree suffered quietly鈥�(a girl that was never left alone in her big family with many siblings), but from internal isolation, from existential solitude, and from being her own torturer...tearing herself apart.
This is a story that gets consumed in one or two luminous, raw, emotional, and intellectually stimulating binges.
Introduction by Margaret Atwood.
A couple of excerpts:
鈥淚f I have tears in my eyes tonight, is it because you have died, or rather because I鈥檓 the one who is still alive?
I should dedicate the story to you: but I know that you are nowhere now, and that I am speaking to you here through literary artfulness. Besides, this is not truly your story but simply a story inspired by us. You were not Andree and I am not the Sylvie who speaks my name鈥�.
鈥淚 had often envied Andree鈥檚 independence; suddenly, she seemed a lot less free than I was. Behind her, she had this past; around
her, this large house, this enormous family: a prison, whose exits were carefully guarded鈥�.
Thank you Ecco publishing, Netgalley, to the beloved Simone de Beauvoir ( 1908 to 1986) ....French writer, intellectual, existentialist, philosopher, political activist, feminist, social theorist.
Beauvoir wrote novels, essays, biographies, autobiographies, and monographs.
*I own a few Beauvoir books that I鈥檝e been meaning to read for years 鈥�
looking all-the-MORE-forward to reading them now.
Love this type of intimate writing.
Being as short as it is ....I hesitate to share specific content details....
Most important thing to say:
This book is gorgeous right from the title. The writing is achingly beautiful. It鈥檚 bruised and breathtaking鈥� a powerful story of love and loss....of a passionate friendship.
Autobiographical in nature鈥攚ritten in 1954, 鈥淚nseparable鈥� was inspired by an inseparable friendship鈥攂etween Simone de Beauvoir and her friend Elisabeth 鈥榋ara鈥� Lacoin. Zara died of encephalitis at the age of twenty-one.
The storytelling, written in first person, is seen through the eyes of Sylvie (who was Simone de Beauvoir). It鈥檚 Sylvie who recounts events - their friendship - coming of age experiences - between she and her Andree Gallard ( who in real life was Elisabeth Lacoin, Simone鈥檚 closest friend).
Le Bon-de Beauvoir, Simone鈥檚 literary executor鈥� is planning on releasing more unpublished fiction novels in the coming years.
Before Simone died she told Le Bon 鈥測ou鈥檒l do as you think right鈥�.... in reference to publishing her unread work.
So, 鈥淚nseparable鈥�, is just the first of other unpublished novels to follow.
Sylvie and Andree first meet as young girls - nine years of age. Andree was the 鈥榥ew鈥� girl in class (having been homeschooled for the entire year before due to needing to recover from an accident). Sylvie was often ranked top student in her academics 鈥� Andree was brilliant as well....but she just wasn鈥檛 attached to her results. Andree鈥檚 aloofness and independence enchanted Sylvie.
Their friendship grows. We learn of the different philosophies in which each were raised鈥攎eet the mothers- siblings - other friends - boyfriends - etc.
Sylvie鈥檚 and Andree struggled against conventional ideas of what a woman should be in the early 20th century (obedient, devout, chaste, arrange marriages within the same circles, idealogical, religious, social, and financial status).
We are taken on a journey of conflicts......the conflicts of conformity....
tragedy, deadly rules, love separations, spiritual brokenness, and repression. Andree could see right through the hypocrisy, the lies of life, the egotism of moralism....(of the elite social circle).....
Andree suffered quietly鈥�(a girl that was never left alone in her big family with many siblings), but from internal isolation, from existential solitude, and from being her own torturer...tearing herself apart.
This is a story that gets consumed in one or two luminous, raw, emotional, and intellectually stimulating binges.
Introduction by Margaret Atwood.
A couple of excerpts:
鈥淚f I have tears in my eyes tonight, is it because you have died, or rather because I鈥檓 the one who is still alive?
I should dedicate the story to you: but I know that you are nowhere now, and that I am speaking to you here through literary artfulness. Besides, this is not truly your story but simply a story inspired by us. You were not Andree and I am not the Sylvie who speaks my name鈥�.
鈥淚 had often envied Andree鈥檚 independence; suddenly, she seemed a lot less free than I was. Behind her, she had this past; around
her, this large house, this enormous family: a prison, whose exits were carefully guarded鈥�.
Thank you Ecco publishing, Netgalley, to the beloved Simone de Beauvoir ( 1908 to 1986) ....French writer, intellectual, existentialist, philosopher, political activist, feminist, social theorist.
Beauvoir wrote novels, essays, biographies, autobiographies, and monographs.
*I own a few Beauvoir books that I鈥檝e been meaning to read for years 鈥�
looking all-the-MORE-forward to reading them now.
Love this type of intimate writing.
September 20, 2024
A touching novella taken from Simone de Beauvoir鈥檚 own memories and love for her dear friend Zaza Lacoin. Intimate and tinged with regret and longing, it is easy to see how Simone de Beauvoir was influenced and inspired by Zaza; two girls born ahead of their time trading philosophies, desires, and building things left unsaid. This is a haunting reminder of the impact the ones closest to us leave, especially when we are separated from them, and it is a tribute to the intensity with which friendship alters our lives and our view of the world.
June 1, 2023
賱賲 兀爻鬲胤毓 兀賳 兀賲賳毓 賳賮爻賷 賲賳 廿賳賴丕亍 賴匕賴 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 禺賱丕賱 賷賵賲 賵丕丨丿 賮賯胤貙 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 鬲卮丿賰 鬲丨亘爻賰 賮賷 丕賷賯丕毓賴丕 丕賱爻賱爻貙 鬲噩匕亘賰 亘賲賵囟賵毓賴丕 賵氐賷丕睾鬲賴丕 賵亘爻丕胤丞 賲賮乇丿丕鬲賴丕 賵毓噩賷賳丞 鬲賰賵賷賳賴丕 丕賱賱賷賳丞 丕賱鬲賷 鬲鬲丨賵賱 卮賷卅丕賸 賮卮賷卅丕賸 廿賱賶 賲夭丕噩 乇鬲賷亘貙 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 噩丿丕賸 賵賱賰賳賴丕 賱胤賷賮丞 丕賱乇鬲丕亘丞 爻賴賱丞 丕賱賲乇賵乇 禺賱丕賱賴丕貙 賴賰匕丕 毓乇賮鬲 亘賵賮賵丕乇 賵賴賰匕丕 賯乇兀鬲 賱賴丕 賵毓丕賷賳鬲 賰鬲丕亘丕鬲賴丕 丕賱鬲賷 鬲睾賲乇 丕賱賵丕丨丿 亘丕賱賯賱賯 賵賴賵 賷賯乇兀貙 亘賲丨丕賵賱丞 鬲賵賯毓 兀卮賷丕亍貙 鬲氐丿賲賰 賵鬲睾乇賷賰 賵鬲丿賴卮賰 亘鬲賮丕氐賷賱 丕賱賰鬲丕亘丞 丕賱鬲賷 鬲丨賲賱賴丕貙 廿賳賴丕 賱丕 鬲鬲禺賷賱 亘賯丿乇 賲丕 鬲毓賷丿 氐賷丕睾丞 噩夭亍 賲賳 賵丕賯毓賴丕 賮賷 氐賮丨丕鬲 賲賱賲賵爻丞 賵丨賷丞 賵賲乇賳丞貙 賷丿賴卮賰 賴匕賴 丕賱賯丿乇丞 毓賱賶 丕賱鬲賵賮賷賯 亘賷賳 爻乇丿 爻賷乇丞 匕丕鬲賷丞 賵賰鬲丕亘丞 乇賵丕賷丞 貙 丕賱賵丕丨丿 賷氐睾賷 亘賯賱亘賴 廿賱賶 賴匕賴 丕賱丨賰丕賷丞貙 賵賷馗賱 賷鬲禺賷賱 鬲賱賰 丕賱丨賰丕賷丞 丕賱賲賮氐賱賷丞 丕賱鬲賷 睾賷乇鬲 丨賷丕丞 爻賷賲賵賳貙 賳毓賲 賱賯丿 睾賷乇鬲賴丕 亘丕賱賰丕賲賱 賵兀賷 卮賷亍 兀賰孬乇 賯丿乇丞 毓賱賶 鬲睾賷賷乇賳丕 賲賳 賯氐氐 丕賱胤賮賵賱丞 賵賲賳 鬲賱賰 丕賱氐丿丕賯丕鬲 丕賱鬲賷 賮毓賱賳丕賴丕 賮賷 氐睾乇賳丕 ..
鬲賱賮鬲賳賷 賯氐氐 丕賱氐丿丕賯丞貙 賵禺丕氐丞 鬲賱賰 丕賱鬲賷 鬲鬲賵賱丿 賮賷 亘夭賵睾 丨賷丕丞 丕賱廿賳爻丕賳貙 賵賴匕賴 丕賱賯氐丞 鬲毓鬲亘乇 賲賳 兀噩賲賱 賲丕 賯乇兀鬲 賵兀氐丿賯賴丕 賳丨賵 丕賱賯賱亘貙 廿賳賴丕 亘賲孬丕亘丞 丨賰丕賷丞 廿賳爻丕賳賷丞 賲賳 丕賱噩匕賵乇 賵丕賱兀毓賲丕賯貙 鬲鬲卮賰賱 賮賷 丿丕禺賱 鬲賱賰 丕賱氐丿丕賯丞 丕賱賰孬賷乇 賲賳 丕賱丌賲丕賱 賵丕賱丨賱賲 賵丕賱囟毓賮 賵丕賱丨亘 賵乇亘賲丕 丕賱爻匕丕噩丞 賵賳亘乇丞 丕賱兀亘丿賷丞 丕賱鬲賷 鬲鬲禺賮賶 賮賷 丕賱兀毓賲丕賯貙 賱睾夭 丕賱氐丿丕賯丞 兀賳賴丕 睾賷乇 丿丕卅賲丞 賵賷毓乇賮 丕賱廿賳爻丕賳 賮賷 丿丕禺賱賴 兀賳 賱丕 卮賷亍 賷鬲賲貙 賱丕 卮賷亍 賷賰鬲賲賱 賵賱匕賱賰 賳鬲卮亘孬 兀丨賷丕賳丕賸 賵賳丿乇賰 兀丨賷丕賳丕賸 兀賳 亘毓囟 丕賱氐丿丕賯丕鬲 賱丕 賷賲賰賳 兀賳 鬲毓賵囟貙 賵賴匕賴 丕賱丨賰丕賷丞 賯丿 鬲賰賵賳 賲賳 囟賲賳 鬲賱賰 丕賱氐丿丕賯丕鬲 丕賱毓噩賷亘丞 丕賱鬲賷 賱丕 賷賲賰賳 兀賳 鬲購賳爻賶貙 賱兀賳賴丕 賲賱丕夭賲丞 賱賮毓賱 丕賱胤賮賵賱丞貙 丕賱亘乇丕亍丞貙 賵丕賱廿丨爻丕爻 丕賱賯丿賷賲 賱賰賱 賲丕 賴賵 兀氐賷賱貙 丨賷孬 賷馗賴乇 賱毓賯賱 丕賱廿賳爻丕賳 兀賳 賰賱 卮賷亍 賮賷 匕賱賰 丕賱夭賲賳 丨賷賹 兀賰孬乇 賲賳 丕賱賱丕夭賲 賵氐丕丿賯 賵丨賯賷賯賷 賵亘乇賷亍 廿賱賶 丕賱丨丿 丕賱匕賷 鬲禺賱賵 賮賷賴 賲賳 賰賱 丕賱賲賯丕氐丿 丕賱鬲丕賱賷丞貙 賴匕賴 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 鬲丨賰賷 毓賳 氐亘賷鬲賷賳 鬲噩賲毓賴賲丕 賲氐丕卅乇 賵賯氐氐貙 賯丿 鬲亘丿賵 兀睾賱亘賴丕 亘爻賷胤丞貙 賵賱賰賳賴丕 氐丿丕賯丞 賲賳 賳賵毓 賵噩賵丿賷貙 氐丿丕賯丞 丨賷賳 鬲賳馗乇 廿賱賷賴丕 鬲亘丿賵 賱賰 兀賳賴丕 賰賱 卮賷亍貙 賵賰賱 賲丕 兀乇丿鬲 兀賳 鬲賯賵賱賴 賵賰賱 賲賳 兀丨亘亘鬲 兀賳 鬲賱鬲賯賷賴賲 賮賷 匕賱賰 丕賱廿賳爻丕賳 丕賱亘毓賷丿 噩丿丕賸貙 賮賷 夭賲賳 胤賮賵賱鬲賰貙 賮賷 夭賲賳 丨亘賾賰 丕賱兀賵賱 貙 賮賷 鬲乇丕孬賰 丕賱賯丿賷賲 丕賱賲丿賴卮 丕賱匕賷 噩毓賱鬲賴 亘丕毓鬲賯丕丿賰 兀噩賲賱 兀賷丕賲賰 賯丕胤亘丞 ..
丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賱賷爻鬲 匕丕鬲 賳亘乇丞 毓丕胤賮賷丞 鬲卮毓乇 兀賳 賰丕鬲亘鬲賴丕 賱賷爻鬲 廿賲乇兀丞貙 賵賱賰賳賰 爻鬲鬲毓丕胤賮 亘丕賱乇睾賲 毓賳賰貙 爻鬲卮毓乇 亘賯賵丞 丕賱賲卮丕毓乇 賵氐丿賯賴丕貙 爻鬲鬲兀孬乇 亘賲丕 賷賲賰賳 兀賳 鬲丨賲賱賴 丕賱兀賷丕賲 賲賳 賲丌爻賷 賵丕賳賯賱丕亘丕鬲 卮丕爻毓丞 賮賷 丨賷丕丞 丕賱賮乇丿貙 匕賱賰 丕賱囟賷丕毓 丕賱賵噩賵丿賷貙 丕賱鬲賮賰賷乇貙 丕賱賲氐賷乇貙 丕賱賵噩賴丞 貙 丕賱賲爻鬲賯亘賱貙 爻鬲卮毓乇 兀賳賰 亘丕賱賮毓賱 兀賲丕賲 乇賵丕賷丞 賲賱賷卅丞 亘丕賱丨夭賳貙 賵亘丿乇噩丞 毓丕賱賷丞 賲賳 丕賱鬲毓丕胤賮 賵丕賱兀賳睾賲丕爻 賮賷 毓丕賱賲 爻賷賲賵賳 丿賷 亘賵賮賵丕乇 丕賱兀賵賱 賵丕賱兀賰孬乇 鬲兀孬賷乇丕賸 賮賷 丨賷丕鬲賴丕 賵賰鬲丕亘丕鬲賴丕 丕賱賱丕丨賯丞 ..
鬲賱賮鬲賳賷 賯氐氐 丕賱氐丿丕賯丞貙 賵禺丕氐丞 鬲賱賰 丕賱鬲賷 鬲鬲賵賱丿 賮賷 亘夭賵睾 丨賷丕丞 丕賱廿賳爻丕賳貙 賵賴匕賴 丕賱賯氐丞 鬲毓鬲亘乇 賲賳 兀噩賲賱 賲丕 賯乇兀鬲 賵兀氐丿賯賴丕 賳丨賵 丕賱賯賱亘貙 廿賳賴丕 亘賲孬丕亘丞 丨賰丕賷丞 廿賳爻丕賳賷丞 賲賳 丕賱噩匕賵乇 賵丕賱兀毓賲丕賯貙 鬲鬲卮賰賱 賮賷 丿丕禺賱 鬲賱賰 丕賱氐丿丕賯丞 丕賱賰孬賷乇 賲賳 丕賱丌賲丕賱 賵丕賱丨賱賲 賵丕賱囟毓賮 賵丕賱丨亘 賵乇亘賲丕 丕賱爻匕丕噩丞 賵賳亘乇丞 丕賱兀亘丿賷丞 丕賱鬲賷 鬲鬲禺賮賶 賮賷 丕賱兀毓賲丕賯貙 賱睾夭 丕賱氐丿丕賯丞 兀賳賴丕 睾賷乇 丿丕卅賲丞 賵賷毓乇賮 丕賱廿賳爻丕賳 賮賷 丿丕禺賱賴 兀賳 賱丕 卮賷亍 賷鬲賲貙 賱丕 卮賷亍 賷賰鬲賲賱 賵賱匕賱賰 賳鬲卮亘孬 兀丨賷丕賳丕賸 賵賳丿乇賰 兀丨賷丕賳丕賸 兀賳 亘毓囟 丕賱氐丿丕賯丕鬲 賱丕 賷賲賰賳 兀賳 鬲毓賵囟貙 賵賴匕賴 丕賱丨賰丕賷丞 賯丿 鬲賰賵賳 賲賳 囟賲賳 鬲賱賰 丕賱氐丿丕賯丕鬲 丕賱毓噩賷亘丞 丕賱鬲賷 賱丕 賷賲賰賳 兀賳 鬲購賳爻賶貙 賱兀賳賴丕 賲賱丕夭賲丞 賱賮毓賱 丕賱胤賮賵賱丞貙 丕賱亘乇丕亍丞貙 賵丕賱廿丨爻丕爻 丕賱賯丿賷賲 賱賰賱 賲丕 賴賵 兀氐賷賱貙 丨賷孬 賷馗賴乇 賱毓賯賱 丕賱廿賳爻丕賳 兀賳 賰賱 卮賷亍 賮賷 匕賱賰 丕賱夭賲賳 丨賷賹 兀賰孬乇 賲賳 丕賱賱丕夭賲 賵氐丕丿賯 賵丨賯賷賯賷 賵亘乇賷亍 廿賱賶 丕賱丨丿 丕賱匕賷 鬲禺賱賵 賮賷賴 賲賳 賰賱 丕賱賲賯丕氐丿 丕賱鬲丕賱賷丞貙 賴匕賴 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 鬲丨賰賷 毓賳 氐亘賷鬲賷賳 鬲噩賲毓賴賲丕 賲氐丕卅乇 賵賯氐氐貙 賯丿 鬲亘丿賵 兀睾賱亘賴丕 亘爻賷胤丞貙 賵賱賰賳賴丕 氐丿丕賯丞 賲賳 賳賵毓 賵噩賵丿賷貙 氐丿丕賯丞 丨賷賳 鬲賳馗乇 廿賱賷賴丕 鬲亘丿賵 賱賰 兀賳賴丕 賰賱 卮賷亍貙 賵賰賱 賲丕 兀乇丿鬲 兀賳 鬲賯賵賱賴 賵賰賱 賲賳 兀丨亘亘鬲 兀賳 鬲賱鬲賯賷賴賲 賮賷 匕賱賰 丕賱廿賳爻丕賳 丕賱亘毓賷丿 噩丿丕賸貙 賮賷 夭賲賳 胤賮賵賱鬲賰貙 賮賷 夭賲賳 丨亘賾賰 丕賱兀賵賱 貙 賮賷 鬲乇丕孬賰 丕賱賯丿賷賲 丕賱賲丿賴卮 丕賱匕賷 噩毓賱鬲賴 亘丕毓鬲賯丕丿賰 兀噩賲賱 兀賷丕賲賰 賯丕胤亘丞 ..
丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賱賷爻鬲 匕丕鬲 賳亘乇丞 毓丕胤賮賷丞 鬲卮毓乇 兀賳 賰丕鬲亘鬲賴丕 賱賷爻鬲 廿賲乇兀丞貙 賵賱賰賳賰 爻鬲鬲毓丕胤賮 亘丕賱乇睾賲 毓賳賰貙 爻鬲卮毓乇 亘賯賵丞 丕賱賲卮丕毓乇 賵氐丿賯賴丕貙 爻鬲鬲兀孬乇 亘賲丕 賷賲賰賳 兀賳 鬲丨賲賱賴 丕賱兀賷丕賲 賲賳 賲丌爻賷 賵丕賳賯賱丕亘丕鬲 卮丕爻毓丞 賮賷 丨賷丕丞 丕賱賮乇丿貙 匕賱賰 丕賱囟賷丕毓 丕賱賵噩賵丿賷貙 丕賱鬲賮賰賷乇貙 丕賱賲氐賷乇貙 丕賱賵噩賴丞 貙 丕賱賲爻鬲賯亘賱貙 爻鬲卮毓乇 兀賳賰 亘丕賱賮毓賱 兀賲丕賲 乇賵丕賷丞 賲賱賷卅丞 亘丕賱丨夭賳貙 賵亘丿乇噩丞 毓丕賱賷丞 賲賳 丕賱鬲毓丕胤賮 賵丕賱兀賳睾賲丕爻 賮賷 毓丕賱賲 爻賷賲賵賳 丿賷 亘賵賮賵丕乇 丕賱兀賵賱 賵丕賱兀賰孬乇 鬲兀孬賷乇丕賸 賮賷 丨賷丕鬲賴丕 賵賰鬲丕亘丕鬲賴丕 丕賱賱丕丨賯丞 ..
September 15, 2021
"By the time she finished and ultimately wrote off Inseparable, de Beauvoir had already published her two best-known novels as well as The Second Sex. In other words, Inseparable is not juvenilia, and de Beauvoir was not a young or unseasoned writer when she decided to nix it."
Thus spake MADDIE Crum, a certified woman, of Inseparable, in . My personal favorite bit:
That is spot-on and well said.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.
My Review: First, read this:
Here is a world limned in a few lines...we're given the vast scope of the world surrounding the small, claustrophobically so it will turn out, world of our story, and it is utterly impossible to look away from it.
Simone de Beauvoir was a master of the craft of storytelling.
Author de Beauvoir did not write solely for women, of course, though she deliberately treated subjects of importance to women. But, by her choice of this wildly romantic subject matter, it does not hurt to be deeply identified with women to obtain the fullest impact of the story. I acknowledge that it's simplistic to say that, to be fully satisfied with a deep dive into an adolescent passion, one would most likely need to be a woman. I am not alone in holding this reductive opinion, though, if one simply goes by the marketing materials of similarly-themed work. I am aware that this generalization will cause irritation and displeasure among significant parts of a book by Simone de Beauvoir's audience. But the subject matter limits the appeal, even if that's not the case with her writing. No criticism of her writing is really possible for me, as I have read translations of her work only; the most I can say is that, based on the pervasive beauty of the phrase-making in the work of de Beauvoir's I've read, the likelihood of her own creation being other than beautiful is very low.
That said, at some risk to my Comments section's peacefulness, I don't think the book should be down-rated for that quite piffling (if explanatory of the comparative dearth of male reviewers looking at it) quibble. If you would like to read more, visit my blog:
Thus spake MADDIE Crum, a certified woman, of Inseparable, in . My personal favorite bit:
The book, in other words, is heavy-handed, schematic, and thin. It鈥檚 about the length and scope of de Beauvoir鈥檚 novellas but has been packaged as a complete novel, padded with a laudatory introduction, a defensive afterword asserting the project鈥檚 significance, and selected letters between de Beauvoir and Zaza. Still, it has obvious merits: most of all the prose and the psychological insights, which are wry and movingly direct in turn. 鈥淚 admired her nonchalance without being able to imitate it,鈥� Sylvie thinks of Andr茅e at one point, articulating the unscalable rift between desire and its fulfillment.
That is spot-on and well said.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.
My Review: First, read this:
Madame Gallard had indulgently told Mama the story of Andr茅e鈥檚 martyrdom: the cracked skin, enormous blisters, paraffin-coated dressings, Andr茅e鈥檚 delirium, her courage, how one of her little friends had kicked her while they were playing a game and had reopened her wounds. She鈥檇 made such an effort not to scream that she鈥檇 fainted. When she came to my house to see my notebooks, I looked at her with respect; she took notes in beautiful handwriting, and I thought about her swollen thigh under her pleated skirt. Never had anything as interesting happened to me. I suddenly had the impression that nothing had ever happened to me at all.
All the children I knew bored me, but Andr茅e made me laugh when we walked together on the playground between classes. She was marvelous at imitating the brusque gestures of Mademoiselle Dubois, the unctuous voice of Mademoiselle Vendroux, the principal. She knew loads of secrets about the place from her older sister: these young women were affiliated with the Jesuits; they wore their hair parted on the side when they were still novices, in the middle once they鈥檇 taken their vows.
Here is a world limned in a few lines...we're given the vast scope of the world surrounding the small, claustrophobically so it will turn out, world of our story, and it is utterly impossible to look away from it.
Simone de Beauvoir was a master of the craft of storytelling.
Author de Beauvoir did not write solely for women, of course, though she deliberately treated subjects of importance to women. But, by her choice of this wildly romantic subject matter, it does not hurt to be deeply identified with women to obtain the fullest impact of the story. I acknowledge that it's simplistic to say that, to be fully satisfied with a deep dive into an adolescent passion, one would most likely need to be a woman. I am not alone in holding this reductive opinion, though, if one simply goes by the marketing materials of similarly-themed work. I am aware that this generalization will cause irritation and displeasure among significant parts of a book by Simone de Beauvoir's audience. But the subject matter limits the appeal, even if that's not the case with her writing. No criticism of her writing is really possible for me, as I have read translations of her work only; the most I can say is that, based on the pervasive beauty of the phrase-making in the work of de Beauvoir's I've read, the likelihood of her own creation being other than beautiful is very low.
That said, at some risk to my Comments section's peacefulness, I don't think the book should be down-rated for that quite piffling (if explanatory of the comparative dearth of male reviewers looking at it) quibble. If you would like to read more, visit my blog:
December 27, 2021
Les Ins茅parables recounts the experiences that founded the revolt and the work of the great French philosopher: her emancipation and the antagonism between intellectuals and conservatives. It also portrays and denounces a hypocritical and fanatical society.
August 15, 2021
'Must I spend my life fighting against the people I love?'
An unpublished novel by Simone de Beauvoir, this may lack the sophistication of her published fiction, especially , but it's still a searing indictment of how a young woman can be crushed by the bourgeois, gendered and religious expectations piled upon her in the interwar years.
Drawing on the her own youthful friendship with the girl known as Zaza in , de Beauvoir has written a short novella in pared back, deceptively simple prose. In places it reminds me of Andr茅 Gide's / for the religious element that plays out here, but it is as much about catholic culture as Catholic.
This edition translated by Lauren Elkin comes with an introduction by Deborah Levy and a useful afterword by de Beauvoir's daughter, Sylvie Le Bon de Beauvoir, who also appends copies of letters between Zaza and de Beauvoir. Unmissable, I'd say.
Many thanks to Vintage for an ARC via NetGalley
An unpublished novel by Simone de Beauvoir, this may lack the sophistication of her published fiction, especially , but it's still a searing indictment of how a young woman can be crushed by the bourgeois, gendered and religious expectations piled upon her in the interwar years.
Drawing on the her own youthful friendship with the girl known as Zaza in , de Beauvoir has written a short novella in pared back, deceptively simple prose. In places it reminds me of Andr茅 Gide's / for the religious element that plays out here, but it is as much about catholic culture as Catholic.
This edition translated by Lauren Elkin comes with an introduction by Deborah Levy and a useful afterword by de Beauvoir's daughter, Sylvie Le Bon de Beauvoir, who also appends copies of letters between Zaza and de Beauvoir. Unmissable, I'd say.
Many thanks to Vintage for an ARC via NetGalley
May 27, 2022
鉂赌 鉂赌 鉂赌 鉂赌 鉂赌 鉂赌
Superbly written The Inseparables is a novella that pairs an enthralling depiction of female friendship with a razor-sharp commentary on gender and religion. This is the kind of work of fiction that reads like real life, unsurprising perhaps given that Beauvoir created Sylvie and Andr茅e after herself and her real-life friend Zaza Lacoin.
Written in a controlled and polished style The Inseparables presents us with a beguiling tale in which Sylvie, our narrator, recounts the enigmatic nature of her bond with 础苍诲谤茅别. The two first meet as young girls while enrolled at a private Catholic school and, in spite of the divergence between their religious beliefs, they become, as the title itself suggests, inseparable. Due to the conventions of their time and society鈥攖he French bourgeois of the early 20th cent.鈥攖hey cannot be too close and so have to refrain from being too intimate with one another, for example by addressing each other with the formal you.Still, they keep up a correspondence and talk at length to each other, earning themselves the disapproval of Andr茅e鈥檚 mother who frowns upon their, God forbid, long and possibly intimate conversations.
Sylvie is fascinated by Andr茅e, in particular, she seems hyperaware, intrigued even, by her self-divide. On the one hand Andr茅e, a devout Catholic, expresses conservative ideas and opinions, which make her appear particularly naive. On the other Andr茅e possesses a clever mind and a propensity for expressing surprisingly subversive thoughts. Andr茅e is a magnetic individual who oscillates between irreverence and conformity. Sylvie, who did not grow up to be a staunchly religious individual (apropos, in a diary entry beauvoir wrote: "i have no other god but myself"), cannot always reconcile herself to Andr茅e鈥檚 way of thinking and struggles to understand the loyalty that Andr茅e has for her family, which Sylvie herself views as suffocating.
As the two grow up we see how Andr茅e continues to struggle with understanding her own emotions, trying and failing to contain her fiercer self. We also see how her mother鈥檚 constant reprimand have affected her self-worth and distorted her view of herself. When she falls for Pascal, a puritanical young man who seriously considered being a priest, Andr茅e鈥檚 resolve to lead the kind of life that her family, as well as her society, is tested. She desperately wants to escape her present circumstances but this desperation ultimately results in self-sabotage. We witness her unravelling through Sylvie鈥檚 eyes, who, as much as she yearns to be of help, cannot ultimately save her.
Beauviour鈥檚 piercing commentary on gender, class, and religion was profoundly insightful. She addresses these things with clarity and exactness, illustrating how fatal oppression and repression are on a person鈥檚 psyche. What I found particularly touching, and relatable, in this novel was the unrequited nature of Sylve鈥檚 love for 础苍诲谤茅别. Regardless of whether the love she feels for Andr茅e is a platonic one or a romantic one, we know that Andr茅e doesn鈥檛 feel the same passion for Sylve. Whether she鈥檚 unwilling or unable to reciprocate the iSylve鈥檚 feelings, we do not know for certain, however, we can see how deeply this realization cuts Sylvie. Sylvie is shown to be both jealous and resentful of Andr茅e鈥檚 family, holding them responsible for her friend鈥檚 unhappiness.
This novella鈥檚 subject did bring to mind Fleur Jaeggy鈥檚 Sweet Days of Discipline, which also explores an intense female friendship, Dorothy Strachey鈥檚 Olivia
(which is far more flowery and sentimental than this but also capture a youth鈥檚 unrequited love and longing for another) as well as novel such as Abigail and Frost In May (which are both set in all-girl schools and touch on female friendships and religion).
While Sylvie is both attuned and attentive to Andr茅e, her moods and beliefs, she does, like we all tend to do, idealise her given that she is her object of desire (whether this is desire is platonic or sexual, it's up to the reader to decide, i, to no one's surprise, felt that it was the latter).
This was a riveting read. The prose is sublime, the story an equal parts evocative and tragic exploration of young & unrequited love, heartache, independence, kinship and intimacy.
I will say that as much as I loved this I couldn鈥檛 help but the publisher鈥檚 short bio of Beauvoir, as well as Levy鈥檚 and the translator鈥檚 mentions of her, felt very incomplete. As far as I can recall they all omit to mention Beauvoir鈥檚 more 鈥榰nethical鈥� behaviour. As a teacher, she had 鈥榬elationships鈥� with her underage pupils and went on to sign a petition seeking to abrogate the age of consent in France (because of course age is just a number!). Here you might argue that those things have nothing to do with this novella or her friendship with Zaza (discussed by both Levy and the translator). But I maintain that they do. You can鈥檛 just mention the fact that she鈥檚 a feminist and try to analyse her real-life friendship with another woman or her commentary on female sexuality while at the same time omitting that in her lifetime she ('allegedly') groomed her underage female students and seemed in favour of pedophilia. That she did those things did not detract from my reading experience however it certainly made me a little bit more critical of our narrator's obsession towards her friend.
Some of my favourite quotes:
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
鈥淪he had appeared so glorious to me that I had assumed she had everything she wanted. I wanted to cry for her, and for myself.鈥�
Superbly written The Inseparables is a novella that pairs an enthralling depiction of female friendship with a razor-sharp commentary on gender and religion. This is the kind of work of fiction that reads like real life, unsurprising perhaps given that Beauvoir created Sylvie and Andr茅e after herself and her real-life friend Zaza Lacoin.
Written in a controlled and polished style The Inseparables presents us with a beguiling tale in which Sylvie, our narrator, recounts the enigmatic nature of her bond with 础苍诲谤茅别. The two first meet as young girls while enrolled at a private Catholic school and, in spite of the divergence between their religious beliefs, they become, as the title itself suggests, inseparable. Due to the conventions of their time and society鈥攖he French bourgeois of the early 20th cent.鈥攖hey cannot be too close and so have to refrain from being too intimate with one another, for example by addressing each other with the formal you.Still, they keep up a correspondence and talk at length to each other, earning themselves the disapproval of Andr茅e鈥檚 mother who frowns upon their, God forbid, long and possibly intimate conversations.
Sylvie is fascinated by Andr茅e, in particular, she seems hyperaware, intrigued even, by her self-divide. On the one hand Andr茅e, a devout Catholic, expresses conservative ideas and opinions, which make her appear particularly naive. On the other Andr茅e possesses a clever mind and a propensity for expressing surprisingly subversive thoughts. Andr茅e is a magnetic individual who oscillates between irreverence and conformity. Sylvie, who did not grow up to be a staunchly religious individual (apropos, in a diary entry beauvoir wrote: "i have no other god but myself"), cannot always reconcile herself to Andr茅e鈥檚 way of thinking and struggles to understand the loyalty that Andr茅e has for her family, which Sylvie herself views as suffocating.
As the two grow up we see how Andr茅e continues to struggle with understanding her own emotions, trying and failing to contain her fiercer self. We also see how her mother鈥檚 constant reprimand have affected her self-worth and distorted her view of herself. When she falls for Pascal, a puritanical young man who seriously considered being a priest, Andr茅e鈥檚 resolve to lead the kind of life that her family, as well as her society, is tested. She desperately wants to escape her present circumstances but this desperation ultimately results in self-sabotage. We witness her unravelling through Sylvie鈥檚 eyes, who, as much as she yearns to be of help, cannot ultimately save her.
Beauviour鈥檚 piercing commentary on gender, class, and religion was profoundly insightful. She addresses these things with clarity and exactness, illustrating how fatal oppression and repression are on a person鈥檚 psyche. What I found particularly touching, and relatable, in this novel was the unrequited nature of Sylve鈥檚 love for 础苍诲谤茅别. Regardless of whether the love she feels for Andr茅e is a platonic one or a romantic one, we know that Andr茅e doesn鈥檛 feel the same passion for Sylve. Whether she鈥檚 unwilling or unable to reciprocate the iSylve鈥檚 feelings, we do not know for certain, however, we can see how deeply this realization cuts Sylvie. Sylvie is shown to be both jealous and resentful of Andr茅e鈥檚 family, holding them responsible for her friend鈥檚 unhappiness.
This novella鈥檚 subject did bring to mind Fleur Jaeggy鈥檚 Sweet Days of Discipline, which also explores an intense female friendship, Dorothy Strachey鈥檚 Olivia
(which is far more flowery and sentimental than this but also capture a youth鈥檚 unrequited love and longing for another) as well as novel such as Abigail and Frost In May (which are both set in all-girl schools and touch on female friendships and religion).
While Sylvie is both attuned and attentive to Andr茅e, her moods and beliefs, she does, like we all tend to do, idealise her given that she is her object of desire (whether this is desire is platonic or sexual, it's up to the reader to decide, i, to no one's surprise, felt that it was the latter).
This was a riveting read. The prose is sublime, the story an equal parts evocative and tragic exploration of young & unrequited love, heartache, independence, kinship and intimacy.
I will say that as much as I loved this I couldn鈥檛 help but the publisher鈥檚 short bio of Beauvoir, as well as Levy鈥檚 and the translator鈥檚 mentions of her, felt very incomplete. As far as I can recall they all omit to mention Beauvoir鈥檚 more 鈥榰nethical鈥� behaviour. As a teacher, she had 鈥榬elationships鈥� with her underage pupils and went on to sign a petition seeking to abrogate the age of consent in France (because of course age is just a number!). Here you might argue that those things have nothing to do with this novella or her friendship with Zaza (discussed by both Levy and the translator). But I maintain that they do. You can鈥檛 just mention the fact that she鈥檚 a feminist and try to analyse her real-life friendship with another woman or her commentary on female sexuality while at the same time omitting that in her lifetime she ('allegedly') groomed her underage female students and seemed in favour of pedophilia. That she did those things did not detract from my reading experience however it certainly made me a little bit more critical of our narrator's obsession towards her friend.
Some of my favourite quotes:
鈥淪ecretly I thought to myself that Andr茅e was one of those prodigies about whom, later on, books would be written.鈥�
鈥淣o, our friendship was not as important to Andr茅e as it was to me, but I admired her too much to suffer from it.鈥�
鈥淲hat would I have daydreamed about? I loved Andr茅e above all else, and she was right next to me.鈥�
鈥淚 thought to myself, distressed, that in books there are people who make declarations of love, or hate, who dare to say whatever comes into their mind, or heart鈥攚hy is it so impossible to do the same thing in real life?鈥�
鈥淭he errors I admitted were those of the soul above all: I had lacked fervour, too long forsaken the divine presence, prayed inattentively, regarded myself too complacently.鈥�
鈥淎ndr茅e was unhappy and the idea of it was unbearable. But her unhappiness was so foreign to me; the kind of love where your kiss had no truth from me.鈥�
鈥淣ever. The word had never fallen with such weight upon my heart. I repeated it within myself, under the never-ending sky, and I wanted to cry. 鈥�
鈥淣o doubt she loved Andr茅e in her way, but what way was that? That was the question. We all loved her, only differently. 鈥�
鈥淗appiness suits her so well, I thought.鈥�
鈥溾€淒on鈥檛 be sad,鈥� she said. 鈥淚n every family there鈥檚 a bit of rubbish. I was the rubbish.鈥�
鈥淔or Andr茅e, there was a passageway between the heart and the body that remained a mystery to me. 鈥�
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
January 28, 2025
"廿賳 賰丕賳 丕賱乇亘 賲賵噩賵丿丕賸貙 賮賱丕 爻亘賷賱 廿賱賶 賮賴賲 丕賱卮乇.
賯丕賱鬲 兀賳丿乇賷賴: 乇亘賲丕 毓賱賷賳丕 兀賳 賳鬲賯亘賱 賯氐賵乇賳丕 毓賳 丕賱賮賴賲. 賲賳 丕賱睾胤乇爻丞 兀賳 賷購乇賷丿 丕賱廿賳爻丕賳 賮賴賲 賰購賱 卮賷亍."
乇賵丕賷丞 "氐亘賷鬲丕賳 賱丕 鬲賮鬲乇賯丕賳" 賴賷 乇賵丕賷丞 賲亘賳賷丞 毓賱賶 兀丨丿孬 丨賯賷賯賷丞貙 鬲賲孬賱 鬲賱賰 丕賱毓賱丕賯丞 亘賷賳 "爻賷賲賵賳 丿賵 亘賵賮賵丕乇"貙 賵"廿賱賷夭丕亘賷孬 賱丕賰賵丕賳" 丕賱賲毓乇賵賮丞 亘丕爻賲 "夭丕夭丕"貙 鬲賱賰 丕賱毓賱丕賯丞 丕賱鬲賷 賳卮兀鬲 賮賷 爻賳 氐睾賷乇 毓賳丿賲丕 賰丕賳鬲 爻賷賲賵賳 賮賷 丕賱鬲丕爻毓丞 賲賳 毓賲乇賴丕貙 賮鬲乇氐丿 鬲賱賰 丕賱毓賱丕賯丞 氐丿丕賯鬲賴賲 賲賳 亘丿丕賷鬲賴丕貙 丨鬲賶 賳賴丕賷鬲賴丕 丕賱賲丐賱賲丞貙 賵丕賱鬲賷 賯乇乇鬲 亘爻亘亘賴丕 "亘賵 賮賵丕乇" 兀賳 鬲賰鬲亘 賴匕賴 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賱鬲購禺賱丿 匕賰乇賶 氐丿丕賯鬲賴賲貙 丕賱亘乇賷卅丞貙 賵丕賱卮賯賷丞貙 賵丕賱賲購禺鬲賱賮丞貙 賵鬲賱賰 丕賱鬲爻丕丐賱丕鬲 丕賱鬲賷 丨賷乇鬲賴賲 賮賷 賵賯鬲 賳卮兀鬲賴賲貙 毓賳 丕賱賵噩賵丿 賵丕賱丿賷賳 賵丕賱丨購亘貙 鬲爻丕丐賱丕鬲 毓賲賷賯丞貙 鬲噩毓賱賰 鬲賮賴賲 噩賷丿丕賸 兀賷 卮禺氐賷丞 賰丕賳鬲 "爻賷賲賵賳 丿賵 亘賵賮賵丕乇"貙 賵乇賮賯鬲賴丕貙 賵賰賷賮 兀賳 丕賱丨賷丕丞 亘丕賱賳爻亘丞 賱賭"爻賷賲賵賳" 賰丕賳鬲 氐乇丕毓 丿丕卅賲 賲毓 毓賯賱賴丕 丕賱匕賰賷貙 賵丕賱賳丕囟噩貙 賵丕賱匕賷 賷鬲爻丕卅賱 丨賵賱 賰購賱 卮賷亍貙 賵賴賷 鬲購丨丕賵賱 噩丕賴丿丞 賮賷 丕賱丨氐賵賱 毓賱賶 丕賱廿噩丕亘丕鬲貙 賵毓賱賶 丕賱兀禺氐 丕賱氐丨賷丨 賲賳賴丕.
"賱賰賳 兀賳賶 賱賳丕 兀賳 賳鬲兀賰丿 賲賳 兀賳 匕丕賰 丕賱匕賷 賳購丨亘賴 爻賷亘丕丿賱賳丕 丕賱丨購亘 廿賱賶 丕賱兀亘丿責"
賵乇睾賲 兀賳 兀丨丿丕孬 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賱賷爻鬲 賰孬賷乇丞貙 賵賱丕 丨鬲賶 丕賱卮禺氐賷丕鬲貙 賵賱賰賳 兀亘乇夭 賲丕 賰丕賳 亘賴匕賴 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賴賷 丕賱丨賵丕乇丕鬲 亘賷賳 丕賱卮禺氐賷丕鬲貙 賵禺氐賵氐丕賸 丕賱丨賵丕乇丕鬲 丕賱鬲賷 賰丕賳鬲 鬲鬲賵丕噩丿 亘賴丕 "爻賷賲賵賳"貙 丨賵丕乇丕鬲 匕賰賷丞貙 賵賳賯丕卮丕鬲 賲購賱賴賲丞貙 鬲丨賲賱 亘丨孬丕賸 毓賳 丕賱廿噩丕亘丕鬲貙 毓賳 胤亘賷毓丞 丕賱毓賱丕賯丕鬲貙 賵賰賷賮 兀賳賴 乇購亘賲丕 賰丕賳鬲 毓賱丕賯鬲賴丕 亘賭"夭丕夭丕" 鬲毓丿鬲 毓賱丕賯丞 丕賱氐丿丕賯丞 丕賱亘乇賷卅丞貙 亘丕賱賳爻亘丞 賱爻賷賲賵賳 毓賱賶 丕賱兀賯賱.
禺鬲丕賲丕賸..
乇賵丕賷丞 噩賲賷賱丞 賵丿丕賮卅丞貙 鬲丨賲賱 賮賷 胤賷丕鬲賴丕 噩丨賷賲 賲購爻鬲毓乇 賲賳 丕賱兀爻卅賱丞貙 賵丕賱爻乇丿 賰丕賳 噩賲賷賱貙 賵賷購賯乇亘賰 賲賳 卮禺氐賷丞 "亘賵賮賵丕乇"貙 賵鬲乇噩賲丞 "賲丨賲丿 丌賷鬲 丨賳丕" 賰丕賱毓丕丿丞 亘丕乇夭丞.
賷購賳氐丨 亘賴丕.
January 31, 2022
3,5*
Pirm膮 kart i拧spausdintas Simone de Beauvoir autobiografinis romanas (autofiction), para拧ytas 1954-iais. Tada, tais XX am啪iaus vidurio metais tai b奴t懦 buv臋s daug reik拧mingesnis k奴rinys feminizmui ir LGBT kult奴rai. Bet tai koks 拧mikis buvo tas Sartre. Jam mat, atrod臈, kad 拧is romanas visi拧kai nevertas d臈mesio ir spausdinti jo nereik臈t懦. Gaila, ta膷iau Simone jo paklaus臈. Be abejo, po jos "Antrosios lyties" 拧is nei拧sipild啪iusios听meil臈s romanas gal臈jo听pasirodyti - "ne lygis", bet 膷ia juk visi拧kai kitas 啪anras. O ir para拧ytas romanas tikrai puikiai - jautriai ir eleganti拧kai. Lie膷iamos net 拧iandienai svarbios temos - ne tik lyties tapatyb臈s, bet ir sustabar臈jusios visuomen臈s ribotumo. Bet vat Sartre tai pasirod臈 nereik拧minga, bur啪uji拧ka. "/
Knyga sukurta remiantis tikru Simone ry拧iu su Zaza (romane - Andree). Zaza mir臈 21-i懦, palikusi听autorei听啪aizdot膮 拧ird寞, kuri膮 ji band臈 gydyti ra拧ydama 拧i膮 istorij膮. Galvoju, ar tik ne pavydas prisid臈jo prie tokio nuo啪maus Sartre "patarimo".听
Simone de Beauvoir ir Zaza
Pirm膮 kart i拧spausdintas Simone de Beauvoir autobiografinis romanas (autofiction), para拧ytas 1954-iais. Tada, tais XX am啪iaus vidurio metais tai b奴t懦 buv臋s daug reik拧mingesnis k奴rinys feminizmui ir LGBT kult奴rai. Bet tai koks 拧mikis buvo tas Sartre. Jam mat, atrod臈, kad 拧is romanas visi拧kai nevertas d臈mesio ir spausdinti jo nereik臈t懦. Gaila, ta膷iau Simone jo paklaus臈. Be abejo, po jos "Antrosios lyties" 拧is nei拧sipild啪iusios听meil臈s romanas gal臈jo听pasirodyti - "ne lygis", bet 膷ia juk visi拧kai kitas 啪anras. O ir para拧ytas romanas tikrai puikiai - jautriai ir eleganti拧kai. Lie膷iamos net 拧iandienai svarbios temos - ne tik lyties tapatyb臈s, bet ir sustabar臈jusios visuomen臈s ribotumo. Bet vat Sartre tai pasirod臈 nereik拧minga, bur啪uji拧ka. "/
Knyga sukurta remiantis tikru Simone ry拧iu su Zaza (romane - Andree). Zaza mir臈 21-i懦, palikusi听autorei听啪aizdot膮 拧ird寞, kuri膮 ji band臈 gydyti ra拧ydama 拧i膮 istorij膮. Galvoju, ar tik ne pavydas prisid臈jo prie tokio nuo啪maus Sartre "patarimo".听
Simone de Beauvoir ir Zaza
January 6, 2021
Un fel de defini葲ie a intimit膬葲ii, dar 葯i o invita葲ie la o introspec葲ie despre prietenie.
Aceast膬 carte este despre Zaza, cea mai bun膬 prieten膬 a lui Simone de Beauvoir. S-au cunoscut 卯n copil膬rie, iar rela葲ia lor a fost una special膬, am芒ndou膬 av芒nd acelea葯i preocup膬ri care cuprindeau lectura, discu葲iile cu sens, devenind-dup膬 cum spune 葯i titlul c膬r葲ii-inseparabile. Zaza este 卯ns膬 r膬pus膬 de o boal膬 cumplit膬-encefalit膬 viral膬. Dac膬 cineva ar fi 卯ntrebat-o pe Simone de Beauvoir din ce cauz膬 a murit prietena ei, ea ar fi r膬spuns: 鈥漐aza a murit din cauz膬 c膬 era excep葲ional膬. 鈥� Ce r膬spuns, nu? :)
Atfel, prin acest roman, Beauvoir o re卯nvie pe Zaza:
鈥� Dac膬 am lacrimi 卯n ochi, oare se 卯nt芒mpl膬 pentru c膬 e葯ti moart膬, sau pentru c膬 eu tr膬iesc? Ar trebui s膬-葲i dedic aceast膬 poveste, dar 葯tiu c膬 nu mai e葯ti nic膬ieri, a葯a c膬-葲i vorbesc doar printr-un artificiu literar. 脦n rest, asta nu e cu adev膬rat povestea ta, ci doar o poveste inspirat膬 din noi dou膬. Tu nu erai Andree, eu nu sunt aceast膬 Sylvie care vorbe葯te 卯n numele meu.鈥�
O carte frumoas膬 care ne (re)aminte葯te c芒t de important este miracolul prieteniei, c膬ci nu e nimic mai pl膬cut pe lume dec芒t s膬 sim葲i c膬 cineva te poate 卯n葲elege pe deplin, c膬 卯n葲elege via葲a 卯n aceea葯i manier膬, f膬r膬 a folosi interoga葲ia: 鈥滳e a vrut s膬 spun膬 autorul?鈥� :D
Puritatea care a caracterizat prietenia celor dou膬 鈥漣nseparabile鈥� este 卯ns膬 rar膬 卯n ziua de azi, dar e frumos c膬 o putem gusta fie 葯i prin astfel de pagini scrise at芒t de frumos...
Aceast膬 carte este despre Zaza, cea mai bun膬 prieten膬 a lui Simone de Beauvoir. S-au cunoscut 卯n copil膬rie, iar rela葲ia lor a fost una special膬, am芒ndou膬 av芒nd acelea葯i preocup膬ri care cuprindeau lectura, discu葲iile cu sens, devenind-dup膬 cum spune 葯i titlul c膬r葲ii-inseparabile. Zaza este 卯ns膬 r膬pus膬 de o boal膬 cumplit膬-encefalit膬 viral膬. Dac膬 cineva ar fi 卯ntrebat-o pe Simone de Beauvoir din ce cauz膬 a murit prietena ei, ea ar fi r膬spuns: 鈥漐aza a murit din cauz膬 c膬 era excep葲ional膬. 鈥� Ce r膬spuns, nu? :)
Atfel, prin acest roman, Beauvoir o re卯nvie pe Zaza:
鈥� Dac膬 am lacrimi 卯n ochi, oare se 卯nt芒mpl膬 pentru c膬 e葯ti moart膬, sau pentru c膬 eu tr膬iesc? Ar trebui s膬-葲i dedic aceast膬 poveste, dar 葯tiu c膬 nu mai e葯ti nic膬ieri, a葯a c膬-葲i vorbesc doar printr-un artificiu literar. 脦n rest, asta nu e cu adev膬rat povestea ta, ci doar o poveste inspirat膬 din noi dou膬. Tu nu erai Andree, eu nu sunt aceast膬 Sylvie care vorbe葯te 卯n numele meu.鈥�
O carte frumoas膬 care ne (re)aminte葯te c芒t de important este miracolul prieteniei, c膬ci nu e nimic mai pl膬cut pe lume dec芒t s膬 sim葲i c膬 cineva te poate 卯n葲elege pe deplin, c膬 卯n葲elege via葲a 卯n aceea葯i manier膬, f膬r膬 a folosi interoga葲ia: 鈥滳e a vrut s膬 spun膬 autorul?鈥� :D
Puritatea care a caracterizat prietenia celor dou膬 鈥漣nseparabile鈥� este 卯ns膬 rar膬 卯n ziua de azi, dar e frumos c膬 o putem gusta fie 葯i prin astfel de pagini scrise at芒t de frumos...
November 10, 2022
I listened to an interview of translator Lauren Elkin on the Literary Friction podcast a while back, speaking about her work translating this previously unpublished novella by Simone de Beauvoir - she was so interesting, both on the topic of the novella, and on the topic of translation, that I immediately ordered it. Oddly, Elkin did the translation for the UK edition (and Deborah Levy the introduction), while Sandra Smith did the translation for the North American edition (and Margaret Atwood the introduction). Both seem to come with the same appended archival material, as well as an afterword by de Beauvoir鈥檚 adopted daughter/executor. I ordered the UK edition as I鈥檇 heard Elkin interviewed and didn鈥檛 realize there were two - but especially given the thinking about translation that I did having heard the interview, I鈥檓 curious to compare with the Smith version. In the interview, Elkin refers to some aspects of her translation that seemed to stress the publisher, such as the use of footnotes and her penchant for rendering direct speech into indirect speech.
But enough about the translation. The novel was fascinating. Apparently set aside by the author after some snide put-down from Sartre, it is a sensitive autobiographical exploration of the friendship between two bourgeois girls in the early twentieth century, Sylvie (Simone) and Andree (Zaza). Meeting in school during the First World War, they become 鈥榠nseparable鈥� companions, and Sylvie is dazzled by her new friend鈥檚 apparent freedoms - Andree can walk home from school alone, she isn鈥檛 intimidated by teachers, and rough-and-tumble play is allowed in her large family. As the girls mature, however, their circumstances diverge, and Andree鈥檚 become more constrained by societal, familial, and religious expectations. I enjoyed the nuance with which de Beauvoir explored and took very seriously the constraints Andree faced: knowing that the story was based on a pivotal friendship in her own life, it was evident both how her friend鈥檚 experience continued to anguish and anger her, and also the level of analysis she had brought to bear on it. 4.5.
But enough about the translation. The novel was fascinating. Apparently set aside by the author after some snide put-down from Sartre, it is a sensitive autobiographical exploration of the friendship between two bourgeois girls in the early twentieth century, Sylvie (Simone) and Andree (Zaza). Meeting in school during the First World War, they become 鈥榠nseparable鈥� companions, and Sylvie is dazzled by her new friend鈥檚 apparent freedoms - Andree can walk home from school alone, she isn鈥檛 intimidated by teachers, and rough-and-tumble play is allowed in her large family. As the girls mature, however, their circumstances diverge, and Andree鈥檚 become more constrained by societal, familial, and religious expectations. I enjoyed the nuance with which de Beauvoir explored and took very seriously the constraints Andree faced: knowing that the story was based on a pivotal friendship in her own life, it was evident both how her friend鈥檚 experience continued to anguish and anger her, and also the level of analysis she had brought to bear on it. 4.5.
August 9, 2021
A never before published story written by the author in 1954, this is a fictionalized story based on the author鈥檚 friendship with Elisabeth 鈥榋aza鈥� Lacoin. They meet when they are young and Andr茅e, who in this story represents Zaza, is one of the students in the same class with Sylvie, who represents Simone. Their attachment and affection for each other was so obvious it earned them the nickname of the inseparables.
But their relationship struggles off and on, Sylvie is the one driving this friendship, she adores Andr茅e, practically turning herself inside out in the process. Andr茅e, on the other hand, who comes from a strongly knit, large family, a strongly Catholic family, struggles with the constructs of her faith against who would clearly oppose this relationship. It is also clear that her mother is consistently steering her away from this relationship.
With an introduction written by Margaret Atwood, and a dedication by the author that begins:鈥橧f I have tears in my eyes tonight, is it because you have died, or rather because I鈥檓 the one who is still alive?鈥� this is a story of the loss of a beloved friend, as well as the heartbreak of a love that required denial in order to be preserved.
Pub Date: 07 Sep 2021
Many thanks for the ARC provided by Ecco
November 4, 2021
I hoped it would stay with me for a little bit longer.
January 10, 2024
鈥淒e uma assentada,recordei-lhe o que havia sido a vida de Andr茅e nos 煤ltimos cinco anos. (鈥�), a sua dece莽茫o ao descobrir a verdade sobre o mundo que a rodeava, a luta renhida com a m茫e pelo direito de agir de acordo com o seu cora莽茫o e a sua consci锚ncia; o remorso ensombrava todas as suas vit贸rias e o pecado pairava sobre os seus mais 铆nfimos desejos.鈥�
Um livro sobre a hist贸ria de duas amigas em que as suas vidas divergem na forma como s茫o educadas. Sylvie, que naturalmente se vai emancipando, Andr茅e que vive aniquilada pela religi茫o, a fam铆lia e a press茫o social. A esta 煤ltima, a quem a liberdade foi constantemente negada e o tempo n茫o lhe pertenceu, acaba por ter um fim tr谩gico, marcando para sempre a vida da autora.
Um livro sobre a hist贸ria de duas amigas em que as suas vidas divergem na forma como s茫o educadas. Sylvie, que naturalmente se vai emancipando, Andr茅e que vive aniquilada pela religi茫o, a fam铆lia e a press茫o social. A esta 煤ltima, a quem a liberdade foi constantemente negada e o tempo n茫o lhe pertenceu, acaba por ter um fim tr谩gico, marcando para sempre a vida da autora.
December 23, 2023
so funny story- i was in this bookshop i鈥檝e never been to before & a girl saw me grab this book from the shelf & came up to me. she told me i needed to read it because she loved it. i鈥檒l be honest, i felt like i had to buy it at that point- i never would have otherwise. but then i went home & decided to give it a try & finished it in one afternoon!! AND I LOVED IT. man i love readers sometimes. thank you to that random girl in the bookstore. i wish i got ur name 馃槶
December 13, 2021
L'enfer, c'est les autres. (Hell is other people).
That was uttered by Jean-Paul Sartre in his play, Huis Clos (No Exit). Can you believe he convinced Simone de Beauvoir not to publish this book in 1954, five years after her classic book, The Second Sex? I am quoting Margaret Atwood, who wrote the forward to this book.
The book tells the inseparable friendship between Andr茅e and Sylvie. They become friends although the lion鈥檚 share of the friendship is told from Sylvia鈥檚 point of view. Both are taught in a strict catholic school, and in the case of Andr茅e, her family adheres to a militant Catholicism. This poses a lot of challenges for Andr茅e when she becomes involved with the other sex, men. Her life is to conform and do what her mother says. Her mother wants to marry her to the most appropriate man. What Andr茅e wants is besides the point. For Sylvie, she watches as her friend seems to fall apart before her very eyes. Her great love Pascal is also willing to wait to get engaged to appease his own father. Poor Sylvie is at a dilemma.
Now to get to the heart of the matter. This book contains an essay by the adopted daughter Sylvia Le Bon de Beauvoir which points out that many of the characters in this now published novel are based on real people. Sylvie is Simone; Andr茅e is Zaza. Pascal is Maurice Merleau-Ponty, the existential philosopher. Real life inspiration.
When you put this into perspective, de Beauvoir paints a poignant image of friendship, the loss of choice for a woman in a world domineered by parents and the church, obligations and rigid class structure, and above all, a personal tragedy.
It breaks one鈥檚 heart to read this. It baffles me that Sartre denied this to be published. It staggers the mind that, after almost seventy years, we can finally read it.
As Ms. Atwood says, 鈥淩ead it and weep, dear reader.鈥� Hell is truly other people.
That was uttered by Jean-Paul Sartre in his play, Huis Clos (No Exit). Can you believe he convinced Simone de Beauvoir not to publish this book in 1954, five years after her classic book, The Second Sex? I am quoting Margaret Atwood, who wrote the forward to this book.
The book tells the inseparable friendship between Andr茅e and Sylvie. They become friends although the lion鈥檚 share of the friendship is told from Sylvia鈥檚 point of view. Both are taught in a strict catholic school, and in the case of Andr茅e, her family adheres to a militant Catholicism. This poses a lot of challenges for Andr茅e when she becomes involved with the other sex, men. Her life is to conform and do what her mother says. Her mother wants to marry her to the most appropriate man. What Andr茅e wants is besides the point. For Sylvie, she watches as her friend seems to fall apart before her very eyes. Her great love Pascal is also willing to wait to get engaged to appease his own father. Poor Sylvie is at a dilemma.
Now to get to the heart of the matter. This book contains an essay by the adopted daughter Sylvia Le Bon de Beauvoir which points out that many of the characters in this now published novel are based on real people. Sylvie is Simone; Andr茅e is Zaza. Pascal is Maurice Merleau-Ponty, the existential philosopher. Real life inspiration.
When you put this into perspective, de Beauvoir paints a poignant image of friendship, the loss of choice for a woman in a world domineered by parents and the church, obligations and rigid class structure, and above all, a personal tragedy.
It breaks one鈥檚 heart to read this. It baffles me that Sartre denied this to be published. It staggers the mind that, after almost seventy years, we can finally read it.
As Ms. Atwood says, 鈥淩ead it and weep, dear reader.鈥� Hell is truly other people.
September 20, 2023
Ah, the economy. I love when books practice it. Such a short book comprising so many complex ideas. Here鈥檚 the main one: the oppression of women is not always physically violent. It is not always psychologically violent. It is often far more subtle, more insidious, and all the more terrible because of it.
This is Simone de Beauvoir鈥檚 unpublished book. For Beauvoir鈥檚 attentive readers (of which, I admit, I am not one) the topic won鈥檛 be new. The character of her best friend who died tragically young is present in her autobiography. Here the best friend is called Andr茅e (real life name was 脡lisabeth, nicknamed Zaza), introduced to us as a vivacious, witty child who excelled at everything. We do not know if Andr茅e is truly like this or if Sylvie's (Simone鈥檚 alter ego) strong feelings for her friend rose-tint her impressions. What is obvious is that as they grow up, Sylvie鈥檚 scales start to fall. Andr茅e remains brilliant and talented, but she is crushed by her social milleau, coerced by her family into taking care of her siblings, into marrying well and behaving properly. Weighed down by Catholic guilt and the fear of sin, thwarted at every turn by her loved ones, (notaly by her mother, who subjected her daughter to the same pressures she herself suffered in her youth) Andr茅e breaks. The moment you realise that this bright, young woman won鈥檛 get a semblance of a happy ending is soul-shattering. Beauvoir writes it with great simplicity, as a mathematician demonstrating the product of an equation.
This is Simone de Beauvoir鈥檚 unpublished book. For Beauvoir鈥檚 attentive readers (of which, I admit, I am not one) the topic won鈥檛 be new. The character of her best friend who died tragically young is present in her autobiography. Here the best friend is called Andr茅e (real life name was 脡lisabeth, nicknamed Zaza), introduced to us as a vivacious, witty child who excelled at everything. We do not know if Andr茅e is truly like this or if Sylvie's (Simone鈥檚 alter ego) strong feelings for her friend rose-tint her impressions. What is obvious is that as they grow up, Sylvie鈥檚 scales start to fall. Andr茅e remains brilliant and talented, but she is crushed by her social milleau, coerced by her family into taking care of her siblings, into marrying well and behaving properly. Weighed down by Catholic guilt and the fear of sin, thwarted at every turn by her loved ones, (notaly by her mother, who subjected her daughter to the same pressures she herself suffered in her youth) Andr茅e breaks. The moment you realise that this bright, young woman won鈥檛 get a semblance of a happy ending is soul-shattering. Beauvoir writes it with great simplicity, as a mathematician demonstrating the product of an equation.
October 17, 2022
La primera novela que me devoro de Simone y de una trama de amistad femenina, me sucumb铆 en ella. Elegante, su escritura de una finura exquisita, me ha fascinado. Cuanto adoro los personajes literarios femeninos narrados por mujeres.
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