Dominique Loreau est une essayiste fran莽aise qui vit depuis la fin des ann茅es 1970 au Japon, o霉 elle propose des s茅minaires destin茅s 脿 ceux qui veulent simplifier leur vie. Elle s'est fait conna卯tre gr芒ce 脿 son ouvrage L'Art de la simplicit茅, paru en 2005.
芦 Je ne suis pas du tout 茅crivain 禄, d茅clare-t-elle. Lorsqu'elle a commenc茅 脿 r茅diger son livre 脿 partir de ses notes personnelles, certains passages s'adressaient sp茅cifiquement aux femmes, d'autres aux hommes, puis elle s'est dit: 芦 Fl没te ! Le monde est toujours au masculin, moi je le mets au f茅minin. C'est une petite plaisanterie 禄.
L'id茅e de son livre est n茅e en voyant les citadins japonais 芦 vivre dans tant d'encombrement et de choses, et d'锚tre toujours stress茅s et fatigu茅s, 脿 chercher leurs affaires, 脿 vivre dans des int茅rieurs qui sont vraiment pleins 脿 craquer. On ne sait pas o霉 s'asseoir. Et je me dis: "A quoi 莽a sert tout 莽a?". 禄
I said it as I was reading it & now that I have finished, I can confirm it is true... L鈥檃rt de la Simplicit茅: How to Live More with Less is my Wuthering Heights of simplicity books. Some of you know how I feel about Wuthering Heights. (If you don't, read on...)
I like reading simplicity books. They're kind of soothing fluff for me, light, inspiring, etc.... But, this is not the case here. Supposedly this is a melding of her French sensibilities with her love of Japanese zen/simplicity, but it's as if she just put a bunch of trite commentary copied from various works into one place. Target audience? Not sure unless it is the rich & flaky. You're supposed to achieve a zen-like existence in mind/body/spirit, but doing so also necessitates Italian leather, pashmina, cashmere. For your personal meditation time, you definitely need thick cushions covered in only 100% wool or 100% silk. Eat & drink sparingly, yet other times, you are encouraged to drink champagne (buying a crate of it no less). Of course, the eating sparingly will fit in well with her overuse of the word "slim" in the book. Because, even though appearances shouldn't matter I guess, she seems strangely fixated on women (no mention of men) needing to remain slim no matter what. And if you're going to use the word slim so many times within one section of the book, at least be industrious enough to use a thesaurus & vary the vocabulary a little bit. Please. Lots of the "advice" is conflicting too. So you read about doing one thing on one page, but within another page or two, you are being given seemingly opposite advice. Even though this is a small format book, it took me awhile to slog through the 200+ pages -- very few of which have any real or practical advice on how to achieve any of the things she espouses; I guess you're supposed to intuit that information? But, given what I guess to be the target audience, I'm not sure there will be a lot of intuiting going on. Sheesh. Skip this one unless you're looking for some cynical laughs. What an utterly ridiculous book.
Probably the most annoying book I've read in a long time. Patronising, full of stereotypes and advice that's not exacly good or healthy. The only thing I liked were the recipes for homemade beauty treatments - hence the 2-star rating.
鈥楲鈥檃rt de la Simplicitie鈥� (2005) by Dominique Loreau is a book which came to me as highly recommended, which is sadly why it turned out to be all the more disappointing than anticipated.
The subtitle and basic premise to Loreau鈥檚 book is essentially 鈥� 鈥榟ow to live more with less鈥� 鈥� which is of course a laudable and admirable one. We all know that a life of excess and the accumulation of multiple possessions and material wealth is not the road to happiness. The idea of simplifying life and reducing the number and the burden of unwanted, unneeded, unnoticed, unmissed possessions 鈥� it鈥檚 is easy to see why this is worthwhile, decluttering your home as well as your life and your mind and this all makes sense. So seemingly with a shared outlook, I embarked on Loreau鈥檚 book with interest.
Unfortunately however, the huge paradox and contradiction of a book title the art of simplicity 鈥� that consists overwhelmingly of repetition and lack of focus or clear direction, so many unnecessary words and phrases and passages, even chapters, which makes it feel like we are being told the same thing over and over and over and over again鈥�. 鈥楲鈥檃rt de la Simplicitie鈥� would certainly have benefitted from applying its own principles and having some significant editing by a ruthless editor; the book would have been far more effective by being, at the very most, half its published length. Because amongst all the repetition, there is much that is good and sensible - however this is mostly lost, swamped and overwhelmed by the rest of the text, which is a great pity.
Loreau provides us with a mish-mash of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, a smattering of ideas from western thinkers and philosophers and the whole is sadly much less than the sum of its parts. 鈥楲鈥檃rt de la Simplicitie鈥� apart from being repetitive, unfocused and ultimately directionless, is also patronising, racially and culturally stereotyping and relies on huge generalisations. Loreau gives us also style and fashion advice, but strangely only for women (don鈥檛 the same principles apply to men?) as well as some questionable medical and mental health advice. Loreau also contradicts herself on several points throughout the book 鈥� an example being a section telling us about how we should sanctify and ritualise our daily routines, whilst at the same time changing routines and trying something new??
Ultimately then, 鈥楲鈥檃rt de la Simplicitie鈥� is sadly just another average self-help book 鈥� but I can鈥檛 help thinking that there must be better and more effective such books out there to be read? This clearly isn鈥檛 one of them.
When it comes down to it, maybe Loreau鈥檚 book could really just have been a list鈥�? Eat less, eat better, sleep well, meditate, exercise, reduce possessions, relax, tidy your house, wear simple stylish clothes, think positively, enjoy solitude, use visualisation, have goals, aim for your goals etc etc etc
This book is utter rubbish. I thought about leaving it on the train I'd been reading it on, but then I realised someone else might pick it up and actually mistake it's patronising trite as 'words of wisdom' so I took it home to burn.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I'd like to start out by saying there were a few things in this book that I agreed with generally. With that being said, I disagree with this book as a whole.
I understand that the author is writing this from the perspective of someone who has lived in both French and Japanese culture, but most of this book felt like patriarchal propaganda to me. The book is geared toward women, which gave me the following impression: women are simple creatures and should therefore live simply. Men need not follow the same guidelines.
Loreau writes about the importance of striving for beauty and perfection. In general, trying to be the best version of yourself is a good goal to have, granted you are doing it for the right reasons. Loreau touched on how this goal can bring self-fulfillment, but she propagated the idea that this is also for others' benefit. For example, she talks about how nobody likes hearing people complain about their problems.
There is a little truth to that, but life is not all rainbows and sunshine. Expressing emotion is what makes us human, and I don't agree with hiding negative emotions simply to spare someone else from an uncomfortable situation.
Loreau gives unhealthy and contradictory advice in this book. It makes me cringe for someone to advocate eating only when you're hungry. On some days, I can reach early evening without feeling hungry, but my body still needs nutrients throughout the day to perform basic involuntary functions.
In terms of fitness, we're given the suggestion that we should keep our goal weight in mind, but the author later says that the number on a scale does not matter. However, the author reminds us that nobody likes seeing people who are out of shape physically either. I was half expecting her to write that women should not be TOO in shape.
As for organization, there was a lot of overlap between the sections, and some of the language is extremely repetitive. At times, this felt like a stream of consciousness piece rather than a self-help book; Loreau does not always move from sentence to sentence logically. Many details could have been removed, and the book would have had the same impact. It's hard for me to fathom someone writing a book about simplicity when they clearly don't understand the value of communicating concisely.
tl;dr This book was not for me because I value self-love and self-acceptance. Striving to be better is a healthy goal, but we must determine for ourselves what the best version of us is like as opposed to mindlessly following the advice of someone who, if she saw us in everyday life, would likely pass judgment on us before knowing us.
I love the idea of the book. I find culture of consumption revolting and unfortunately I am part of it, but I'm determined to do and buy fewer and fewer unneeded things. That said, this book is exactly what it advocates against owning: useless horrible crap of a book.
Narrative is absolutely random, there is no structure between chapters, between paragraphs, not even between sentences. Author contradicts herself all the time, and I don't mean small story details, she can't even get right what she wants from the world around her. She advocates simplicity and modesty explaining how Japanese live in super small space, supports living like monks. And then a page later she says to have the most expensive, comfortable, cozy, best furniture there is. And telling us that minimalism is expensive and we have to deal with it. She says we consume too much and then tells you have to have fridge and all bowls full with food to attract Chi. I just couldn't keep reading.
If you can get past the author's incessant references to expensive high-quality leather armchairs, pashmina shawls, and cashmere throws this is a wonderful book on living life with a minimalist philosophy.
Unlike Marie Kondo style books, this is not a how-to book on folding shirts or organizing closets. This is a book on what a minimalist life philosophy looks like in practice. How do you organize your life to live in a mindful, ascetic, simple and minimalist way. It's in the way you dress, treat yourself, style your house, engage with your friends and loved ones, work, think, and immerse yourself in the wider world.
There are some great quotes sprinkled throughout this book. I certainly highlighted lots of things, however, sometimes this veered from deep, insightful truths about life to frivolous pieces of advice. From basic information on handbags (it should look like Jackie Kennedy's), house decor (see the above on leather armchairs and cashmere), and your body routine (lots of oils, baths and dry brushing), to more esoteric discussions on meditation, zen, and engaging with people in a respectful and mindful fashion. It's almost as if this book wanted to both be a self-help book on minimalism, while also being a philosophy book at the same time and decided to split the difference.
I did have a few quibbles. This seems to be a book written exclusively for women, although men could read it, I'm not sure how much they'd get out of the advice. This also seems to be advice that only wealthy people could put into practice. There are a fair number of classist assumptions here. Not only in Loreau's emphasis on waiting and spending more money on quality things (a fine thing to do if you can), but on her discussions of work (don't do it if you don't have to), children (not really mentioned at all, nor are pets), time-management, relationships and more. Basically, if you are a wealthy, single woman, you can probably put this all into practice. If you have children, a partner, pets, or generally live a messier life (as most of us do) good luck with some of this ;)
Having said all that - I really loved some of what she had to say, and how she framed minimalism as a life philosophy that isn't just about things, but also about how you approach the world. Part I, chapter 2: In Praise of Minimalism, and Part III:Mind, were both the sections I would suggest if you'd like to read more on that. I also really appreciated her discussion of making time for yourself - after all, if you're not taking care of yourself, how will you take care of others? That's something many women ignore in favour of taking care of others - and being reminded of that is only a good thing. But, putting some of her self-care into practice may take more time than people are able (not willing, but able) to spend.
Overall - I liked this book. There are some great life gems sprinkled throughout. Just take some of her other advice with a grain of salt ;)
"Do not abandon your dreams, or close your mind to mystery. To be happy, live simply."
This was DNF - I got bored and annoyed about 30 pages in, did some skimming to find more ridiculousness, and gave up.
Such as - unattractive clothes make us gain weight? the Japanese are all perfect and own nothing? don't anything someone would want to steal?
Also, incredibly basic tips like use a dishcloth, clean your house, etc.
Plus, really harmful female stereotypes - someone with chipped nail polish is depressed and has low self esteem; being fat is simply a lack of willpower; "eating little is my golden rule".
This book is a nightmare.
**I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.**
丕賯鬲乇丕丨丕鬲 賱賱賲卮丕賴丿丞 -how to be minimalist責 -minimalist home organization -50 ideas to have healthy skin and body.. or 50 ways to look younger .. - junk food vs healthy food
So it took me over 2 years to finish this one. Life and other books got in the way, but I did it after all.
Overall, it's a nice book, explaining how to make your life easier, how simplicity is the road to take. That doesn't mean you need to believe everything you read. Sometimes it's a little too much, but ok over all.
I would say moderation is the key. Too much of anything can be bad (feelings, food and so on).
P.S. I really like the cover for the Romanian edition.
O carte care te reseteaz膬 葯i 卯葲i ofer膬 informa葲ie valoroas膬 despre cur膬葲enia c膬minului 卯n care tr膬ie葯ti, a corpului, a g芒ndurilor 葯i a sufletului. Are numeroase sfaturi pe care a葯 vrea s膬 le aplic 葯i cu siguran葲膬 o s膬 revin la ea periodic.
馃摎 "脦mbog膬葲i葲i-v膬 mai degraba corpul cu senza葲ii, inima cu impulsuri, spiritul cu principii, nu via葲a cu obiecte."
馃摎 "Frumusetea cere o baz膬 solid膬: o piele frumoas膬, un p膬r s膬n膬tos, mu艧chi tonifia葲i 葯i energie. Vitaminele la cutie nu sunt eficiente. Dac膬 vre葲i s膬 fi葲i s膬n膬toase, trebuie s膬 ave葲i o diet膬 echilibrat膬, s膬 face葲i exerci葲ii fizice 葯i s膬 dormi葲i suficient. Combina葲i o alimenta葲ie s膬n膬toas膬 cu b膬i dese, masaje corporale 葯i pu葲in膬 mi艧care, 艧i ve葲i fi 卯ntr-o form膬 de zile mari."
馃摎 "A-i judeca pe ceilalti cere destul膬 energie 葯i v膬 pune 卯ntr-o situa牛ie 卯n care n-ar trebui s膬 v膬 afla葲i. Critica este 卯nainte de toate un obicei. 脦nv膬葲a葲i s膬 nu spune葲i niciodat膬 nimic r膬u despre nimeni, orice a葲i crede 卯n realitate. Acest nou obicei va deveni repede a doua dumneavoastr膬 natur膬. Criticile v膬 pot aduce o u艧urare de moment, 卯ns膬 exist膬 艧i alte subiecte de conversa葲ie. R膬m芒ne葲i loial fa葲膬 de cei absenti. Ap膬ra葲i-i."
鈥淰ienk膩r拧墨bas m膩kslu鈥� las墨ju pirms 10 gadiem - tolaik v膿l par 鈥渕einstr墨mu鈥� nebija k募uvis minim膩lisms, apzin膩t墨ba un atgrie拧an膩s pie dabas. Paties墨b膩 daudzas lietas, ko 拧obr墨d uztveru un ar墨 praktiz膿ju sav膩 ikdien膩, t膩laj膩 2010.aj膩 bija absol奴ts jaunums.
艩墨 gr膩mata bija viena no t膩m, kas manus uzskatus un dom膩拧anu ietekm膿jusi vissp膿c墨g膩k - iesp膿jams, t膩p膿c, ka atn膩ca 墨staj膩 viet膩 un laik膩.
B奴tu interesanti izlas墨t v膿lreiz ar 拧odienas ac墨m! Tagad, 2022.gad膩 Zvaigzne ABC 拧o darbu izdevusi atk膩rtoti.
It started out with a BANG...then fizzled. The first third of the book was absolutely enthralling and I fully thought it was 5 star worthy but then it became a bit rambling and redundant towards the end. Still lots of great lifestyle ideas and practical suggestions that I won't forget. Worth a read.
A tad philosophical at times but overall a calming read. Advices in different segment of life were given and I caution readers to write and compartmentalise the points and your to-do lost to avoid feeling overwhelm. There are some points where I disagree with the writer鈥檚 point of view as it can appear pretentious and disconnect with reality, but it didn鈥檛 lessen the overall wholesome sharings.
V膬 spune ceva arta simplit膬牛ii? Ca at芒tea alte metode de a alege un stil de via牛膬 鈥� de care sunt pline c膬r牛ile de self help 卯n ziua de azi 鈥�, 艧i aceasta e una posibil膬. 脦n ce m膬 prive艧te, mi se pare cea mai bun膬. 脦ntr-o lume a hiperconsumului, op牛iunea pentru simplitate 鈥� sau pentru 鈥瀌ietetic膬鈥�, cum ne 卯ndemna alt膬dat膬 Alex. Leo 艦erban 鈥� este esen牛ial膬. S膬 卯nl膬turi surplusul, s膬 te fixezi pe elementele bazice, esen牛iale echivaleaz膬 艧i cu un soi de purificare 鈥� fizic膬 艧i spiritual膬 鈥�, ca s膬 nu mai vorbesc de confortul asigurat.
Arta simplit膬牛ii e o carte scris膬 de Dominique Loreau 艧i ap膬rut膬 la Editura Baroque Books & Arts. Stabilit膬 de peste dou膬zeci de ani 卯n Japonia, autoarea a adoptat 艧i adaptat principiile de via牛膬 japoneze, adic膬 o filozofie de via牛膬 oriental膬, 卯n care simplitatea 卯nseamn膬, mai presus de toate, rafinament 艧i disciplin膬 de via牛膬; cu alte cuvinte, o combina牛ie aparte a eticii cu estetica. Dictonul de baz膬 este 鈥濴ess is more鈥� 艧i el e aplicat 卯n toate domeniile care 牛in de stilul de via牛膬, de la corp 艧i vestimenta牛ie p卯n膬 la locuin牛膬 艧i ambient: 鈥濸urific膬-牛i sufletul, gole艧te-牛i 艧ifonierul, renun牛膬 la cump膬r膬turile compulsive, m膬n芒nc膬 frugal, 卯ngrije艧te-牛i corpul 艧i numai atunci 卯牛i vei bucura 艧i spiritul鈥� 鈥� ni se spune pe coperta a patra a c膬r牛ii.
Dac膬 vorbim de arta simplit膬葲ii, s膬 卯ncepem cu locuin牛a. Dominique Loreau ne sf膬tuie艧te s膬 ne amenaj膬m spa牛iul 卯n care locuim 鈥� indiferent de dimensiunile lui 鈥� 牛in芒nd cont de criteriul practic, al func牛ionalit膬牛ii, al confortului, dar 艧i de o estetic膬 minimalist膬: c芒t mai pu牛ine obiecte, acestea func牛ionale 艧i de bun膬 calitate (lemn, textile, plut膬). (continuarea cronicii: )
"Simplicity means possessing little, clearing the way for the bare necessities, the quintessence of things. Simplicity is beautiful because it brings hidden joys."
This beautiful, soulful book expresses what many of us desire, but often can't achieve -- a life of simplicity and beauty. While I have always valued experiences over things, I still seem to have accumulated a lot of things along the way. The older I seem to get, the more valuable the act of paring down seems to be.
This book is inspiring on so many levels. While I was expecting a "rid yourself of the clutter" type of book, it's so much more. French-born Dominique Loreau has lived for the past 40 years in Japan, where she has adapted many Asian influences on the art of simplicity.
There are some ideas that I just couldn't agree with (e.g., the idea that a person can possess too many books or that it's not good to read too much) and other things that just seemed weird (e.g., enjoying a snack of pomegranate seeds while watching a movie at home) or very specifically Japanese (e.g., making a facial scrub of azuki beans -- yeah, I've got a lot of those hanging around my house). However, most of the concepts presented in L'Art de la Simpicite (why the non-translated French title?) I found to be insightful and aspirational.
The book is divided into three sections -- home, body, and mind -- and by far, the most thoughtful section is the last. The ideas behind "Polish Yourself Like a Pebble" really resonated with me. It's not simplicity for the sake of it, but rather as a gateway to living more aware and more fully, while integrating your home, body, and soul until the whole shines.
Thanks to Good Reads and St. Martin's/Griffin. for allowing me to read this advanced copy.
C'est la phrase qui m'a pouss茅 脿 bien r茅fl茅chir qu'est-ce qui il manque pour qu'on puisse vivre en confort ? Qu'il ce qu'il le faut pour vivre en paix avec nous m锚me et dans notre environnement sain et stable ?
La R茅ponse : Il faut de la simplicit茅 ! Tout simplement !!
Comment 莽a ? Et concernant quel c么t茅 exactement ??
La R茅ponse : Dans tous les coins de notre vie quotidienne, il faut de la simplicit茅, il nous manque beaucoup de simplicit茅 franchement.
L'茅crivaine 茅tait parfaitement consciente de tout ce qui manque, et de tout ce qu'il faut faire et o霉 le faire !
Depuis la fa莽on de voir les choses, notre vision 脿 notre existence et notre 茅motions interne jusqu'脿 notre environnement externe, l'art d'锚tre simple et efficace dans tous les aspects de vie, prendre la simplicit茅 comme un principe indispensable 脿 notre univers, dans nos maisons, dans nos chambres 脿 coucher.
L'art de simplifier les choses commence par l'art de cr茅er un environnement sain et stable et confortable en prendre en consid茅ration que nos besoins et se d茅barrasser de tous ce qui n'est plus n茅cessaire, L'art de rangement toute chose a une place et chacune doit 锚tre 脿 sa place.
脢tre dans un environnement propre et bien rang茅 o霉 toutes les choses et objets sont 脿 leurs places. Un environnement lumineux et rayonnant pousse sans doute toute personne 脿 vivre en confort et cr茅er son propre bonheur.
Le livre a donn茅 beaucoup et beaucoup des id茅es simples 脿 appliquer 脿 notre vie quotidienne et a donn茅 aussi la bonne mani猫re d'adopter l'art de simplicit茅 comme un style de vie magnifique et joyeux sans trop de complexit茅 sans d'exag茅ration.
O carte interesant膬 cu multe idei 葯i recomand膬ri valoroase care bine卯n葲eles ca orice carte, este necesar s膬 fie trecut膬 prin propriile filtre 葯i lentile. Pe alocuri pare c膬 autoarea se contrazice 卯n idei 卯ns膬 per ansamblu este o carte care 卯ndeamn膬 la c膬utarea 葯i utilizarea a ceea ce este esen葲ial pentru fiecare dintre noi.
This is something you read with glee because there's someone more pretentious than you and you can have a giggle about them. This lady has no self-awareness. To be a minimalist you have to obsess over every single item you own. Each one has to be perfect or your life is worthless. And remember some items are bad and some are necessary and the only way to tell them apart is to ask this lady who uses water dowsing as scientific backing (also believes in homeopathy, acupuncture and anything newagey). Dimmable lights are a must (actually in the book!), rugs are a no-no. Basically, your house needs to be empty save for the few items she happens to enjoy. List of things achieved by people with nothing in their houses:
...
Everything else was invented by people who's workshop looked like a rat's nest. Yes, if you do nothing all day other than lounge around and listen to opera on your feng-shui compliant gramophone then you can probably live like a nun in a cell like this lady self-proclaims she does.
Dominique Loreau, originar膬 din Belgia, s-a stabilit 卯n Japonia acum mul葲i ani 葯i aici a avut ocazia s膬 cunoasc膬 卯n detaliu cultura lor 葯i s膬 o 卯mbr膬葲i葯eze. A scris multe c膬r葲i pe tema simplit膬葲ii, bunului gust 葯i minimalismului 葯i cum s膬 le aplic膬m 卯n via葲a de zi cu zi.
"Arta simplit膬葲ii" este 卯mp膬r葲it膬 卯n trei p膬r葲i: 1 - materialism 葯i minimalism, 2 - corpul 葯i 3 - mintea 葯i este dedicat膬 "tuturor celor care-葯i doresc s膬 tr膬iasc膬 mai simplu, 葯i deci mai bine din punct de vedere material, fizic, psihologic, spiritual, cu scopul de a-i ajuta s膬 exploreze imensul poten葲ial pe care 卯l posed膬."
O recomand dac膬 vrei s膬 卯葲i simplifici via葲a 葯i s膬 te g芒nde葯ti de ce faci anumite lucruri. Nu trebuie s膬 fii de acord cu absolut tot ce scrie autoarea dar e bine s膬 卯n葲elegi principiile din spatele ideilor expuse 葯i s膬 le aplici cum se potrivesc mai bine 卯n via葲a ta.
To be honest I was expecting more of the book. Maybe I had false expectations, thinking it would be focused on buying and consuming less. However, it is centered around how to take care of yourself, your appartement etc. Even though it was inspiring on how to live simple and minimalistic, some things were quite self-explanatory, or, on the other spectrum, not quite realistic. Overall a good read to think about consumerism and our consumer behaviour and be aware of how we act, live and feel.