About this title: In this work Simone De Beauvoir records her mother's death from cancer. It shows the agonies of "a very easy death", the clinical humiliations of a proud woman, and the unforeseen flashes of love and hostility at the bedside.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Date published: 1969
ISBN-13:9780140029673ISBN:0140029672
Description: Acceptable. EXCELLENT value for money and ready for dispatch. Delivery usually within 3/5 days. Our reputation is built on our Speedy Delivery Service and our Customer Service Team. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Date published: 1990
ISBN-13:9780140183276ISBN:0140183272
Description: Good. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! read more
Edition: 1st Edition.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: London: Andre Deutsch: Weidenfeld and Nicolson
Date published: 1966
Description: Description: 106 p.; 23 cm. Subjects: Beauvoir, Simone de (1908-1986)--Autobiography. Authors, French--20th Century--Family relationships. Fine cloth copy in an equally fine dw. Price-clipped dw. Particularly and surprisingly well-preserved; tight, bright, clean and especially sharp-cornered. 1. pp. 106. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Penguin
Date published: 1996
ISBN-13:9780140183276ISBN:0140183272
Description: Good. Ships from the UK. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Your purchase also supports literacy charities. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: DEUTSCH; WEIDENFELD NICOLSON
Date published: 1966
Description: Ex-Library Hardback with D/J. GOOD READING COPY. Ex-library. Shipped from UK. Delivery is usually 2-3 working days from order by Royal Mail, International Delivery is by Airmail. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: DEUTSCH; WEIDENFELD NICOLSON
Date published: 1966
Description: Published by DEUTSCH; WEIDENFELD NICOLSON in 1966. Hardback with Dust jacket. Condition: Good. Used book but in Good Condition for sensible price. #1010394 Shipped from UK. Delivery is usually 2-3 working days from order by Royal Mail, International Delivery is by Airmail. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: PENGUIN BOOKS LTD
Date published: 1969
Description: Published by Penguin Books Ltd in 1969. Paperback. Number of pages: 92. Condition: Acceptable. Reading copy ONLY Corners bumped. small stain marking inside Shipped from UK. Delivery is usually 2-3 working days from order by Royal Mail, International Delivery is by Airmail. read more
Description: Very Good. 1966 Hardcover. "8vo. This is book four in the life of Simone de Beauvoir. 106p. Strong, clean, tight copy in near fine dw. First U. K Edition". Keywords: Subjects Not a first edition copy. All books in stock. We ship daily from our warehouse. Over 200, 000 customers served online! Our feedback reflects our service...."Fast delivery, great seller", "Fantastic, came right away and was in perfect condition--thanks! " read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Warner Books
Date published: 1973
ISBN-13:9780446761802ISBN:044676180X
Description: Acceptable. Overall below average used book. May have highlighting, underlining, notes, price sticker on cover, or be an ex-library book. read more
Edition: First Printing
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Warner Paperback Library, New York
Date published: 1973
ISBN-13:9780446761802ISBN:044676180X
Description: Near Fine. 123 pages. Translated from the French by Patrick O'Brian. Square tight, uncreased, unmarked and clean. Paper slightly tanning. read more
"I would love to read this book in it's original French but that aside, it was still a ... well, it sounds morbid and inappropriate to describe it as an enjoyable read - but it was, in a way. It was short, which I thought was a blessing - any longer and it would have become harrowing and tedious. De Beauvoir's writing is beautiful (though surely missing a lot of it's beauty having been translated), she conveys her emotions and thoughts so fluidly, it almost feels as though you are right there with her. Her language is simple but poetic.
One of my favourite passages:
"The sight of my mother's nakedness had jarred me. No body existed less for me: none existed more. As a child I had love it dearly; as an adolescent it had filled me with an uneasy repulsion: all this was perfectly ordinary course of things and it seemed reasonable to me that her body should retain its dual nature, that it should be both repugnant and holy - a taboo. But for all that, I was astonished at the violence of my distress."
We spend thirty days with Simone beside her mother's bed, observing her mother's decline and listening to her process her thoughts as she does so.
I appreciate De Beauvoir's ability to not only convey her emotions throughout the pages, but also to analyse and philosophise throughout, but not unfeelingly. Another few lines that I loved; "Religion could do no more for my mother than the hope of posthumous success could do for me. Whether you think of it as heavenly or as earthly, if you love life immortality is no consolation for death."
"I read this last year, and it was the first piece of literature that got me interested in existentialist fiction (I'm not an existentialist, but I love their literature).
The book is about De Beauvoir trying to cope with her mother's death. De Beauvoir's feelings are ambivalent about the death of her mother.
Throughout the book, the doctors try to console the De Beauvoir sisters, and the doctors deal with the slow death of their mother in a very rational manner. (They've put her in a comfortable bed and in a nice room etc.) However, the message De Beauvoir writes is that there is no rational way to deal with death. Death does not make sense. And no matter how planned and structured the doctors try to make the passing of her mother, in short, to rationalize and ease the death of a loved one, De Beauvoir cannot react in kind.
People have remarked that De Beauvoir seems to be a little cold towards the death of her mother, but there is no one reaction to the death of a loved one. This is about personal experience (a hallmark of existential thought) and how dealing with death is not an objective, rational process that people experience the same way across the board. There is nothing rational about dying.
This was beautifully written, and more importantly, it made me think."
"I was expecting more from this. I first read it in college, but didn't remember much about it. Found it again when my mom was dying and set it aside to read when I felt ready. I was surprised that I wasn't more moved by it, other than the final chapter, which was the highlight of the book by far."
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