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Title: All Men Are Mortal by Simone De Beauvoir, Leonard M. Friedman, Simone de Beauvoir ISBN: 0-393-30845-6 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: May, 1992 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (9 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: An Existentially Beautiful Look at Humanity
Comment: Simone de Beauvoir's incredible novel kicks off with Regina, an up-and-coming actress, who meets Raymond Fosca, a mysterious stranger. She brings Fosca to Paris with her, and he confides in her that he is immortal. Things change for Regina; her outlook takes on a different perspective. But this is only a small factor of the book--the majority (and the strongest part) is Fosca's retelling of his immortal life.
This book is amazing on so many levels. It gives a historical recounting, one which will interest anyone with a liking for history. It shows how history truly does repeat itself, and how some seemingly informed descisions can bring hundreds of people to their knees.
But more interesting is the philisophical aspect of the story. There are times when Fosca is down and disheartened, when he is disconnected from the world--a shadow. And then there are times when he is almost like ordinary people--capable of thought and feeling and hope. It is through this immortal life that de Beauvoir explores what it means to be human, what it means to exist, and if one can ever really, truly be immortal. It also asks that if human life is so short and fragile, is it really meaningfull?
The greatest thing about this book is that you will be thinking about it long after you put it down. And that though only adds to the sheer greatness of the book. All Men Are Mortal clings to your heart--your emotions rise and fall with Fosca's, proof that he is a great character. And it will seep into your brain, making you dig deeper into both the book and your own feelings.
All Men Are Mortal is amazing.
Rating: 5
Summary: The price of immortality
Comment: This haunting book is about a ruler of an Italian city-state who believes that he can make his fiefdom a prosperous and contented utopia if only he is given enough time to do so. He eventually attains the gift of immortality, but soon realizes that people cannot or will not change; rather they make the same mistakes over and over again. Giving up his ideals about making the perfect society, he wanders throughout time in a daze, which is broken only at rare points when someone renews his hope for humanity's potential. However, he watches the failure of humankind again and again, and thus his immortality becomes burdensome to the point of not being able to enjoy even the simplest of life's pleasures. What is the point of falling in love or making a friendship, only to watch people you care about grow old and die? What is the point in trying to change things when their essence remains the same throughout time? Du Beauvior dedicated this philosophical book to Jean-Paul Sartre, and it is a thoughtful, chilling look at humankind and our desire for perfection.
Rating: 5
Summary: A philosphically pleasing book
Comment: The other reviews of this book seem to me very informative and sensitive. I can try to add that it is successfully strange. Many writers have written strange books, only some of which come out good. But the existentialist theme, despite its sometimes irritating repetition, always seems to maintain its consistency. Additionally, there are strange juxtapositions, where one character will smile, "showing her big, white teeth," and then another will smile (perhaps 200 or so years later,being the king of some Italian province, "showing his big, white teeth." So Beauvoir seems to have had the desire to let abstraction reign with quite a heavy hand. In the end, what I found most interesting, - although in itself depressing, - is that the immortal only really seemed to find himself approximating true love, and then failing, AFTER the death of his first wife and son.
The very bizarre trip and friend Fosca made in America was interesting, and "realistically," I guess, supported the idea of someone with a lot of time on his hands.
I have a weakness for reading one author and then comparing him to others. I would, in this random subjectivity, compare the primary THOUGHTS/IDEAS in this book (and this is of course nothing if not a book of ideas) to those of Borges and Dostoevsky - a rather weird combination.
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Title: The Ethics of Ambiguity by Simone De Beauvoir, Somone De Beauvior ISBN: 080650160X Publisher: Citadel Trade Pub. Date: October, 2000 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
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Title: The Mandarins by Simone de Beauvoir ISBN: 0393318834 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: 01 July, 1999 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: The Second Sex by Simone De Beauvoir ISBN: 0679724516 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 17 December, 1989 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
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Title: Woman Destroyed by Simone De Beauvoir ISBN: 0394711033 Publisher: Pantheon Books Pub. Date: 12 August, 1987 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre, Lloyd Alexander, H. Carruth ISBN: 0811201880 Publisher: New Directions Publishing Pub. Date: January, 1975 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
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