Sarah Bakewell

One of the New York Times Top Ten Books of the Year 2016 Selected as a Book of the Year 2016 by the Guardian, TLS, Observer and Mail on Sunday * AS READ ON BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK * Paris, near the turn of 1933. Three young friends meet over apricot cocktails at the Bec-de-Gaz bar on the rue Montparnasse. They are Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and their friend Raymond Aron, who opens their eyes to a radical new way of thinking. Pointing to his drink, he says, "You can make philosophy out of this cocktail!" From this moment of inspiration, Sartre will create his own extraordinary philosophy of real, experienced life - of love and desire, of freedom and being, of caf�s and waiters, of friendships and revolutionary fervour. It is a philosophy that will enthral Paris and sweep through the world, leaving its mark on post-war liberation movements, from the student uprisings of 1968 to civil rights pioneers. At the Existentialist Caf� tells the story of modern existentialism as one of passionate encounters between people, minds and ideas. From the 'king and queen of existentialism' - Sartre and de Beauvoir - to their wider circle of friends and adversaries including Albert Camus, Martin Heidegger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Iris Murdoch, this book is an enjoyable and original journey through a captivating intellectual movement. Weaving biography and thought, Sarah Bakewell takes us to the heart of a philosophy about life that also changed lives, and that tackled the biggest questions of all: what we are and how we are to live.

Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails

At the Existentialist Café

Ned Summers 

A tremendous work of biography that touches on all different facets of the philosophy and lives of the great existentialist figures in such a way that at all times before and after finishing it I just want to shut myself in a room with the entire bibliography for a decade.

Maurice FitzGerald

A response to Heidegger from some NPR level socialite

Shortlisted for the PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize Paris, near the turn of 1932-3. Three young friends meet over apricot cocktails at the Bec-de-Gaz bar on the rue Montparnasse. They are Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and their friend Raymond Aron, who opens their eyes to a radical new way of thinking... ‘It’s not often that you miss your bus stop because you’re so engrossed in reading a book about existentialism, but I did exactly that... The story of Sartre, Beauvoir, Camus, Heidegger et al is strange, fun and compelling reading. If it doesn’t win awards, I will eat my copy’ Independent on Sunday ‘Bakewell shows how fascinating were some of the existentialists’ ideas and how fascinating, often frightful, were their lives. Vivid, humorous anecdotes are interwoven with a lucid and unpatronising exposition of their complex philosophy... Tender, incisive and fair’ Daily Telegraph ‘Quirky, funny, clear and passionate... Few writers are as good as Bakewell at explaining complicated ideas in a way that makes them easy to understand’ Mail on Sunday

At The Existentialist Café

rumbledethumps

I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as her Montaigne book, but perhaps that is an unfair comparison. This was a good look at the Existentialist scene of mid-20th century Europe, with an enlightening explanation of existentialism's roots and ideas. But while it tried to keep its focus on 3 main figures, it bounced around among too many others to adequately maintain its focus. If I want to know more about the philosophy, I'll read the work of the main players. And if I want to know more about the scene and the historical figures, I'll read Beauvoir's autobiography.

Named one of the Ten Best Books of 2016 by the New York Times, a spirited account of a major intellectual movement of the twentieth century and the revolutionary thinkers who came to shape it, by the best-selling author of How to Live Sarah Bakewell. Paris, 1933: three contemporaries meet over apricot cocktails at the Bec-de-Gaz bar on the rue Montparnasse. They are the young Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and longtime friend Raymond Aron, a fellow philosopher who raves to them about a new conceptual framework from Berlin called Phenomenology. "You see," he says, "if you are a phenomenologist you can talk about this cocktail and make philosophy out of it!" It was this simple phrase that would ignite a movement, inspiring Sartre to integrate Phenomenology into his own French, humanistic sensibility, thereby creating an entirely new philosophical approach inspired by themes of radical freedom, authentic being, and political activism. This movement would sweep through the jazz clubs and cafés of the Left Bank before making its way across the world as Existentialism. Featuring not only philosophers, but also playwrights, anthropologists, convicts, and revolutionaries, At the Existentialist Café follows the existentialists' story, from the first rebellious spark through the Second World War, to its role in postwar liberation movements such as anti-colonialism, feminism, and gay rights. Interweaving biography and philosophy, it is the epic account of passionate encounters--fights, love affairs, mentorships, rebellions, and long partnerships--and a vital investigation into what the existentialists have to offer us today, at a moment when we are once again confronting the major questions of freedom, global responsibility, and human authenticity in a fractious and technology-driven world.

Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails with Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, Martin Heidegger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Others

Bouke van der Bijl

Whirlwind tour through mostly French and German existentialist philosophy and philosophers, painting a compelling image of a community of European philosophers (Sartre, Beauvoir, Camus, Heidegger and others) sitting in a café together and figuring out how to Be. The book is mostly a short introduction to all these different philosophers with plenty of references to their own works, and it added a lot of books to my reading list. I did think the writer went a bit far sometimes with interpreting certain events and opinions of the characters, but overall I really enjoyed reading it.

Kavana Anklekar 

I loved this book, I could run down the streets screaming my love for it.

Nelson Zagalo

Numa palavra, brilhante. É com uma enorme admiração por Bakewell que chego ao final da leitura de "At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails" (2016), plenamente satisfeito com o conhecimento e experiência proporcionados. Sarah Bakewell fala a partir de um enorme lastro de conhecimento sobre a corrente do existencialismo, assim como das histórias de vida dos seus autores mais reconhecidos: Kierkegaard, Husserl, Heidegger, Brentano, Merleau-Ponty, Camus, Sartre e Beauvoir. Bakewell usa as histórias dos filósofos para construir uma narrativa ligeiramente romanceada — usando como personagens centrais: Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, Sartre e Beauvoir —, apresentando todo o conhecimento fora do reino da abstração e focado nas histórias, relações, ações e decisões ao longo do século XX. Desta forma, a leitura permite-nos não só compreender os objetivos, alcance e limitações da corrente, como o contexto das suas origens e desenvolvimento. Ao chegar ao final, sentimos conhecer de perto não só aquelas pessoas e o seu tempo, mas acima de tudo as razões que suportaram as suas ideias.


É provável que muito do meu carinho por este livro emane do facto de sentir, num plano mais pessoal do que científico, uma enorme proximidade com as ideias do existencialismo, e ter sempre sentido grande interesse pelos vários proponentes do mesmo. Julgo que isso se deve ao facto da corrente se alicerçar na esfera de interesses da psicologia. Na vontade de estudar e compreender o que somos, como somos e porque somos. Contudo, e apesar desse foco, a corrente apresenta o problema do método que usa para chegar ao conhecimento que diverge totalmente da psicologia, baseando-se na mera análise subjetiva da realidade. Se a análise do comportamento humano é em si mesmo algo já bastante complexo pela impossibilidade de nos colocarmos do "lado de fora", limitar essa análise à mera auto-análise como fez Freud, torna tudo ainda mais irrelevante, naturalmente de um ponto de vista científico.

Ainda assim, não posso deixar de recomendar tremendamente a leitura, porque se aprende imenso sobre Heidegger, o confronto entre as suas ideias e a defesa do nazismo, sobre Sartre, e o confronto entre a integridade das ideias e a dura realidade da biologia, sobre Beauvoir, Ponty, e todos os demais do grupo que passou por Paris, sobre o pensamento da época da segunda guerra, o pós-guerra e depois os intensos anos 1960. É toda uma viagem por entre cabeças cheias de ideias, debatendo-se consigo e com o mundo, num movimento frenético de vontade de chegar a conhecer, saber, dominar o mundo das ideias. 

Talvez aquilo que mais me desiludiu foi o próprio Sartre, pois no caso de Heidegger já não esperava muito, ainda que Bakewell faça um excelente tratamento da persona do alemão. O grande mantra de Sartre, de que “A Existência precede a Essência” é de uma enorme fragilidade, tanto que me vi a mim mesmo, a chocar de frente, pois tinha concordado em parte com ele, aquando da leitura sobre a logoterapia de Viktor E. Frankl, quando este diz que a vida tem sempre um sentido, e que nós somos sempre livres de comandar o sentido que lhe oferecemos. Ora isto é apenas verdade em parte, e todos o devíamos saber, pois já Aristóteles tinha demonstrado que temos continuamente de abrir exceções morais de particularização aos postulados da ética. As condições da nossa essência determinam as escolhas da nossa existência, é assim com a sexualidade, assim como é assim com os genes passados dos nossos pais, e ainda pelos ambientes e pessoas que nos formaram. Podemos racionalizar, mas não podemos virar-nos do avesso, não somos uma coisa, somos seres humanos, complexidade feita de corpo e mente em diálogo permanente. No final, sigo Beauvoir e Camus, pois se tenho alguma certeza sobre o que somos, é de que somos feitos da capacidade de ser em cada momento o que conseguirmos ser, e tal acarreta por vezes contradições que não nos tornam menos dignos, antes pelo contrário, nos tornam mais humanos.

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Ri Liu

Such a vivid detail of existentialist figures, you can tell the author has a real love for the philosophy and the people who defined it. The cover design doesn't give the book enough credit for its depth, despite being very readable it's not a light-hearted frivolous read. I like how the author choose not to depict these people as philosophical monoliths and described how they evolved their views with time, which sometimes contradicted their previous selves. These were flawed humans who introduced some important ideas to society.

Hayley

nice overview to some sexy philosophers, satisfying beginner's taster to phenomenology. very obvious (and unnecessary) asterisks to the communist bits that took me out of it. lib phil.

Samantha Alukas 

Being a self-proclaimed “emo kid” of the early aughts, I am no stranger to existential dread. How could I be, with song titles like “Existentialism on Prom Night” on my iPod (yes, I’m that old 😅). Although I am no longer a moody teenager, existentialism still carries a certain seductive pull. The ideas of free will, authenticity, and responsibility of choice are as relevant today as they were then. 

Equal parts biographical, historical, and philosophical, Bakewell explains not only what existentialism is, but why it is, too. A product of both time and place, we are shown how existentialism was molded and then reshaped in the hands of Sartre, de Beauvoir, Heidegger, Camus, and others, set against the world wars that raged around them. 

Bakewell does not remain impartial in her writing, with her own thoughts and feelings infused into and shaping the story as much as history itself. I enjoyed her voice, which added a layer of ease and interest that is often missing in most historical or academic accounts. 

This is a wonderful introduction for those interested in an overview of existentialism without having to trudge through the primary literature (because let’s face it, the existentialists were a bit wordy, and let’s not even start on Heidegger 🥴)

Jason Porterfield

Entertaining and crystal-clear intro to the existentialists, the philosophers who shaped them and the world as they experienced it. This is the kind of book that makes a body feel oh so much smarter upon reading.

Celine Nguyen ✿

Readable and pleasantly gossipy history of existentialism. Has a generous amount of detail on proto-existentialists like Nietzsche and Kierkegaard, but the focus of the book is figures like Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty (who was apparently an incredible dancer and a huge flirt!). 

A really nice crash course into some of the major philosophers and writers of the twentieth century—writers like Ralph Ellison and Albert Camus make a brief appearance—and their ideas. It’s the most straightforward description of phenomenology I’ve read so far, and I’m really grateful for Sarah Bakewell’s very accessible and entertaining descriptions.

Christopher Wheeler

Silvia Morgantini

Atticus Cameron

Colton Ray

Hooman Rostami

Kyle Curry

logan chung

Franzi

Keven Wang

Shortlisted for the PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize Paris, near the turn of 1932-3. Three young friends meet over apricot cocktails at the Bec-de-Gaz bar on the rue Montparnasse. They are Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and their friend Raymond Aron, who opens their eyes to a radical new way of thinking...'It's not often that you miss your bus stop because you're so engrossed in reading a book about existentialism, but I did exactly that... The story of Sartre, Beauvoir, Camus, Heidegger et al is strange, fun and compelling reading. If it doesn't win awards, I will eat my copy' Independent on Sunday'Bakewell shows how fascinating were some of the existentialists' ideas and how fascinating, often frightful, were their lives. Vivid, humorous anecdotes are interwoven with a lucid and unpatronising exposition of their complex philosophy... Tender, incisive and fair' Daily Telegraph'Quirky, funny, clear and passionate... Few writers are as good as Bakewell at explaining complicated ideas in a way that makes them easy to understand' Mail on Sunday

At the Existentialist Café Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails

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