Parisian Lives: Samuel Beckett, Simone de Beauvoir, and Me: A Memoir, by Deirdre Bair

What is it about?

Deirdre Bair's entertaining memoir provides much realist detail of the author's interactions with her biographical subjects, Beckett and Beauvoir. But the book lacks the deeper feminist and ethical reflections possible after the passage of many years. Scholars will find this skilled biographer had to face many obstacles to publishing what would be award-winning books, and in many ways Bair's story confirms the gaslit experience of many professional women in the 1960s, '70s, and '80s. A question lingers as to what it means for a woman to live a successful life -- and what success means. While the author certainly admires both her subjects, and comes to feel a friendship with Beauvoir in particular, she also cannot wholly celebrate Beauvoir. Her subject emerges as flawed and conflicted, rather than wholly accomplished and fulfilled as she had initially assumed.

Featured Image