Storsäljare – At The Existentialist Café

Shortlisted for the PEN Hessell-Tiltman PrizeParis, 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 thinkingIts not often that you miss your bus stop because youre 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 doesnt win awards, I will eat my copy Independent on SundayBakewell 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 TelegraphQuirky, 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