What do you think?
Rate this book
The Blood of Others
Novel by the second most important figure in the existentialist movement after Jean-Paul Sartre. Thrilling narrative of the French Resistance in World War II. The story begins and ends at the bedside of a young Resistance worker, Helene, watched over by her lover, Jean Blomart, leader of her group.
288 pages, Paperback
Published October 3, 2024
11 people are currently reading
44 people want to read
About the author
Simone de Beauvoir
420 books11.4k followersWorks of Simone de Beauvoir, French writer, existentialist, and feminist, include
The Second Sex
in 1949 and
The Coming of Age
, a study in 1970 of views of different cultures on the old.
Simone de Beauvoir, an author and philosopher, wrote novels, monographs, political and social issues, essays, biographies, and an autobiography. People now best know She Came to Stay and The Mandarins , her metaphysical novels. Her treatise, a foundational contemporary tract, of 1949 detailed analysis of oppression of women.
Simone de Beauvoir, an author and philosopher, wrote novels, monographs, political and social issues, essays, biographies, and an autobiography. People now best know She Came to Stay and The Mandarins , her metaphysical novels. Her treatise, a foundational contemporary tract, of 1949 detailed analysis of oppression of women.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 25, 2025
Deși am citit cartea in limba engleza simt ca pot scrie mai bine despre ea in romana.
M-a străpuns. O carte de beletristica ca un jurnal. De parca in mintea autoarei existau mai multe tipuri de gânduri care au fost concretizate intr-o poveste cu mai multi oameni. Fiecare cu constiinta lui la inceput, iar la final toți parca împărțind aceeași conștiință. E ca si cum, in vremuri de război, sângele altora devine sangele nostru.
Desi la inceput fiecare persoanj avea o voința de sine stătătoare, iubea, simțea, gandea si acționa pentru sufletul sau, la final toți aveau același gand. Corpurile s-au dematerializat, rămânând o singura bucata de suflet, de durere si de speranta.
"We only exist if we act" a spus Jean la final. Ceea ce pare atat de in antiteza cu ce a gandea la inceput - cand isi spunea ca e doar papusa vieții, ca nimic nu contează si ca poate si minți atat timp cat minciunile lui aduc fericirea in jur. "Something will happen through me, and no longer in spițe of me; because I willed it"
Jean post - razboi considera ca inactiunea inseamna moarte spirituala.
"And it is war, a lost war. We did not dare to kill, we did not want to die, and those grey-green vermin devour our living bodies. Women and new-born children die in the ditches; on the soil that is already no longer ours, a huge steel net has fallen, caging Frenchmen by the million. Because of me. Each of us is responsible for everything. (...) Now his life was behind him, his wasted life. It was too late, everything was over. Because wanted to keep myself pure, when it was already within me, part of my flesh, my breath: the original rottennes. We are defeated; mankind is defeated."
Jean ante - război punea semnul egal intre inactiune si acțiune ("I am neither warmonger nor a pacifist. I am nothing at all. Gauthier was a pacifist. Paul was a Communist. Helen was in love. Laurent was a working man. And I was nothing").
Daca Jean este rațiunea din mintea autoarei, atunci Helen este empatie. Helen, la început o copila indragostita, nu vedea de ce este important sa ii pese de alții, vedea doar de cei dragi ei. In timpul războiului, Helen a gasit importanta empatiei. A inteles de ce si cum sângele altora, in sine, e doar sângele ei.
It's easy to pay with the blood of others - pana cand nu mai e si ajungem sa ne dam seama ca, de fapt, am plătit cu sângele nostru, al ascendentiilor si urmașilor nostrii.
Și încă cateva citate care au rămas cu mine:
1. 'What would become of the organization if something happened to you?
'I know. Generals die in their beds. I haven't the soul of a general'.
You'll have to buy one, says Denise. You know perfectly well that no one is capable of taking your place.
"You want me to send my pals to risk their skins while I stay sipping my coffee? I could hardly bear to live with myself.
Denise looks at me reprovingly. 'You're too interested in yourself.'
Those words strike home. She is right, It is perhaps because I am bourgeois that I must always be thinking about myself.
'Your personal scruples do not interest us, she continues severely. 'We entrusted ourselves to you as a leader who puts the cause first, above everything: you've no right to betray us.
2. Now she was no longer ever alone, no longer useless and lost under the empty sky. She existed with him, with Marcel, with Madeleine, Laurent, Yvonne, with all the unknown human beings who slept in wooden huts and who had never heard her name, with all those who longed for a different tomorrow, even with those who did not know how to long for anything. The shell had burst open; she existed for something, for someone The whole earth was one fraternal unity.
3.For you, only an innocent stone- you had chosen. Those who will be shot tomorrow have not chosen; I am the rock that crushes them; I shall not escape the curse; for ever I shall be to them another being, for ever I shall be to them the blind force of fate, for ever separated from them. But if only I dedicate myself to defend that supreme good, which makes innocent and vain all the stones and the rocks, that good which saves each man from all the others andfrom myself- Freedom - then my passion will not have been in vain. You have not given me peace; but why should I desire peace? You have given me the courage to accept for ever the risk and the anguish, to bear my crimes and my guilt which will rend me eternally. There is no other way.
M-a străpuns. O carte de beletristica ca un jurnal. De parca in mintea autoarei existau mai multe tipuri de gânduri care au fost concretizate intr-o poveste cu mai multi oameni. Fiecare cu constiinta lui la inceput, iar la final toți parca împărțind aceeași conștiință. E ca si cum, in vremuri de război, sângele altora devine sangele nostru.
Desi la inceput fiecare persoanj avea o voința de sine stătătoare, iubea, simțea, gandea si acționa pentru sufletul sau, la final toți aveau același gand. Corpurile s-au dematerializat, rămânând o singura bucata de suflet, de durere si de speranta.
"We only exist if we act" a spus Jean la final. Ceea ce pare atat de in antiteza cu ce a gandea la inceput - cand isi spunea ca e doar papusa vieții, ca nimic nu contează si ca poate si minți atat timp cat minciunile lui aduc fericirea in jur. "Something will happen through me, and no longer in spițe of me; because I willed it"
Jean post - razboi considera ca inactiunea inseamna moarte spirituala.
"And it is war, a lost war. We did not dare to kill, we did not want to die, and those grey-green vermin devour our living bodies. Women and new-born children die in the ditches; on the soil that is already no longer ours, a huge steel net has fallen, caging Frenchmen by the million. Because of me. Each of us is responsible for everything. (...) Now his life was behind him, his wasted life. It was too late, everything was over. Because wanted to keep myself pure, when it was already within me, part of my flesh, my breath: the original rottennes. We are defeated; mankind is defeated."
Jean ante - război punea semnul egal intre inactiune si acțiune ("I am neither warmonger nor a pacifist. I am nothing at all. Gauthier was a pacifist. Paul was a Communist. Helen was in love. Laurent was a working man. And I was nothing").
Daca Jean este rațiunea din mintea autoarei, atunci Helen este empatie. Helen, la început o copila indragostita, nu vedea de ce este important sa ii pese de alții, vedea doar de cei dragi ei. In timpul războiului, Helen a gasit importanta empatiei. A inteles de ce si cum sângele altora, in sine, e doar sângele ei.
It's easy to pay with the blood of others - pana cand nu mai e si ajungem sa ne dam seama ca, de fapt, am plătit cu sângele nostru, al ascendentiilor si urmașilor nostrii.
Și încă cateva citate care au rămas cu mine:
1. 'What would become of the organization if something happened to you?
'I know. Generals die in their beds. I haven't the soul of a general'.
You'll have to buy one, says Denise. You know perfectly well that no one is capable of taking your place.
"You want me to send my pals to risk their skins while I stay sipping my coffee? I could hardly bear to live with myself.
Denise looks at me reprovingly. 'You're too interested in yourself.'
Those words strike home. She is right, It is perhaps because I am bourgeois that I must always be thinking about myself.
'Your personal scruples do not interest us, she continues severely. 'We entrusted ourselves to you as a leader who puts the cause first, above everything: you've no right to betray us.
2. Now she was no longer ever alone, no longer useless and lost under the empty sky. She existed with him, with Marcel, with Madeleine, Laurent, Yvonne, with all the unknown human beings who slept in wooden huts and who had never heard her name, with all those who longed for a different tomorrow, even with those who did not know how to long for anything. The shell had burst open; she existed for something, for someone The whole earth was one fraternal unity.
3.For you, only an innocent stone- you had chosen. Those who will be shot tomorrow have not chosen; I am the rock that crushes them; I shall not escape the curse; for ever I shall be to them another being, for ever I shall be to them the blind force of fate, for ever separated from them. But if only I dedicate myself to defend that supreme good, which makes innocent and vain all the stones and the rocks, that good which saves each man from all the others andfrom myself- Freedom - then my passion will not have been in vain. You have not given me peace; but why should I desire peace? You have given me the courage to accept for ever the risk and the anguish, to bear my crimes and my guilt which will rend me eternally. There is no other way.
November 12, 2025
Gut. Letzte 30 Seiten aus Angst / Misstrauen nicht gelesen. Jean und Paul als Love-Interests ist insane!
September 15, 2025
Incredibly moving. What starts as a tale of morals, unrequited love, and fate turns subtly into the unavoidable collective responsibility under fascism. I have never read fiction by de Beauvoir, and her surreal influences definitely seep through. Although I’m not sure why I keep doing this to myself because French literature just makes me long for Paris even more.
March 19, 2025
Calm down Jean, wake up Helene (oh wait).
November 12, 2025
Gut.
Letzte 30 Seiten nicht gelesen, weil Angst.
Jean und Paul als Love-Interests macht mich fertig!
Letzte 30 Seiten nicht gelesen, weil Angst.
Jean und Paul als Love-Interests macht mich fertig!
June 21, 2025
Dove in without much expectations, and was suprised by how much I enjoyed it. Probably just a skill issue, but the narrative was a bit confusing to follow sometimes. Nonetheless, a compelling story with beautiful moments.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews