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Noon in Paris, Eight in Chicago
Sharp and intimate, Douglas Cowie's reimagining of the turbulent love affair between Simone de Beauvoir and Nelson Algren asks what it means to love and be loved by the right person at the wrong time.
Chicago, 1947: on a freezing February night, France’s feminist icon Simone de Beauvoir calls up radical resident novelist Nelson Algren, asking him to show her around. After a whirlwind tour of dive bars, cabarets and the police lockup, the pair return to his apartment on Wabansia Avenue. Here, a passion is sparked that will last for the next two decades. Their relationship intensifies during intoxicating months spent together in Paris and Chicago. But in between are long, anguished periods apart filled with competing desires – lovers old and new, writing, politics, gambling – which ultimately expose the fragility of their unconventional ‘marriage’ and put their devotion to the test.
Chicago, 1947: on a freezing February night, France’s feminist icon Simone de Beauvoir calls up radical resident novelist Nelson Algren, asking him to show her around. After a whirlwind tour of dive bars, cabarets and the police lockup, the pair return to his apartment on Wabansia Avenue. Here, a passion is sparked that will last for the next two decades. Their relationship intensifies during intoxicating months spent together in Paris and Chicago. But in between are long, anguished periods apart filled with competing desires – lovers old and new, writing, politics, gambling – which ultimately expose the fragility of their unconventional ‘marriage’ and put their devotion to the test.
320 pages, Paperback
Published May 26, 2016
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263 people want to read
About the author
Douglas Cowie
6 books10 followersDouglas Cowie is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, University of London.
His first novel, Owen Noone and the Marauder, was published in the UK and the US in 2005. Most recently he has published two linked novellas, Sing for Life: Tin Pan Alley and Sing for Life: Away, You Rolling River in the US.
His first novel, Owen Noone and the Marauder, was published in the UK and the US in 2005. Most recently he has published two linked novellas, Sing for Life: Tin Pan Alley and Sing for Life: Away, You Rolling River in the US.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
May 19, 2016
Noon in Paris, Eight in Chicago, by Douglas Cowie, reimagines the love affair between Simone de Beauvoir and Nelson Algren. Their relationship spanned two decades although their mutual passion burnt out much more quickly. Each was looking for something the other could not offer leaving both dissatisfied. It is an interesting exploration of why couples get together, and why they fall apart.
Simone de Beauvoir was a French writer and intellectual. She was the long term partner of Jean-Paul Sartre and made her name writing the feminist text, The Second Sex. She and Sartre had what has been described as an open relationship. Although only touched on briefly in this book, Simone scandalised society by taking lovers of both sexes, some of them underage.
Simone and Sartre were core members of an intimate circle of Parisian philosophers and friends who held a high opinion of themselves, regarding their work as of vital importance. They welcomed the diversions offered by others but retained the belief that they themselves were superior.
Nelson Algren was an American writer, considered ‘a bard of the down-and-outer’. He met Simone when she telephoned him to ask for a tour of the ‘real Chicago’ on the recommendation of a mutual acquaintance. Their affair started immediately and was characterised by short periods of passionate intensity followed by long months apart during which they both, although Simone more especially, poured out their desires in frequent and lengthy correspondence.
Nelson resented the continued presence of Sartre in Simone’s life. He wished her to move to America which she would not countenance, believing that Sartre needed her and that their work was too important to set aside. Simone believed that Nelson should appreciate this and make the most of the limited time she offered him. She became upset when he allowed her intransigence to colour his behaviour.
When Nelson realised that he could not get Simone to behave as he wanted he took other lovers before sinking into depression. He had always mixed with gamblers, drunks and drug addicts; now he became one of them with disasterous results. Simone wished to rekindle their romance but remained unwilling to either give up her life in Paris or to have him join her long term.
Early on it is clear that the lovers are not satisfied with even the little details of each other’s lives. For example, they criticise the other’s attire. Simone deals with this by buying clothes she approves of for Nelson and throwing away what he has chosen. She is unable to see that she would not accept such behaviour from him.
When they travel they take pride in not being tourists, never noticing that locals mock and take advantage of their obvious inclusion in this set. Simone and her friends sneer at the bourgeoise with all the pompous contempt of intellectuals convinced of their own superiority. They laugh at Nelson when he offers to punch a man who verbally assaults Simone. Although seemingly accepted he comes to realise how he is regarded:
“a silly American man bewildered at everything she showed him […] eager for her pats on the head, a pleasent enough sideshow, and useful proof of her shabby and shitty theory that she and Sartre were better than everybody else.”
The prose is taut, pacy and compelling. The tension between Nelson and Simone is presented in their actions, their conceits and pretensions showing how deluded they were. Their love was for an ideal that the other was unable or unwilling to fulfil.
I did not warm to the characters but this is a fascinating study of how people see themselves, how they believe they deserve to be treated by others, and how hard done by they can feel when this does not occur. The observations of the human psyche are sharp and concise.
Not always a comfortable read as it shines a light on conceits and delusions with which many live. A fascinating account of a group of writers whose work may be admired more than its creators.
My copy of this book was provided gratis by the publisher, Myriad.
Simone de Beauvoir was a French writer and intellectual. She was the long term partner of Jean-Paul Sartre and made her name writing the feminist text, The Second Sex. She and Sartre had what has been described as an open relationship. Although only touched on briefly in this book, Simone scandalised society by taking lovers of both sexes, some of them underage.
Simone and Sartre were core members of an intimate circle of Parisian philosophers and friends who held a high opinion of themselves, regarding their work as of vital importance. They welcomed the diversions offered by others but retained the belief that they themselves were superior.
Nelson Algren was an American writer, considered ‘a bard of the down-and-outer’. He met Simone when she telephoned him to ask for a tour of the ‘real Chicago’ on the recommendation of a mutual acquaintance. Their affair started immediately and was characterised by short periods of passionate intensity followed by long months apart during which they both, although Simone more especially, poured out their desires in frequent and lengthy correspondence.
Nelson resented the continued presence of Sartre in Simone’s life. He wished her to move to America which she would not countenance, believing that Sartre needed her and that their work was too important to set aside. Simone believed that Nelson should appreciate this and make the most of the limited time she offered him. She became upset when he allowed her intransigence to colour his behaviour.
When Nelson realised that he could not get Simone to behave as he wanted he took other lovers before sinking into depression. He had always mixed with gamblers, drunks and drug addicts; now he became one of them with disasterous results. Simone wished to rekindle their romance but remained unwilling to either give up her life in Paris or to have him join her long term.
Early on it is clear that the lovers are not satisfied with even the little details of each other’s lives. For example, they criticise the other’s attire. Simone deals with this by buying clothes she approves of for Nelson and throwing away what he has chosen. She is unable to see that she would not accept such behaviour from him.
When they travel they take pride in not being tourists, never noticing that locals mock and take advantage of their obvious inclusion in this set. Simone and her friends sneer at the bourgeoise with all the pompous contempt of intellectuals convinced of their own superiority. They laugh at Nelson when he offers to punch a man who verbally assaults Simone. Although seemingly accepted he comes to realise how he is regarded:
“a silly American man bewildered at everything she showed him […] eager for her pats on the head, a pleasent enough sideshow, and useful proof of her shabby and shitty theory that she and Sartre were better than everybody else.”
The prose is taut, pacy and compelling. The tension between Nelson and Simone is presented in their actions, their conceits and pretensions showing how deluded they were. Their love was for an ideal that the other was unable or unwilling to fulfil.
I did not warm to the characters but this is a fascinating study of how people see themselves, how they believe they deserve to be treated by others, and how hard done by they can feel when this does not occur. The observations of the human psyche are sharp and concise.
Not always a comfortable read as it shines a light on conceits and delusions with which many live. A fascinating account of a group of writers whose work may be admired more than its creators.
My copy of this book was provided gratis by the publisher, Myriad.
June 29, 2016
Novel set mainly in Paris and Chicago
This review first appeared on our blog: http://www.tripfiction.com/novel-set-...
Simone de Beauvoir meets Nelson Algren in February 1947 when she rings him up and asks him to show her the ‘real’ Chicago. He takes her on breakneck tour of the seamier side of Chicago – the dives, the cabarets, even the police cells – and then back to his apartment on Wabansia Avenue, where the love affair, which was to last for two decades, begins. They are an unlikely pairing – she France’s feminist icon, member of an intimate circle of Parisian intellectuals and philosophers and in a long term relationship with Sartre – and Algren, a radical writer, champion of the down-and-out, whose closest friends are drunks, gamblers and drug addicts.
Simone, however, soon comes to see Nelson as the great love of her life and Nelson terms her his “frog wife” and longs for some permanence in the relationship. The couple spend as much time together as the constraints of 1940’s and 50’s travel and the demands of work will allow but their long-distance love affair is doomed from the start. Simone wants to be in Paris, believing that Sartre needs her and that their work together is of immense importance and Nelson “loses” his passport for six years because of suspect political links. Inevitably, Nelson begins to resent Simone’s reluctance to prioritize their relationship and the continued presence of Sartre in Simone’s life.
What makes this account of an already fairly well-documented love affair very special is the way that Cowie gets beneath the skin of the characters. Great intellectual and influential figures, in Cowie’s hands, become human souls struggling with the dilemmas that we all face. There is great tenderness in his account of Simone’s anguish when Nelson, in a fit of pique, withholds his love from her. But Cowie is doing more than just skilfully telling us a story; he is exploring the nature of relationships and the gap between hopes and expectations and the reality, particularly when each of the lovers wants different things from the relationship.
Cowie’s account of Nelson and Simone’s travels in Mexico and Guatemala makes very interesting reading too. The pair believe themselves to be different from the other tourists; they avoid the much promoted tourist hotel and stay instead with a local family on a farm; they pride themselves on seeking out restaurants and bars frequented by locals, not noticing that the locals accurately see them for what they are and overcharge them accordingly. We laugh at Nelson and Simone’s pretensions but are inevitably uncomfortably aware of having similar ideas ourselves from time to time.
This is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster of a novel – you find yourself laughing, crying, cringing and gloating by turns. It’s not always a comfortable read; it makes you question your own attitudes as a traveller, as a lover, but it’s sensitively written, well-paced and really compelling.
Well worth a read.
This review first appeared on our blog: http://www.tripfiction.com/novel-set-...
Simone de Beauvoir meets Nelson Algren in February 1947 when she rings him up and asks him to show her the ‘real’ Chicago. He takes her on breakneck tour of the seamier side of Chicago – the dives, the cabarets, even the police cells – and then back to his apartment on Wabansia Avenue, where the love affair, which was to last for two decades, begins. They are an unlikely pairing – she France’s feminist icon, member of an intimate circle of Parisian intellectuals and philosophers and in a long term relationship with Sartre – and Algren, a radical writer, champion of the down-and-out, whose closest friends are drunks, gamblers and drug addicts.
Simone, however, soon comes to see Nelson as the great love of her life and Nelson terms her his “frog wife” and longs for some permanence in the relationship. The couple spend as much time together as the constraints of 1940’s and 50’s travel and the demands of work will allow but their long-distance love affair is doomed from the start. Simone wants to be in Paris, believing that Sartre needs her and that their work together is of immense importance and Nelson “loses” his passport for six years because of suspect political links. Inevitably, Nelson begins to resent Simone’s reluctance to prioritize their relationship and the continued presence of Sartre in Simone’s life.
What makes this account of an already fairly well-documented love affair very special is the way that Cowie gets beneath the skin of the characters. Great intellectual and influential figures, in Cowie’s hands, become human souls struggling with the dilemmas that we all face. There is great tenderness in his account of Simone’s anguish when Nelson, in a fit of pique, withholds his love from her. But Cowie is doing more than just skilfully telling us a story; he is exploring the nature of relationships and the gap between hopes and expectations and the reality, particularly when each of the lovers wants different things from the relationship.
Cowie’s account of Nelson and Simone’s travels in Mexico and Guatemala makes very interesting reading too. The pair believe themselves to be different from the other tourists; they avoid the much promoted tourist hotel and stay instead with a local family on a farm; they pride themselves on seeking out restaurants and bars frequented by locals, not noticing that the locals accurately see them for what they are and overcharge them accordingly. We laugh at Nelson and Simone’s pretensions but are inevitably uncomfortably aware of having similar ideas ourselves from time to time.
This is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster of a novel – you find yourself laughing, crying, cringing and gloating by turns. It’s not always a comfortable read; it makes you question your own attitudes as a traveller, as a lover, but it’s sensitively written, well-paced and really compelling.
Well worth a read.
January 4, 2021
Starting 2021 with a comforting reread, Noon in Paris is a reimagining of the 18 year long-distance relationship between Simone de Beauvoir and Nelson Algren. I picked this up randomly a few years ago and it turned into one of my favourite books, I can’t pinpoint exactly why but this is my third or fourth time rereading it.
I love the cutting descriptions of Simone’s visits to Chicago and Nelson’s to Paris and their need to adapt and re-adapt to each other every time, carving out places in their lives for the other, their moving around each other. I love the imagining of them waiting painstakingly to receive the others letters, the weeks it took to slowly travel to where the other was, the stories about their travels in Mexico and Guatemala and the summer house in Indiana.
It’s about love in the wrong place at the wrong time, withholding love, not being offered what you need. This book is one of my favourites, it definitely has its faults but also the ability to make me go back to it again and again.
“I never liked Marseille very much when I lived there, but I think now it is a place I would very much like to spend a lot of time with you.”
February 17, 2018
Noon in Paris, Eight in Chicago is the story of the 18 year long love affair between Simone De Beauvoir and Nelson Algren.
If you enjoy thinking about the great writers of the 20th century, all meeting up and drinking whisky and working together in a lifestyle we don’t really see today, this is one for you. That said, I didn’t particularly feel that this character represented Simone De Beauvoir (I know little of Algren so can’t say whether or not this portrait of him sat well with the one I imagine). Setting the huge baggage of the historical literary figures aside (which may well be the point - this is about them as private people as opposed to famous writers after all), this is a good account of two people falling in and out of love, and would be a perfect summer holiday read, full as it is with sunshine and travelling.
If you enjoy thinking about the great writers of the 20th century, all meeting up and drinking whisky and working together in a lifestyle we don’t really see today, this is one for you. That said, I didn’t particularly feel that this character represented Simone De Beauvoir (I know little of Algren so can’t say whether or not this portrait of him sat well with the one I imagine). Setting the huge baggage of the historical literary figures aside (which may well be the point - this is about them as private people as opposed to famous writers after all), this is a good account of two people falling in and out of love, and would be a perfect summer holiday read, full as it is with sunshine and travelling.
February 18, 2017
Author: Douglas Cowie
Title: Noon In Paris, Eight In Chicago
Genre: Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Contemporary, Literature & Fiction, Literature,
This book I got for free as part of a goodreads giveaway and firstread I have never won anything before. I want to say a big thank you to goodreads for having a great site. I want to say a big thank you to the person who hosted the giveaway and picking me as a winner.
I would tell people that you should step outside your comfort zone with books because it is good to add more authors and genres to your reading portfolio. Even if you do not read books like this.
I normally read books of this genre but l also stepped outside my comfort zone with authors and genres l am so glad l did because l have read so many great books and come across some great authors.
I highly recommend this book.
Book Dedication: For Bob Eaglestone.
Review From People:
Praise For Douglas Cowie.
Douglas Cowie has captured the tragic love between Nelson Algren and Simone De Beauvoir with heart felt innocence. Focusing on the simple truths and fundamental desires that arguably these two great intellectuals had denied themselves with others, Cowie exposes the tender, vulnerable soul of both with a deep sense of empathy. - Mark Blottner, co-director of Nelson Algren the end is nothing, the road is all.
Cowie brings a disarming voice and a freshness to proceedings. - Guardian.
A page-turning novel. - TLS Review.
Cowie (writes) with enormous assurance and off beat charm. - The Times.
An uncanny ability to evoke time and place … an intriguing novel. - Scotland On Sunday.
This book has 314 pages and 15 chapters and 3 parts in it.
Synopsis: Chicago, 1947: on a freezing February night, France's feminist icon Simone De Beauvoir calls up radical resident novelist Nelson Algren, Asking him to show her around. After a whirlwind tour of dive bars, cabarets and police lock up, the pair return to his apartment on Wabansia Avenue. Here, a passion is sparked that will last for the next decades. Their relationship intensifies during intoxicating months spent together in Paris and Chicago. But in between are long, anguished periods apart are filled with competing desires – lovers old and new, writing, politics, gambling – which ultimately expose the fragility of their unconventional marriage” and put their devotion to the test. Sharp and intimate, Cowie's reimagining of this turbulent love affair asks what it means to love and be loved by the right person at the wrong time.
Review: I found this book really easy to get in to. I found this book hard to put down once l started reading it. It did not take me long to finish this book. I can not put in to words how great this book is I would tell people to read it for themselves to know how great it really is. I wish l could rate this book more then five stars. This book just gets better and better as the story goes on. This book will leave you wanting more I would happily read this book again. I like reading about Nelson and Simone and them falling in love and travelling to different place and seeing different scenery . I am enjoying reading this book and sometimes l would cuddle up with my cat when reading this book. I got lost in this book and storyline very easily. This book will take you away. This book is addicting book and storyline. I would love to read more about Nelson and Simone and more from Douglas Cowie. This book is so romantic. I wish Simone would move to Chicago to be with Nelson and they would get married and have babies. I like that Nelson and Simone went travelling together. It was sad to read that all the pictures they took when they was travelling did not come out clearly. Simone went to Chicago and Nelson went to Paris and he got to meet all Simone's friends and Simone met all Nelson's friends too. I really enjoyed reading about Nelson, his life and Simone and her life. It was nice to read that two people with different lifes and from different parts of the world fell in love. Nelson got to meet Sartre who Simone is always going on about all the time. It was horrible to read that people was calling Simone names the people who was calling her names sound jealous of Simone and her success. Poor Nelson being sea sick it was funny though. It was funny that Simone threw Nelson's favorite clothes overboard in to the sea on their journey. This book is truly amazing. I wish this book world not finish. I was sad to finish this book. I was hooked on this book after reading the first page I loved this book it is so romantic. Twenty thousand copies of Simone's book was sold I was happy to read and everybody was happy about it too. One of Nelson's books was reviewed in the times. I love reading romance novels. It was nice to read that Nelson was helping Margo to get off drugs I hope she cleans herself up and goes back to her family. It was great to read that Margo got off the drugs. Nelson and Simone sound like they make a great couple. There is nothing better than relaxing with a great book. I am happy to read that Nelson and Simone love to read books too and that they are both writers. Nelson and Simone meet when she rings Nelson to ask him to show her around Chicago. This book made me think that Nelson and Simone fell in love the first day they hat met. They sent letters to each other back and forth from Paris and Chicago. Sounds like Nelson wants children Simone. It sounds like Nelson also wants to marry Simone.
About The Author: Douglas Cowie was born in Elmhurst, Illinois, and since 1999 has lived in both England and Germany. He teaches in the department of English at Royal Holloway, university of London. He is also the author of the novels Owen noone and the marauder (2005) and two linked novella's, sing for life: tin pan alley (2013) and sing for life: away, you rolling river (2014).
About The Book: I really love this cover. The colours are really nice. I love that there is more then one colour on this book cover. My favorite colour is one of the colours and my sister's favorite colour is one of the colours too. I love that the inside of the book cover is a map of Chicago which I think is amazing.
Star Rating: Five Out Of Five Stars.
Title: Noon In Paris, Eight In Chicago
Genre: Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Contemporary, Literature & Fiction, Literature,
This book I got for free as part of a goodreads giveaway and firstread I have never won anything before. I want to say a big thank you to goodreads for having a great site. I want to say a big thank you to the person who hosted the giveaway and picking me as a winner.
I would tell people that you should step outside your comfort zone with books because it is good to add more authors and genres to your reading portfolio. Even if you do not read books like this.
I normally read books of this genre but l also stepped outside my comfort zone with authors and genres l am so glad l did because l have read so many great books and come across some great authors.
I highly recommend this book.
Book Dedication: For Bob Eaglestone.
Review From People:
Praise For Douglas Cowie.
Douglas Cowie has captured the tragic love between Nelson Algren and Simone De Beauvoir with heart felt innocence. Focusing on the simple truths and fundamental desires that arguably these two great intellectuals had denied themselves with others, Cowie exposes the tender, vulnerable soul of both with a deep sense of empathy. - Mark Blottner, co-director of Nelson Algren the end is nothing, the road is all.
Cowie brings a disarming voice and a freshness to proceedings. - Guardian.
A page-turning novel. - TLS Review.
Cowie (writes) with enormous assurance and off beat charm. - The Times.
An uncanny ability to evoke time and place … an intriguing novel. - Scotland On Sunday.
This book has 314 pages and 15 chapters and 3 parts in it.
Synopsis: Chicago, 1947: on a freezing February night, France's feminist icon Simone De Beauvoir calls up radical resident novelist Nelson Algren, Asking him to show her around. After a whirlwind tour of dive bars, cabarets and police lock up, the pair return to his apartment on Wabansia Avenue. Here, a passion is sparked that will last for the next decades. Their relationship intensifies during intoxicating months spent together in Paris and Chicago. But in between are long, anguished periods apart are filled with competing desires – lovers old and new, writing, politics, gambling – which ultimately expose the fragility of their unconventional marriage” and put their devotion to the test. Sharp and intimate, Cowie's reimagining of this turbulent love affair asks what it means to love and be loved by the right person at the wrong time.
Review: I found this book really easy to get in to. I found this book hard to put down once l started reading it. It did not take me long to finish this book. I can not put in to words how great this book is I would tell people to read it for themselves to know how great it really is. I wish l could rate this book more then five stars. This book just gets better and better as the story goes on. This book will leave you wanting more I would happily read this book again. I like reading about Nelson and Simone and them falling in love and travelling to different place and seeing different scenery . I am enjoying reading this book and sometimes l would cuddle up with my cat when reading this book. I got lost in this book and storyline very easily. This book will take you away. This book is addicting book and storyline. I would love to read more about Nelson and Simone and more from Douglas Cowie. This book is so romantic. I wish Simone would move to Chicago to be with Nelson and they would get married and have babies. I like that Nelson and Simone went travelling together. It was sad to read that all the pictures they took when they was travelling did not come out clearly. Simone went to Chicago and Nelson went to Paris and he got to meet all Simone's friends and Simone met all Nelson's friends too. I really enjoyed reading about Nelson, his life and Simone and her life. It was nice to read that two people with different lifes and from different parts of the world fell in love. Nelson got to meet Sartre who Simone is always going on about all the time. It was horrible to read that people was calling Simone names the people who was calling her names sound jealous of Simone and her success. Poor Nelson being sea sick it was funny though. It was funny that Simone threw Nelson's favorite clothes overboard in to the sea on their journey. This book is truly amazing. I wish this book world not finish. I was sad to finish this book. I was hooked on this book after reading the first page I loved this book it is so romantic. Twenty thousand copies of Simone's book was sold I was happy to read and everybody was happy about it too. One of Nelson's books was reviewed in the times. I love reading romance novels. It was nice to read that Nelson was helping Margo to get off drugs I hope she cleans herself up and goes back to her family. It was great to read that Margo got off the drugs. Nelson and Simone sound like they make a great couple. There is nothing better than relaxing with a great book. I am happy to read that Nelson and Simone love to read books too and that they are both writers. Nelson and Simone meet when she rings Nelson to ask him to show her around Chicago. This book made me think that Nelson and Simone fell in love the first day they hat met. They sent letters to each other back and forth from Paris and Chicago. Sounds like Nelson wants children Simone. It sounds like Nelson also wants to marry Simone.
About The Author: Douglas Cowie was born in Elmhurst, Illinois, and since 1999 has lived in both England and Germany. He teaches in the department of English at Royal Holloway, university of London. He is also the author of the novels Owen noone and the marauder (2005) and two linked novella's, sing for life: tin pan alley (2013) and sing for life: away, you rolling river (2014).
About The Book: I really love this cover. The colours are really nice. I love that there is more then one colour on this book cover. My favorite colour is one of the colours and my sister's favorite colour is one of the colours too. I love that the inside of the book cover is a map of Chicago which I think is amazing.
Star Rating: Five Out Of Five Stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 2, 2018
To be honest, I did not know that this book featured real life people. I have never heard of either Simone de Beauvoir or Nelson Algren. Yet, it does not matter as Mr. Cowie brought to life this story. Which, in turn made Simone and Nelson as real as if they were fictional characters brought to life.
Instantly, I connected with everything about this book from Simone and Nelson to the story, time period, and locations. Simone and Nelson could not be more different but as the saying goes "opposites attract". This is exactly what Simone and Nelson felt...attraction. However, it was more than just about physical attraction or needs but they connected on an more intimate level. Although, they did not marry; Simone and Nelson did live and act as a couple.
All of the other people in Simone's life were intriguing as well. As I got to know everyone, I felt as if I was part of an special inner circle. Mr. Cowie writes with passion and an ease that just envelops the reader and invites them into the book. Now that I have discovered Mr. Cowie, I will be reading more of his books.
Instantly, I connected with everything about this book from Simone and Nelson to the story, time period, and locations. Simone and Nelson could not be more different but as the saying goes "opposites attract". This is exactly what Simone and Nelson felt...attraction. However, it was more than just about physical attraction or needs but they connected on an more intimate level. Although, they did not marry; Simone and Nelson did live and act as a couple.
All of the other people in Simone's life were intriguing as well. As I got to know everyone, I felt as if I was part of an special inner circle. Mr. Cowie writes with passion and an ease that just envelops the reader and invites them into the book. Now that I have discovered Mr. Cowie, I will be reading more of his books.
November 9, 2024
(Rating 1.5) —- This is a really strange book as literally nothing really happens. It’s just a story of two people who have an affair, the place they go to, the food they eat, the drink they drink, the gambling they do, the books they write, but nothing essentially happens and it was very boring!
Even the characters were not very interesting and when you read up on the real people they seem to have lived very controversial lives but they felt so boring in this!
And it was very repetitive - they were on again, off again, on again, off again!!! And there is just a lot of going to a place, doing an activity, and there was so much focus on the random food and drink!!! I get what it’s trying to do but it just became tedious. Sorry, this book just wasn’t for me!
Even the characters were not very interesting and when you read up on the real people they seem to have lived very controversial lives but they felt so boring in this!
And it was very repetitive - they were on again, off again, on again, off again!!! And there is just a lot of going to a place, doing an activity, and there was so much focus on the random food and drink!!! I get what it’s trying to do but it just became tedious. Sorry, this book just wasn’t for me!
May 11, 2020
Despite starting off the book with the blatant inaccuracy of the time difference between Paris and Chicago for the title, I was overall pleased with this read. Just by reading the back cover I knew I’d have an interest in the book as recent life events bore some resemblance to those written about, and sure enough I related to the story pretty hard! This was an adventurous, romantic read overall; I don’t know how much I would actually recommend it to many people, however.
March 25, 2025
Το βιβλίο προσφέρει μια βαθιά ματιά στις αντιφάσεις της σχέσης της Σιμόν με τον Νέλσον: την απόσταση, το πάθος, τις ιδεολογικές και πολιτισμικές διαφορές που άλλοτε τους ένωναν κι άλλοτε τους χώριζαν. Η αφήγηση είναι γεμάτη νοσταλγία και ένταση, αποτυπώνει τη δύναμη αλλά και τα όρια του έρωτα, όταν αυτός συγκρούεται με τις επιλογές ζωής.
March 29, 2020
I thought this book would talk about philosophy and literature . It was a disappointment it discuss the above only on 1%. The writer had two great personalities and he only talked about the very superficial of the relationship of those 2 great people. I wouldn’t recommend it
December 20, 2023
not a page Turner but it was good to learn more about simone de beauvoir
June 12, 2016
I loved this book. I bought it on a whim and was attracted by the use of Simone de Beauvoir as a character. I got very caught up in the world of the two main characters despite repetition in their actions and the occasional predictability of their relationship - both of these must be as a result of using real people.
I found Simone's character a positive female although she did seem prone to moping. I have no knowledge of either of these writers and intellectuals outside of this book (although it has prompted me to order works by both of them) so my comments are based on the fictionalised versions of them. There were many subsidiary characters some who only appeared for a couple of chapters, I felt that these weren't as well drawn, some I wasn't even certain of their gender. There were also a few oddly structured sentences that required re-reading but mostly I enjoyed the author's voice (I have also ordered another of his novels).
Overall an absorbing read that has opened up new areas of literature to me.
I found Simone's character a positive female although she did seem prone to moping. I have no knowledge of either of these writers and intellectuals outside of this book (although it has prompted me to order works by both of them) so my comments are based on the fictionalised versions of them. There were many subsidiary characters some who only appeared for a couple of chapters, I felt that these weren't as well drawn, some I wasn't even certain of their gender. There were also a few oddly structured sentences that required re-reading but mostly I enjoyed the author's voice (I have also ordered another of his novels).
Overall an absorbing read that has opened up new areas of literature to me.
February 5, 2017
I don't know... I read this in less than a week which makes it pretty readable and compelling. It's paced very well, and the focus on Beauvoir then Algren and back again works well to keep everything interesting - it's paced well, it tells a good story. The ending felt way more abrupt than I expected, and the whole thing wasn't terribly emotive for something which was meant to be so passionate. The writing is OK, but not beautiful... but I can only say it again and again: I read this book in less than a week, so it certainly did something right.
December 9, 2016
Noon in Paris, Eight in Chicago is a fascinating portrait of post-war bohemian life and the pressures of a long-distance relationship, especially when those involved have competing passions and competing egos.
Full review Fictionalising the famous: de Beauvoir & Freud http://annegoodwin.weebly.com/1/post/...
Full review Fictionalising the famous: de Beauvoir & Freud http://annegoodwin.weebly.com/1/post/...
December 17, 2020
Açıkçası, gerçek kişilerin yaşadığı aşk hikayesini mektuplardan değil de kurgulanmış bir romandan okumak benim için daha iyi oldu diyebilirim ve kitabın bu yorucu aşk hikayesini hafifletmeye çalışması hem artısı hem de eksisiydi ancak bu önemli iki kişinin hikayelerini öğrenmek ilginç ve merak uyandırıcıydı.
July 16, 2016
Hugely enjoyed this beautifully written bittersweet long distance love affair between two writers separated by an ocean.
This deserves to get much more attention than it's getting. Excellent writer.
This deserves to get much more attention than it's getting. Excellent writer.
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December 5, 2021Bittersweet look at Nelson and Simone's relationship. Great time capsule read, a slice of life from the past.
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May 22, 2016A relaxed and enjoyable study of character and period.
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