Carnete dintr-un război anapoda

by Jean-Paul Sartre

During the phony war, the young Sartre made use of his spare time to make a series of notes on philosophy, literature, politics, history and autobiography which anticipate the themes of his later masterpieces, and often surpass them in literary verve and directness.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, History, Memoir, France, Biography, World War II

576 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th-century French philosophy and Marxism. Sartre was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology). His work has influenced sociology, critical theory, post-colonial theory, and literary studies. He was awarded the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature despite attempting to refuse it, saying that he always declined official honors and that "a writer should not allow himself to be turned into an institution."
Sartre held an open relationship with prominent feminist and fellow existentialist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir. Together, Sartre and de Beauvoir challenged the cultural and social assumptions and expectations of their upbringings, which they considered bourgeois, in both lifestyles and thought. The conflict between oppressive, spiritually destructive conformity (mauvaise foi, literally, 'bad faith') and an "authentic" way of "being" became the dominant theme of Sartre's early work, a theme embodied in his principal philosophical work Being and Nothingness (L'Être et le Néant, 1943). Sartre's introduction to his philosophy is his work Existentialism Is a Humanism (L'existentialisme est un humanisme, 1946), originally presented as a lecture.

Reviews

[E. G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Translator's Introduction
Brief chronology of Sartre's life up to the War
Editor's Foreword

--Notebook 3. November-December 1939 Brumath/Morsbronn
--Notebook 5. December 1939 Morsbronn
--Notebook 11. February 1940 Morsbronn/Paris/Bouxwiller
--Notebook 12. February 1940 Bouxwiller
--Notebook 14. March 1940 Bouxwiller/Brumath

Index

[meg]

just found this at work and i'm really excited about it. haven't brought it home yet but you'll be the first to know when i do.

[Angelo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, I read this book when I was only 14. What could I say...? Hard wouldn't even begin to unfold the real picture =)

[Florin Buzdugan · Rating 3 out of 5]

a venit toamna

[Adam Chandler · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard to gauge the value of this work (perhaps 3.5 stars?). These are four out of a dozen diary notebooks Sartre kept while France was engaged in the early part of WWII. The other notebooks are lost, presumably left on a train. Parts of them are mundane aspects of Sartre's life (like when he felt like he had to go on a diet but failed to stop eating bread) while there are also some interesting anecdotes. More of the value would be in the parts where Sartre slips into philosophy and literary criticism, providing some candid thoughts that access his worldview. However, his philosophy is better explored and elaborated upon in his slightly more mature work, "Being and Nothingness". While I wouldn't value this work highly for myself who has also read "Being and Nothingness (maybe downgrading it to 2 stars; for example, his theorizing of ethics as fundamentally establishing oneself as one due all things goes against the very concept of ethics which is always a relation of the individual to the other), the collection of notebooks are useful for Sartre enthusiasts.

[John F · Rating 5 out of 5]

What made Sartre "tick?" The diaries are interesting because Sartre was a smart fellow, but also stunningly self-centered, little or no ability, it appears, to see the world as others might see it. I will elaborate upon this later, but reading the diaries makes it clear how he was able to basically sit out the war writing, because in reality that is all he was capable of doing.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice little arrogant set of diaries.

[Cyprien Saito · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it is his another expression of the necessary condition for being a writer.

[Irwan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book you can had an intimate glimpse in the working of a famous French philosopher. You can see how he philosophizes, drawing examples from daily lives or books that he reads and rereads continuously in between writing. You can feel his passions, his weaknesses, his set of values, his insecurities (e.g. how his perception of being ugly) until you realize how humane a "legendary" figure is.

Regarding the sets of values, I wonder whether those are the driving force, along with his life circumstances, which enabled him to produce his body of philosophical works, or the other around. The reason I am wondering this is that because he is so peculiar, his life is so particular. While philosophy is generally seen as one of the way to explains life, to enlighten choices for anyone who is living, and yet his work, seen in this regards, is so inaccessible to general public. I haven't even considered the heavy, obscure, technical terms he uses in this wondering. It seems like it takes dedication and hard work to make use of his work: a professional endeavor. So, should it be accessible only those professionals?

Human civilizations have in their arsenals many tools to achieve what philosophical works aim to do, like: mythologies, ideologies, religions, etc. Some of them are more agressive in terms of spreading and widening the accessibility and application. Some even have legions of people willing to sacrifice their lives and the lives of others for that matter. How does a philosophical work like this even has a change in the competition?

On the personal level, this diary gives lots of hints and inspirations. I am even encouraged to give another try reading his Being and Nothingness. I have read a little over 100 pages. Some concepts like bad faiths, being-in-itself, being-for-itself has been somewhat familiar. And the diary seems to portrays those ideas in their early days :-)