What do you think?
Rate this book
Lettres a Nelson Algren
A collection of the letters of Simone de Beauvoir, written in English to her lover Nelson Algren. They provide a portrait of the love of a man and woman in their forties, as well as an account of de Beauvoir's life in the 1950s and friendships with Camus, Colette and Genet.
920 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
61 people are currently reading
1142 people want to read
About the author
Simone de Beauvoir
419 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 - 30 of 39 reviews
July 23, 2011
A literary monument to the idea that distance lends enchantment, Simone de Beauvoir's letters to Nelson Algren are a reminder that sex and longing are universal and timeless. De Beauvoir met Algren in the late 1940s, and was taken by him. Why? Who knows. Algren was no Jack Kerouac, no dark-haired lovely with a wandering spirit and a taste for adventure. In fact, Algren was the poet of Polacks, the bard of what we now call Bucktown (stop me, please...). De Beauvoir was the French feminist, the elle existentialist, Jean-Paul Sartre's Salome (OK now I've gone too far...!). Due to estate issues, this book contains only de Beauvoir's side, which allows you to spend a lot of time in her braided head. If you thought that existentialists were Godless bores, this book will set you right. Well, yes, they are Godless, but de Beauvoir manages to make Algren seem like a silly boy, Sartre seem like a mature if sexless Daddy Warbucks, Paris sound like the center of the universe, and Chicago seem like an exotic inspirational getaway.
September 19, 2021
Ho deciso di leggere questo libro perché ero curiosa di vedere una Simone Debouvoir completamente innamorata persa.
Attivista, femminista, indipendente da ogni schema, futurista, relazioni aperte con Sartre, piaceri sessuali e poi arriva questo super Amore americano e non le fa capire più niente.
Lettere piene di sentimento, si percepisce tutto l’amore, la foga di questo amore a distanza che ci si perde tra l’immaginazione di baci e abbracci. Che bello sarebbe stato leggere anche la controparte di Nelson per sapere se contraccambiava la romanticità della Debouvoir che emana ovunque.
Altra parte interessante di queste lettere è seguire la vita di Simone in un modo non romanzato ma giusto umano, tanto da non nascondere momenti dove lei stessa dice che “ deve finire il libro sulla figura femminile ma in questo momento sta andando lentamente”, l’ho trovato molto simpatico.
Tutti dicono che con Memorie di una ragazza per bene si puo conocere la sua vita, essendo un testo autobiografico. Io azzarderei che com queste lettere che racconta a Nelson la sua vita, si puo entrare davvero nella sua vita non in maniera romanzata.
P.s. il suo amore grande è Nelson Algren, non Sartre.
Verso Sartre è un altro tipo d’amore. Rispetto, ammirazione, amicizia, famiglia, fratellanza.
Ma l’amore passionale con il cuore è stato decisamente Nelson Algren.
Attivista, femminista, indipendente da ogni schema, futurista, relazioni aperte con Sartre, piaceri sessuali e poi arriva questo super Amore americano e non le fa capire più niente.
Lettere piene di sentimento, si percepisce tutto l’amore, la foga di questo amore a distanza che ci si perde tra l’immaginazione di baci e abbracci. Che bello sarebbe stato leggere anche la controparte di Nelson per sapere se contraccambiava la romanticità della Debouvoir che emana ovunque.
Altra parte interessante di queste lettere è seguire la vita di Simone in un modo non romanzato ma giusto umano, tanto da non nascondere momenti dove lei stessa dice che “ deve finire il libro sulla figura femminile ma in questo momento sta andando lentamente”, l’ho trovato molto simpatico.
Tutti dicono che con Memorie di una ragazza per bene si puo conocere la sua vita, essendo un testo autobiografico. Io azzarderei che com queste lettere che racconta a Nelson la sua vita, si puo entrare davvero nella sua vita non in maniera romanzata.
P.s. il suo amore grande è Nelson Algren, non Sartre.
Verso Sartre è un altro tipo d’amore. Rispetto, ammirazione, amicizia, famiglia, fratellanza.
Ma l’amore passionale con il cuore è stato decisamente Nelson Algren.
June 9, 2023
Përkthim skandaloz, që e bënte shpesh më të gjatë dhe të lodhshëm për t'u ndjekur. Kishte disa pjesë interesante, por nëse fokusi është për jetën e Beauvoir, rrethin e saj shoqëror dhe figurat me të cilat ka ndarë kohën, siç ishte rasti im, ky libër ishte një zhgënjim. Tej mase përsëritës, pas 50 faqeve të para e humba komplet interesin.
Currently reading
January 30, 2014maybe someday I will finish this but 560 pages of one-sided, utterly BESOTTED letters (something about Algren's estate not releasing, his, I guess? ANYWAY) by De Beauvoir of all people is incredibly dispiriting.
Not to hate on Love, or anything, but if one of you fuckheads ever publishes MY love letters my banshee will haunt you unto death.
Not to hate on Love, or anything, but if one of you fuckheads ever publishes MY love letters my banshee will haunt you unto death.
May 15, 2015
«NO HABRÁ MUERTE ENTRE TÚ Y YO...»
Una novela que funciona a varios niveles: como novela epistolar primero, claro, pero también como novela de viajes, como testimonio político de una época o como acercamiento a la vida intelectual de una época. Lo mismo se nos cuenta un viaje por Argel, se nos critica el caso del ajusticiamiento en la silla eléctrica de los Rosenberg o se chismorrea acerca de que si ayer cené con Giacometti y anteayer conocí a Capote…
Pero, sobre todo, esta novela funciona como voyeurismo emocional. Porque no contiene personajes, contiene personas. Y su intensidad y la fuerza con que lo viven y narran to es tal, que es difícil sustraerse a sus emociones: amor, frustración, añoranza, desespero,… todo ello en primera persona y desde la realidad. Las debilidades del alma. La vida.
Un libro fantástico que he disfrutado como pocos, vaya. Un libro que llora, un libro que duele. También, quizá, porque es una historia que me apasiona.
Lo recomiendo mucho, mucho, mucho.
====================================
P.D.: Afirmaba Ciorán que « las obsesiones expresadas quedan debilitadas y superadas a medias». Es lo que he intentado hacer en dos expurgos sobre este mismo tema. Supongo que de cierta extraña e imperfecta manera cuentan la historia entera, esto es, contienen ‘spoilers’. Así, el que no conozca nada de la relación Algren-Beauvoir-Sartre y quiera acercarse a ellos en blanco, mejor los ignora. Porque, aviso para navegantes, es subjetivismo puro, mi visión personal sobre el tema, mía y de nadie más…
http://expurgoscontraelolvido.blogspo...
http://expurgoscontraelolvido.blogspo...
Y eso.
Una novela que funciona a varios niveles: como novela epistolar primero, claro, pero también como novela de viajes, como testimonio político de una época o como acercamiento a la vida intelectual de una época. Lo mismo se nos cuenta un viaje por Argel, se nos critica el caso del ajusticiamiento en la silla eléctrica de los Rosenberg o se chismorrea acerca de que si ayer cené con Giacometti y anteayer conocí a Capote…
Pero, sobre todo, esta novela funciona como voyeurismo emocional. Porque no contiene personajes, contiene personas. Y su intensidad y la fuerza con que lo viven y narran to es tal, que es difícil sustraerse a sus emociones: amor, frustración, añoranza, desespero,… todo ello en primera persona y desde la realidad. Las debilidades del alma. La vida.
Un libro fantástico que he disfrutado como pocos, vaya. Un libro que llora, un libro que duele. También, quizá, porque es una historia que me apasiona.
Lo recomiendo mucho, mucho, mucho.
====================================
P.D.: Afirmaba Ciorán que « las obsesiones expresadas quedan debilitadas y superadas a medias». Es lo que he intentado hacer en dos expurgos sobre este mismo tema. Supongo que de cierta extraña e imperfecta manera cuentan la historia entera, esto es, contienen ‘spoilers’. Así, el que no conozca nada de la relación Algren-Beauvoir-Sartre y quiera acercarse a ellos en blanco, mejor los ignora. Porque, aviso para navegantes, es subjetivismo puro, mi visión personal sobre el tema, mía y de nadie más…
http://expurgoscontraelolvido.blogspo...
http://expurgoscontraelolvido.blogspo...
Y eso.
July 10, 2014
Beauvoir in love, writing to Algren in Chicago from 1947 to the early 60's. She tells him about her friends in Paris, about post-war France, describes the strong opposition between gaullists and communists, explains how Sartre is preparing his next play, summarises her ongoing work and her aspirations. It is also a very lively historical lesson on the Cold War. A wonderful read!
April 14, 2020
Wish it had included Algren’s letters
April 23, 2012
I still pick up this book from time to time. It is one of my delights to read letters and these are exceptional. I suppose the fact that I bought the book this past fall (2006) may be due to the fact that she is writing to her love in Chicago!
I was slightly disappointed that Nelson Algren's letters were not included in this collection. It is frustrating at times to read only the one side of the conversation.
Still a wonderful read for those interested in France, Chicago, and the thoughts of Ms. Simone!
I was slightly disappointed that Nelson Algren's letters were not included in this collection. It is frustrating at times to read only the one side of the conversation.
Still a wonderful read for those interested in France, Chicago, and the thoughts of Ms. Simone!
August 28, 2024
To read this in tandem with the Second Sex offers incredible insight into the process of writing her (probably) most important novel, and the experiences that shaped its content. Simone de Beauvoir writes so graphically about love in a language she doesn't even fully speak. She tells Nelson throughout the letters that she wishes she could write to him in French because she could use better words to describe her love. She begs him to learn French but he is a "lazy American." It's rare to get so intimate a portrait of a woman so dignified in academia and popular culture. I'm thrilled by this book.
June 7, 2024
Nelson algren sucks je ne comprendrais jamais pourquoi simone l'a aimée boooo👎🏻👎🏻
January 24, 2025
Alle respect voor De Beauvoir, ze heeft zeer slimme dingen geschreven, maar deze gezapige liefdesbrieven van een ‘kikker aan een krokodil’ horen daar niet tussen.. Heb hem weggelegd! 😅
June 25, 2016
De Beauvoir's own four-volume autobiography is a cool and detached assessment of her own life, including her affairs with numerous men. To read these letters is to get a very different portrait of her as she reveals her intimate, playful, vulnerable, even needy side.
De Beauvoir met the American writer Nelson Algren in 1947 and threw herself immediately into a passionate love affair. Meeting only rarely, their love played out in the letters exchanged by them between 1947 and 1964 when Algren eventually broke things off. Written in English, the 300 or so letters collected here give us a De Beauvoir who occasionally fluffs her English charmingly and who seems to write spontaneously without regard for her image or reputation.
The letters themselves move between the personal and intimate, and a more social discourse as De Beauvoir chats to Algren about her friends, her thoughts, her work, her travels. We see her discuss the political aftermath of the war and the battles in France between the right and left; hear her take on the Algerian war, and witness her trips to Russia with Sartre ("we met most of the young writers who are being attacked now... they are much talented; one of them, Soljenytsine, wrote against Stalinian camps and is a first-rate writer").
Here we see De Beauvoir the gossip, as she regales Algren with the chaotic love-lives of her circle: "Sartre is very well, and thin (he has purposely lost kilos). I have not yet seen Olga; I saw Bost. Things are no better. She raves, rages and sometimes bites. She is terribly unhappy, but not quite unguilty for it."
The break-up and reconciliation of De Beauvoir and Algren in 1950 perhaps shows us De Beauvoir at her most abject: "remember, please, I shall never more ask to see you - not from any pride since I have none with you, as you know, but our meeting will mean something only when you wish it. So, I'll wait. When you'll wish it, just tell."
So these are absorbing letters that give us an intimate portrait of De Beauvoir in her most vulnerable moments, as well as a fine first-hand witness to intellectual circles in Paris in the after-war years. De Beauvoir herself fictionalised her affair with Algren in Les Mandarins - so this serves as an excellent and very revealing complement to her fiction and her own autobiographical writings.
De Beauvoir met the American writer Nelson Algren in 1947 and threw herself immediately into a passionate love affair. Meeting only rarely, their love played out in the letters exchanged by them between 1947 and 1964 when Algren eventually broke things off. Written in English, the 300 or so letters collected here give us a De Beauvoir who occasionally fluffs her English charmingly and who seems to write spontaneously without regard for her image or reputation.
The letters themselves move between the personal and intimate, and a more social discourse as De Beauvoir chats to Algren about her friends, her thoughts, her work, her travels. We see her discuss the political aftermath of the war and the battles in France between the right and left; hear her take on the Algerian war, and witness her trips to Russia with Sartre ("we met most of the young writers who are being attacked now... they are much talented; one of them, Soljenytsine, wrote against Stalinian camps and is a first-rate writer").
Here we see De Beauvoir the gossip, as she regales Algren with the chaotic love-lives of her circle: "Sartre is very well, and thin (he has purposely lost kilos). I have not yet seen Olga; I saw Bost. Things are no better. She raves, rages and sometimes bites. She is terribly unhappy, but not quite unguilty for it."
The break-up and reconciliation of De Beauvoir and Algren in 1950 perhaps shows us De Beauvoir at her most abject: "remember, please, I shall never more ask to see you - not from any pride since I have none with you, as you know, but our meeting will mean something only when you wish it. So, I'll wait. When you'll wish it, just tell."
So these are absorbing letters that give us an intimate portrait of De Beauvoir in her most vulnerable moments, as well as a fine first-hand witness to intellectual circles in Paris in the after-war years. De Beauvoir herself fictionalised her affair with Algren in Les Mandarins - so this serves as an excellent and very revealing complement to her fiction and her own autobiographical writings.
January 12, 2018
Небольшое собрание любовных писем французской писательницы Симоны де Бовуар к американскому писателю Нельсону Олгрену.
Семнадцать лет длилась их переписка, перемежаемая редкими встречами, подпитывающими огонь их "виртуальных" отношений.
Странное ощущение после прочтения – будто читаешь бесконечный поток оправданий, почему они не могут быть вместе. Главная причина – географическая. Каждый впечатан в свою реальность, в своё место от рождения. Каждый не может оторваться от своего куска земли и переместиться навсегда на другой континент, чтобы быть рядом с возлюбленным.
В книге представлены только её письма �� нему, на архив Олгрена наложена до сих пор печать. Но даже при одностороннем обращении видно, что сила их любви велика, но не всеобъемлюща. Любовь к себе, к своему делу, к своей выстроенной реальности с друзьями и знакомыми гораздо важнее, это определяет ту точку, в которой каждый из адресатов решает остаться.
А вообще мне пришлось преодолеть себя, чтобы решиться читать чужую переписку, изначально не предназначенную для чужих глаз. Тем более, это переписка не дружеская, не деловая, а любовная, полная признаний и страсти.
Хотя, как и сказано в предисловии, Симона де Бовуар сама планировала опубликовать свои письма. Её стратегия была открытость, открытость и ещё раз открытость.
Честность и прямота – вот чем она руководствовалась в своих письмах и в своей жизни. Иногда это может обернуться некоторой зацикленностью на себе и на своём деле, некоторой внутренней убеждённостью в безусловной значимости для всего мира самоё себя.
Иногда это прочитывается как наивность.
К примеру, де Бовуар начинает рассуждать о политических событиях, ожидая, что скоро Францию поглотит СССР, а значит, им с Сартром - её главным другом и соратником - придётся бежать в далёкие страны, в Южную Америку (никак не в Северную, это не соответствует их идеологии, они презирают капитал). Потому что если придут Советы и коммунисты, то Сартра они уничтожат и её вместе с ним. Ну...
Через несколько лет Сартр легко и непринуждённо решается ехать в СССР, его там любят, кормят и поят до приступа гипертонии, о чём она снова пишет Олгрену в рассказе о том, как проходит их жизнь, совершенно забывая, что Советы страшные, ужасные, сейчас начнут убивать и резать.
Это то, что я подметила в письмах, не относящееся к сфере чувственного переживания любви Симоны и Нельсона.
Так. Заметка на полях.
Из этих заметок и сложился основной мой интерес к этим письмам. Любят все одинаково, рассказывают о своей любви по-разному, но знакомиться с любовным словарём де Бовуар не сказать что увлекательное занятие.
Гораздо интереснее было узнать про какие-то мелкие подробности, частности, привычки другой, ушедшей жизни. К примеру, про встречи в барах, танцы под джаз (нет, она не танцевала, танцевали современники), конфликты коммунистов, фашистов и экзистенциалистов, не разрешающиеся, впрочем, дракой, а заключающиеся только в словесной перепалке.
Любопытны её замечания о прочитанном, увиденном, брошенные вскользь, уступающие любовным признаниям, но всё равно именно это любопытно.
Может, другому читателю этих писем будет важнее страсть Симоны, а мне – её рассудок.
Семнадцать лет длилась их переписка, перемежаемая редкими встречами, подпитывающими огонь их "виртуальных" отношений.
Странное ощущение после прочтения – будто читаешь бесконечный поток оправданий, почему они не могут быть вместе. Главная причина – географическая. Каждый впечатан в свою реальность, в своё место от рождения. Каждый не может оторваться от своего куска земли и переместиться навсегда на другой континент, чтобы быть рядом с возлюбленным.
В книге представлены только её письма �� нему, на архив Олгрена наложена до сих пор печать. Но даже при одностороннем обращении видно, что сила их любви велика, но не всеобъемлюща. Любовь к себе, к своему делу, к своей выстроенной реальности с друзьями и знакомыми гораздо важнее, это определяет ту точку, в которой каждый из адресатов решает остаться.
А вообще мне пришлось преодолеть себя, чтобы решиться читать чужую переписку, изначально не предназначенную для чужих глаз. Тем более, это переписка не дружеская, не деловая, а любовная, полная признаний и страсти.
Хотя, как и сказано в предисловии, Симона де Бовуар сама планировала опубликовать свои письма. Её стратегия была открытость, открытость и ещё раз открытость.
Честность и прямота – вот чем она руководствовалась в своих письмах и в своей жизни. Иногда это может обернуться некоторой зацикленностью на себе и на своём деле, некоторой внутренней убеждённостью в безусловной значимости для всего мира самоё себя.
Иногда это прочитывается как наивность.
К примеру, де Бовуар начинает рассуждать о политических событиях, ожидая, что скоро Францию поглотит СССР, а значит, им с Сартром - её главным другом и соратником - придётся бежать в далёкие страны, в Южную Америку (никак не в Северную, это не соответствует их идеологии, они презирают капитал). Потому что если придут Советы и коммунисты, то Сартра они уничтожат и её вместе с ним. Ну...
Через несколько лет Сартр легко и непринуждённо решается ехать в СССР, его там любят, кормят и поят до приступа гипертонии, о чём она снова пишет Олгрену в рассказе о том, как проходит их жизнь, совершенно забывая, что Советы страшные, ужасные, сейчас начнут убивать и резать.
Это то, что я подметила в письмах, не относящееся к сфере чувственного переживания любви Симоны и Нельсона.
Так. Заметка на полях.
Из этих заметок и сложился основной мой интерес к этим письмам. Любят все одинаково, рассказывают о своей любви по-разному, но знакомиться с любовным словарём де Бовуар не сказать что увлекательное занятие.
Гораздо интереснее было узнать про какие-то мелкие подробности, частности, привычки другой, ушедшей жизни. К примеру, про встречи в барах, танцы под джаз (нет, она не танцевала, танцевали современники), конфликты коммунистов, фашистов и экзистенциалистов, не разрешающиеся, впрочем, дракой, а заключающиеся только в словесной перепалке.
Любопытны её замечания о прочитанном, увиденном, брошенные вскользь, уступающие любовным признаниям, но всё равно именно это любопытно.
Может, другому читателю этих писем будет важнее страсть Симоны, а мне – её рассудок.
September 23, 2024
Another door stopper from Simone.
Nelson Algren saved all the letters he received from Simone de Beauvoir during the course of their on again, off again affair from the late 1940's to the early 1960's. One reason I did not particularly care for this book was that none of the letters from her to him were included (copyright problems, I'm guessing) so the reader must rely on explanatory notes from the editor.
The tone of the letters changes over time, not unexpectedly, and Simone's English definitely improves. The first rush of romance and passion is evident in the earliest correspondence, before it becomes dry and banal, discussing travel plans, speaking tours, etc.
What the correspondence does not really do is explain the attraction she had - as a cultivated, well educated woman with someone who is proletarian, coarse, street-wise and on and on. It was more like he personified Chicago in her mind, but little in this book suggests she ventured much out in Chicago when she went there, spending time mostly in his apartment or at the corner bar. Can't really conclude the relationship was entirely physical; the writing is just not that graphic.
Can't say as I appreciated the way the two writers engaged with each other - she brought up her affair with Claude Lanzmann in some of the letters, and do really do that to a person you love, unless you want to hurt them or make them jealous? Algren apparently was "doing" Simone while he was "doing" his wife, who he married, divorced and re-married, with Simone in between? or was it simultaneously. I think the writers knew that they could never live together, and Algren evidently would or could not ever leave Chicago, even to go to France to live with her, and do you really love someone if you are unwilling to sacrifice in that fashion. She, of course, could not leave France, because all her material was about, well, her and milieu.
Her style of writing is of course great, but the content is empty, with the usual marxist/feminist ideas bubbling to the surface (what is it with these European intellectuals who never can get past the "Discourse on the Origin of Inequality")? She didn't have to go on for 17 years with this, 3-5 would have been enough. For everybody.
Nelson Algren saved all the letters he received from Simone de Beauvoir during the course of their on again, off again affair from the late 1940's to the early 1960's. One reason I did not particularly care for this book was that none of the letters from her to him were included (copyright problems, I'm guessing) so the reader must rely on explanatory notes from the editor.
The tone of the letters changes over time, not unexpectedly, and Simone's English definitely improves. The first rush of romance and passion is evident in the earliest correspondence, before it becomes dry and banal, discussing travel plans, speaking tours, etc.
What the correspondence does not really do is explain the attraction she had - as a cultivated, well educated woman with someone who is proletarian, coarse, street-wise and on and on. It was more like he personified Chicago in her mind, but little in this book suggests she ventured much out in Chicago when she went there, spending time mostly in his apartment or at the corner bar. Can't really conclude the relationship was entirely physical; the writing is just not that graphic.
Can't say as I appreciated the way the two writers engaged with each other - she brought up her affair with Claude Lanzmann in some of the letters, and do really do that to a person you love, unless you want to hurt them or make them jealous? Algren apparently was "doing" Simone while he was "doing" his wife, who he married, divorced and re-married, with Simone in between? or was it simultaneously. I think the writers knew that they could never live together, and Algren evidently would or could not ever leave Chicago, even to go to France to live with her, and do you really love someone if you are unwilling to sacrifice in that fashion. She, of course, could not leave France, because all her material was about, well, her and milieu.
Her style of writing is of course great, but the content is empty, with the usual marxist/feminist ideas bubbling to the surface (what is it with these European intellectuals who never can get past the "Discourse on the Origin of Inequality")? She didn't have to go on for 17 years with this, 3-5 would have been enough. For everybody.
February 22, 2023
AH BİR KONUŞABİLSE!
aşk tezatlarla dolu ve insanı deliliğin eşiğine sürükleyen bir şey...
''senin kollarında ağlayamadığım için ağlıyorum. bu hiç de mantıklı değil çünkü senin kollarında olsaydım ağlamazdım ki.''
zamanınızın kalemi ve fikri en kuvvetli yazarlarından birisi bile olsanız aşık olduğunuzda kelimeler bir türlü yeterli gelmiyor, bu his ele avuca sığmıyor. dil bariyerine takılıp kalınıyor.
''ingilizce yazmaya çalışacağım. lütfen dilbilgisi hatalarımı hoşgör, kelimeleri doğru anlamlarında kullanamasam da anlamaya çalış.''
mektuplarda çocuksu bir sakarlık var ve derin bir özleme rağmen simone neşeli olmak için sonuna kadar çaba sarf ediyor. ben hiçbir zaman bir kadının bir erkek gibi çırılçıplak, kendinden geçmişcesine, taparcasına sevebileceğine inanmadım çünkü kadınlar bunu hor görürler. simone'nun aşkı benim için en azından kısmi bir istisna oldu.
''galiba yanlış taktik uyguladım. işte beni böyle bir tuzağa düşürdün. işte seni böyle seviyorum. bu mutluluğumun artık senin ellerinde olduğu anlamına geliyordu ama mutluluğumu bir şekilde kendi ellerimde tutmalıydım. ama artık çok geç elimden hiçbir şey gelmiyor.''
lise ve üniversite öğrencileri, duygularını ifade etmekte zorlananlar, basit ama etkili aşk betimlemeleri arayanlara bu kitabı kesinlikle öneriyorum.
aşk tezatlarla dolu ve insanı deliliğin eşiğine sürükleyen bir şey...
''senin kollarında ağlayamadığım için ağlıyorum. bu hiç de mantıklı değil çünkü senin kollarında olsaydım ağlamazdım ki.''
zamanınızın kalemi ve fikri en kuvvetli yazarlarından birisi bile olsanız aşık olduğunuzda kelimeler bir türlü yeterli gelmiyor, bu his ele avuca sığmıyor. dil bariyerine takılıp kalınıyor.
''ingilizce yazmaya çalışacağım. lütfen dilbilgisi hatalarımı hoşgör, kelimeleri doğru anlamlarında kullanamasam da anlamaya çalış.''
mektuplarda çocuksu bir sakarlık var ve derin bir özleme rağmen simone neşeli olmak için sonuna kadar çaba sarf ediyor. ben hiçbir zaman bir kadının bir erkek gibi çırılçıplak, kendinden geçmişcesine, taparcasına sevebileceğine inanmadım çünkü kadınlar bunu hor görürler. simone'nun aşkı benim için en azından kısmi bir istisna oldu.
''galiba yanlış taktik uyguladım. işte beni böyle bir tuzağa düşürdün. işte seni böyle seviyorum. bu mutluluğumun artık senin ellerinde olduğu anlamına geliyordu ama mutluluğumu bir şekilde kendi ellerimde tutmalıydım. ama artık çok geç elimden hiçbir şey gelmiyor.''
lise ve üniversite öğrencileri, duygularını ifade etmekte zorlananlar, basit ama etkili aşk betimlemeleri arayanlara bu kitabı kesinlikle öneriyorum.
April 26, 2022
These love letters resemble closer to love than a romantic novel and speaks more about Beauvoir than her theory. The impressive confidence Beauvoir holds enables her to love unconditionally. She has so much love for herself that she is capable of giving some to others. <3 <3 <3!!!
I always feel like Beauvoir loves Algren more than Sartre. She is compatible with Sartre, and admires him with intelligence and rationality. Yet with Algren, she cannot ease her passion despite many reality blocking between them.
I always feel like Beauvoir loves Algren more than Sartre. She is compatible with Sartre, and admires him with intelligence and rationality. Yet with Algren, she cannot ease her passion despite many reality blocking between them.
February 13, 2022
"La première, c'est mon espoir de vous revoir un jour. Je le veux. J'en ai besoin. Cependant, souvenez-vous, je vous en prie, que jamais je ne demanderai à vous voir, pas par fierté, avec vous je n'en ai pas, vous le savez, mais parce que notre rencontre n'aura de sens que si vous la souhaitez. J'attendrai donc. Quand vous le souhaiterez, dites-le."
August 10, 2017
Fascinating read. Two extremely talented writers and their attempts at love.
February 3, 2020
Beautiful letters sent de Beauvoir.
August 21, 2022
Orgogliosa di porterne tradurre almeno una parte.
January 1, 2023
I read this special book in Spring 2022, then sent a copy from the UK to someone I love.
February 25, 2024
La única vegada que la Beauvoir m'ha resultat personeta. No mereixia a aquest nano.
January 22, 2025
"Мой милый звероподобный зверь"
January 7, 2017
One thing I especially liked when reading this was Simone de Beauvoir's use of English when writing her letters. She committed to practising her English and it's fascinating to see the sophistication grow as time goes on, whilst still preserving a certain gamine simplicity. The playful epithets she conjured for Algren were delightful to read - a real pleasure.
(It's also interesting that the famous French feminist should choose to write in English when her man apparently made no effort to write in French for her, or really adjust his life to hers at all.)
December 18, 2014
I read quite a bit of this book, but I became very bored. These letters of love did not vary in substance or style, and I'm not sure why I should be interested. Wonderful for them, but I got nothing from this. It felt almost embarrassing to be reading the very personal gushing. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want anyone to read any love letters I may or may not have written. I thought there would be more to this book.
Read
March 17, 2008Ainda estou no começo, mas desde o início me deixou bastante curioso o lado "romântico" da autora, e principalmente o nível de envolvimento que teve com Algren. Literalmente uma mulher apaixonada...
July 3, 2008
Thoughtful, dedicated and entirely too close to home. Simone's letters to Algren shine. I think this would appeal to anyone negotiating long distance love, or who is a fan of reading / writing letters.
October 1, 2010
A Wonderful love letters to Nelson Algren, who she had a passionate and bizarre love affair. As usual, I'm baffled how she can balance love for Sartre and others (in this case, Algren), but beautiful.
August 23, 2007
Giving hope to women that true love really can be found at any age. Read it when you're feeling down about not having found the "one."
June 25, 2008
Such a beautiful love story and lesson in friendship.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews