Julia Korbik: Oh, Simone!
What’s this?
Are you a Simone de Beauvoir fan? Have you read numerous of her quotes but (nearly) none of her works? Do you want to know how she came to wear her iconic turban? Would you like to find out more about her novels and philosophical works apart from the famous “The Second Sex”? If your answer to any of these questions is ‘yes’, “Oh, Simone!” will provide you with lots of interesting facts about this feminist and progressive author.
What did you think?
Other than excerpts of “The Second Sex” and a Podcast on “The Ethic’s Of Ambiguity”, my knowledge about Simone de Beauvoir’s open relationship with Jean-Paul Sartre and philosopical convictions was based on a few magazine and wikipedia articles. I didn’t know about the scope of her literary works, her memoirs, her (especially for the time) unusual way of life, how she broke with her bourgeoise family, how “The Second Sex” came to be and what she contributed to existentialism. Julia Korbik writes about all of this, with a good mixture of informative paragraphs, boxes providing details about the context (such as family, inspiring philosophers, friends, etc.), and quotes from Simone’s works and numerous letters.
The book is engagingly written, keeping it from being boring or overwhelming. Through this straightforward style and the good balance of information and interpretation of her letters and books, Simone’s works become very approachable. Which one will I continue with, though? Her essay “The Ethics of Ambiguity” in which she develops a moral based on existentialism? Her memoirs, to get a first-hand impression of her lived philosophy of finding freedom, transcendence and constant self-reflection? One of her numerous novels that puts her convictions and experiences into practice? Or read “The Second Sex” as a whole?
The author paints a very nuanced picture of Simone: She highlights the timeliness of Simone’s works, her faults, situations in which her thinking and acting was misled (for instance when, during World War II and the occupation of Paris’ she doesn’t comprehend her Jewish friend’s worries about their situation), but also later acknowledgements of Simone about her own mistakes. I like this realistic portrait, because it shows that next to all her amazing thoughts and work, Simone was a human being who incorporated the values from her philosophy, such as transformation and personal freedom, into her life.
More, more, more?
If you want to know more about “Oh, Simone!” and Simone de Beauvoir, here are a few resources for you:
Eau de Beauvoir (Julia Korbik): A blog about Simone de Beauvoir written by the Julia Korbik.
Oh, Simone! (Der Lila Podcast): A podcast episode with Julia Korbik on her book and Simone de Beauvoir.
Simone de Beauvoir (Philosophize This!): A podcast about Simone de Beauvoir and “The Ethics of Ambiguity” (Part 1, Part 2)