I believe I started this before quarantine, got through 4 or 5 chapters, then dropped it for the longest time. But I am finally done now. It's a little puzzling why it was such a struggle for me to finish this book, as the subject is very interesting to me. Maybe it's because the format is similar to biographies, which I have little interest in (how come? no idea, I can't think of any biographies I've read so I have no basis for writing them off).
Prior to reading this book, I never heard of Simone de Beauvoir. But the few quotation I've jotted down are all from sections related to her:
It is simply the way human beings are. Our condition is to be ambiguous to the core, and our task is to learn to manage the movement and uncertainty in our existence, not to banish it.
[...]
The ambiguous human condition means tirelessly trying to take control of things. We have to do two near-impossible things at once: understand ourselves as limited by circumstances, and get continue to pursue our projects as though we are truly in control.
the rich confusion of [a] person’s life
In fact I have her Ethics of Ambiguity on my reading list. But first, Don Quixote, last of the books lent to me by Rui & Ben. Maybe with a few fictions in between as well. I am behind my reading goal for this year of 14 books.
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