At the Existentialist Café

Existentialism and Phenomenology

I came to this knowing a little about Sartre from 35 years ago, and thinking that it might be a fairly light recounting of him and his times (including the famous relationship with de Beauvoir). It does cover those topics, but much, much more. Bakewell's work gives a wider view of Existentialism and it's roots in Phenomenology. So if you have an interest in these things (and perhaps that is a given, if you're reading this review) I can highly recommend this book.
The sections can be quite long (my attention span is not what it was) so may need judicious choices about when to have that cup of coffee (or perhaps the apricot cocktail). Bakewell is clear about differences between the proponents and why they fell out when they did. Her summaries are from her own opinions, and not always quite how I expected her to feel. De Beauvoir, in particular, is given good coverage in what is otherwise a very male domain.
Antonia Beamish does an excellent job of the narration, helping to maintain the clarity that I'm sure Bakewell put there.
So if you might like to know how Sartre, de Beauvoir, Camus, Heidegger, Murdoch and all the other Names interacted and influenced one another, this is an excellent book to come to.

47 of 48 people found this review helpful

Being. Just being.

I really enjoyed this book. It puts the lives of Hüsserl, Heidigger, Sartre, de Beauvoir, Camus et al into the context of their experience of the world, politics, history and each other. It makes no excuses for their flaws, explains their philosophy, and illustrates their influence and legacy. You don't need any prior knowledge of Existentialism or philosophy. I would recommend this to any reader who is interested in what makes people tick.

32 of 34 people found this review helpful

Phenomenal

The same skill, rigour and loving care evident in the author's previous book on Michel Eyquem de Montaigne is what you'll find in this title.
The only drawback from reading this is that it has given me a much longer reading list.
Whether it was the philosophy or the existentialists themselves that interested you enough to get as far as reading the reviews, I don't think you will be disappointed.

11 of 12 people found this review helpful

Great book

The book is great, it's interesting and the voice over is clear.

My only issue was that I found it too easy to drift in and out during some of the page padding.

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

Captivating and informative

What made the experience of listening to At the Existentialist Café the most enjoyable?

Excellent narration: makes philosophy very lively.

Have you listened to any of Antonia Beamish’s other performances? How does this one compare?

No.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

A fascinating story of how existentialist ideas were shaped around ww2

Any additional comments?

Philosophy, theory and facts pacts but also entertaining and historical.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Absolutely enthralling

Fantastic book, informative and entertaining at the same time. The person reading is also perfect so it makes a great combination.

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

exquisite existentialism

Superb historical overview of existentialism that brings the philosophy and its leading proponents to life and reminds us that it is still essential reading.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

The most amazing, eye opening book I have ever read!

Beautifully narrated. Thought provoking. Part biography, part social history and a real crash course in philosophy. Leaves one wanting to know more on the subject. Could be my desert island book!

9 of 11 people found this review helpful

Who was Merleau-Ponty again?

What made the experience of listening to At the Existentialist Café the most enjoyable?

Just when you were about to give up on understanding what EXACTLY Existentialism was again, and who is who, and whether it is a proper -ism in its own right, anyway; and what ticks the boxes to still qualify as Existentialist and not fall to Mindfulness or Zen, you might get lucky and have Sarah Bakewell's book fall on your foot. I happened to be wrestling with Kierkegaard and not to mention Heidegger when this book came to my rescue. I knew zilch about Beauvoir, but Sartre had once been my first love/hate. The book helped ground everybody in their successive seat, favorite beverage in hand, SO THAT they could flow forth all the better as authentic and original sources, pooling together into something more free than philosophy might be able to fathom for you! All this the book did for me, sweeping out the cobwebs of my mind during my 1,5 hr morning walk every day, for a little under two weeks.

The narration is sublime! But also, what made it fun for me was how the author seemed to have gone down a similar path to mine, discovering Sartre in her late teens, relating to his neuroses as a Weltbild one could easily become subjected to, and then meandering (boldy) off course to discover (all) the other Existentialists; often struggling to decide on those who are even properly Existentialist (Shall we include Kierkegaard? Can we forget Jaspers?)... then ending up with the notion that Existentialism may be the one philosophy that cures you of all philosophising and returns you to living life. Long live Merleau-Ponty in that sense! Who's that?! I barely knew but was most charmed to make his acquaintance. By no means a "dark horse", but a white knight who comes out trumps in the end! Needless to say, we must give an honorable mention to the noble effort of Beauvoir - but she doesn't quite get my cigar. I understand better why I had never read anything by her, and also why my mother (a woman wishing to be like Audrey Hepburn, but stuck in suburbia) could not afford to like her: I wholeheartedly second almost everything she said! So by the time I, a free-floating northen European, was ready for her in the eighties, she seemed too dated (when it comes to the feminist issues).

All this I discovered in the large nutshell Bakewell creates for us. Even Colin Wilson and the Matrix (very briefly!) gets put into context, and CONTEXT here is the big, unique word. Sarah Bakewell enables retention of the Existential material by letting us witness its birth - or non-birth..... Then it dawns on you, are not all philosophies BIRTHED? And is the rest not just TRUTH? Thereby quite accessible to any FREE thinker? And so you too become an Existentialist (hopefully minus the fascist or communist or neurotic traits it also connotes). At that point, you enter the gap between Phenomenology and Existentialism, into a very Taoist non-doing sweet spot. Thinking must be taken out of the doing-realm. From this point onwards you will best know who you are and what you are meant to DO. Indeed, such birthing and eternally elusive non-birithing not infequently takes place in a café (be it over coffee or cocktails depending on the place and time in history). Somewhere, where even the least carnal incarnates CONNECT. Subsequently the philosophies go on to live their own (literary) lives and develop along as many paths as there are books, essays articles dedicated to them. This book takes care to remind us that philosophy as a thinking-art is never abstract (although some of it deals in abstractions). It lends it a human head and never severs it from its feeding ground: the Zeitgeist.

In short, it never feels like you are reading a book ON philosophy but rather on what goes into making philosophers, who then go on to propound philosophies. This becomes very much a critical point for Heidegger -whose thinking finally became transparent to me and to whom I found myself developing a very similar relationship as did the author; not quite love-hate but problematically respectful, until half-way through utterly scornful, to now re-negotiably purposeful to resetting robotic minds. Above all, from reading Bakewell I had to label Heidegger with Autism, which gave me much food for thought, since it shows how no mean philosophy (mode of thinking) might go on to live a life of its own in some kind of "miasmic" manner (of collective-unconscious becoming conscious of what you think...). Much of Heidegger's last work is now echoed in conservative spiritual science circles. Some of it sounds valid, but sophisticated interpretation and elegant presentation will be key! I am not sure Heidegger's "turning" came from best-faith (see Sartre), either....

What other book might you compare At the Existentialist Café to, and why?

It is nothing like Plato and Platypus who walked into a bar! Some of Gary Lachman's books help contextualise spiritual thinkers (borderline philosophers) and offer thereby access to deeper insights. I mention him, and not any irritating populist philosophers (I won't mention any names) because Bakewell does not read as a populist philosopher - I generally steer clear of them. She made me wonder, how better to write about Existentialism as LIVED by a woman, than in this manner?

Make no mistake however, this book never becomes a "popular read" which might make you feel talked down to on the "thinking for yourself" front. On the contrary. The book leaves you very FREE to think exactly as you please, merely reminding you, in the meantime, not to slip into handy philosophical maxims: keep their subjective contexts in mind first and foremost. This book does not aim to reach temporary solutions or propose meanings of life. Life, in the end, as far as thinking is concerned, is all about people and their relationships determine life's net. I might even mention Iris Murdoch, here, who seems sympathetic to (or was exposed to, at least) the Existentialist matter. (In any case, I was prompted to re-read her, curious since she is one of Bakewell's favorite fictional authors.)

There are other authors who have (probably) a life-long passion for their subject matter who just WRITE, regardless of category or specialist qualifications. You might just as well think of Anthony Beevor or Dave Galgut, who take a part of (real) history or narrative tradition (fiction) and present l it through the persepective of either specific events or a (number of) person(s). In the end, these are very competent writers with something very specific to tell about specific individuals (Beevor tries to keep us aware of the fact wars are fought by individuals; likewise Bakewell introduces peripheral individuals who turn out to be crucial to the WHOLE of Existentialism.)

What does Antonia Beamish bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

After all, this is still a philosophical book, of some substance (and many pages) and to help you return to it every morning anew, you have the excellent narration of Antonia! Great, friendly voice, but above all perfect intonation, making it effortless to remain concentrated and otherwise emotionally engaged with the characters.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

First watch the films Sarah mentions at the end of her book.

Any additional comments?

By the way, one ends up feeling less guilty about not having read all of Sartre: he sounds excessively long in the tooth and one cannot help wonder if he might have been unbearably neurotic by our modern standards. It must be said, that I remain a Camus fan, and I still don't get what the anti-Camus sentiment OR anti-Sartre sentiment, for that matter, was all about....One might have to be more politically interested to get these finer points. The tiff between Camus and Sartre was finally clarified for me, the one between Koestler and Sartre/Beauvoir less so. Bear in mind philosophers are seldom chirpy and frivolous...

12 of 15 people found this review helpful

Existentialism brought to life

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

A brilliantly written and really accessible explanation of existentialism and the people who brought this philosophy to life. Takes me back to my uni days and makes me wish I still had my copy of "Being and Nothingness". But now I want to explore so much more!

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The narration is quite staccato and you never forget she is reading a book. And there are some bad mispronunciations (Chi as "chee" being the worst, but the German words are pretty bad) and awful attempts at a generic American accent, which grate a lot. But the story wins through!

4 of 5 people found this review helpful