The Prime of Life (The second volume of her autobiography) - Simone de Beauvoir

Penguin, 1973, softcover, 607 pages, condition: good.

This second volume of de Beauvoir's autobiography made me feel as if I had been transported back in time, observing her daily activities, people she interacted with, and also made me think I was privy to her private thoughts, as I had with Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter, the first volume of her autobiography.

The Prime of Life continues her life from 1929--picking up where she left off in Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter and when she is finally independent of her parents, to the end of WWII--the Liberation of Paris.

 The second volume of de Beauvoir's autobiography is published in two volumes in English translation, the other being Force of Circumstance , also listed on Bobshop.
After I finished the first volume, I couldn't imagine how another autobiography--a sequel, if you will, could be just as good, but Prime of Life IS equally good. Her descriptions of enjoying her personal freedom captivated my imagination: being able to go wherever she wished, dress however she wished w/o care to what others may have thought, socialize with whomever she wished, etc. On her many travel adventures, alone,with and without Sartre. or other friends, she made me feel I was right there beside her, whether she was on one of her many walks into an unfamiliar town or moutain area, or riding alone in a train--imagining she was some kind of international spy! Or on a mountainous bicycle ride (and then having a near-fatal accident).I was intrigued by her self-criticisms of her writing. And she had me engrossed in the many suspenseful moments of the second half of the book describing the war years--of the days leading up to it, the years of want during the war, and the Liberation.

 The second volume of de Beauvoir's autobiography is published in two volumes in English translation, the other being Force of Circumstance , also listed on Bobshop.

Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986) was a French writer, intellectual, existentialist philosopher, political activist, feminist, and social theorist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, she had a significant influence on both feminist existentialism and feminist theory.