At the Existentialist Cafe by Sarah Bakewell was the book we discussed in December. There was general agreement on the difficulties of fully understanding the details of the philosophy written by Heidegger, Husserl, Sartre, de Beauvoir, and others, but we all appreciated the incredible knowledge and understanding Sarah Bakewell brought to her subject. Her illuminating coverage of the social and cultural impact of these and other philosophers of the mid 20th century provided insights into the influences philosophy had on the political and intellectual activities of this era. Her emphasis on the importance of autobiography in understanding the existentialists, and on how widely these philosophers themselves read to develop their individual views made particular impact.
Our next book will be The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. Here is a link to a review from the New York Times. We will meet Wednesday, February 7, in Room 115 of the Richardson Library. Discussion begins at 1:30, with the room open at 1 pm. for anyone who wants to bring in a brown bag lunch. For further information contact Kathryn DeGraff or Helen Marlborough.
We will continue to review the titles on our list for consideration for upcoming discussions. Please let Kathryn, Helen, or anyone else in the group, if you have a favorite book you would like to share with your DES colleagues. As you can tell from the posts, we are interested in a wide range of fiction and non fiction. We enjoy our sessions thoroughly and always have room for more people and more insights
