“At The Existentialist Café”: Absolute Delight of a Book

If all books on philosophy were like this one, everyone would be REALLY into philosophy

“At the Existentialist Café” is a treat. I have never read such a captivating and approachable book on philosophy before:

Sarah Bakewell is a fantastic, thoughtful author. In this book, she explores the history of existentialism throughout the 20th century and relates the life stories of Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, and others.

The book is titled “Existentialist Café” because Bakewell enjoys imagining different 20th-century thinkers casually talking to each other as if they were all enjoying coffee or wine at a Parisian café in mid-20th century.

The book outlines what existentialism is: the main idea behind it is personal freedom, which was very influential in world culture. However, personal freedom does not equate to eternal joy and happiness. It is about making personal, independent decisions in at times tough life situations — and taking full accountability for these decisions.

Bakewell does an amazing job outlining life in Europe in the 1930s, the subsequent occupation of Paris and its reality over the occupation years, as well as the post-war world. She goes beyond the post-war era and shows how existentialism influenced the hippies and non-conformist movements of the 1960s – and beyond.

I think you don’t need to be interested in existentialism to find this book really good. It’s a captivating historical chronicle that reads very easily, and the story behind the relationship of Sartre and de Beauvoir reads like a novel.

I never post book reviews without a beer recommendation. Books and beers – that’s what I do.

Today’s beer is the closest I could get to France without featuring my usual beloved Belgian beers. It is Battin beer from Luxembourg 🇱🇺. We tried their wheat and fruited beers, and both were quite good! Definitely give it a try if you’re visiting Luxembourg.