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At the Existentialist Café
- Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails
- Narrated by: Antonia Beamish
- Length: 14 hrs and 39 mins
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At the Existentialist Café
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Summary
Paris, near the turn of 1933. Three young friends meet over apricot cocktails at the Bec-de-Gaz bar on the rue Montparnasse. They are Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and their friend Raymond Aron, who opens their eyes to a radical new way of thinking. Pointing to his drink, he says, 'You can make philosophy out of this cocktail!'
From this moment of inspiration, Sartre will create his own extraordinary philosophy of real, experienced life - of love and desire, of freedom and being, of cafés and waiters, of friendships and revolutionary fervour. It is a philosophy that will enthral Paris and sweep through the world, leaving its mark on post-war liberation movements, from the student uprisings of 1968 to civil rights pioneers.
At the Existentialist Café tells the story of modern existentialism as one of passionate encounters between people, minds and ideas. From the 'king and queen of existentialism' - Sartre and de Beauvoir - to their wider circle of friends and adversaries including Albert Camus, Martin Heidegger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Iris Murdoch, this audiobook is an enjoyable and original journey through a captivating intellectual movement.
Weaving biography and thought, Sarah Bakewell takes us to the heart of a philosophy about life that also changed lives, and that tackled the biggest questions of all: what we are and how we are to live.
Critic reviews
"This lucid study of the existentialists picks out some overlooked figures and exposes the sexual hypocrisies of Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre." (Jane O’Grady, Sunday Telegraph)
What listeners say about At the Existentialist Café
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Grainne Baxter
- 25-05-21
excellent
really interesting mixture of history, philosophy, psychology and literature. well worth a listen, excellent narrator.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- "unknown"
- 14-11-18
Great book, worse narration
I really liked the book and learned a lot from it. However, being Czech, I am appalled by the way the narrator pronounces Czech names. OK, not knowing how to read Břevnov Cemetery is understandable, but not knowing how to pronounce the name of our late president Václav Havel? Not to mention poor Patočka and others... would it be so hard to give the narrator a phonetic transcription? Vaklav Havl is going to haunt my dreams :(
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kasia
- 31-12-20
Do much of the good content
One of the best audiobook of 2020! Sarah Bakewell did a fantastic job to research, combine all the facts together and create an unique story. Very inspiring and makes you think.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Shells
- 28-02-18
a delight to listen to!
A pacy jaunt through existential philosophy focused on the interplay of characters at its heart.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- salman
- 29-04-21
Life story of famous existentialists
Sarah has described the life and philosophies of the major names in history of existentialism. If you are interested in phenomenology and existentialism then you would like her commentary on life contributions and times of these famous philosophers.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Samson
- 29-01-18
Philosophy - Biography - History
Excellent narration. The story is a survey of a vibrant philosophical movement intertwined with the biographies of the main actors. All the while there is parallel history of Europe in the 20th century. Very pleasing
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- J. Deane
- 03-01-21
you are free to choose
On the whole, I enjoyed it, and have taken some references for further reading. it is perhaps a better history of existentialism than an explanation of it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Martin
- 21-07-23
intro to existentialism through biographies
This was excellent in so many different ways, a great balance of philosophy, history, culture and biography. There is much to learn here, it provides a great big picture view for anyone planning to delve into any of the philosophers discussed.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- M. E. Birch
- 14-01-24
Fascinating listen
This was fascinating, but I feel as though I’m going to have to listen a couple more times before it really sinks in. Existentialism is a term that I’ve heard often, but never really been sure of its meaning, so this seemed like a good opportunity to learn. Large group of people, some familiar names, some less so, and although the presentation is very accessible, some of the ideas definitely made my brain hurt. I shall return to it at some point and see if I can follow it any better.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sara Black
- 24-03-17
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!
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4 people found this helpful