Customer Reviews

America Day by Day

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French existentialist, Simone de Beauvoir (1908-86), was both enchanted by and highly critical of life in America. She was comforted by American cemeteries which, she observed, have more personality than some towns, and offer a final escape from the banality of daily life in America (p. 80). Originally published in France as L'AMERIQUE AU JOUR LE JOUR in 1948, AMERICA DAY BY DAY details the four months she spent traveling the United States anonymously (but with a letter of introduction from her companion, Jean-Paul Sartre), from New York to Los Angeles and back, by car, train, and Greyhound bus, while lecturing at colleges and universities along the way. Published in the form of her January 25, 1947 through May 20, 1947 travel journal, AMERICA DAY BY DAY reveals de Beauvoir's fascinating insights into post-war American culture, including its consumerism and "superabundance" ("too much noise, too much perfume, too much heat, too much luxury," p. 118) and obsession with big cars and celebrity, its church services, politics, fashion, movies, and music, and tourist attractions like Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon, and Las Vegas. "Many things would change among Americans," she writes about American psychoanalysis, "if they were willing to accept that there is unhappiness on earth and that unhappiness is not a priori a crime" (p. 64). Always fiercely independent and intelligent, de Beauvoir also reveals her perspective on American women, black/white relations, intellectuals, education, and college students in her wandering, thought-provoking travel memoir. Highly recommended.

G. Merritt

I never met Simone but the visit to America that resulted in this book ended the day I was born and we knew people in common, including Nelson Algren. This book is fun. We think of Simone as the woman who initiated the second wave of feminism with her book, "The Second Sex;" as the companion of Jean-Paul Sartre, a man plagued by lobsters and his own sense of self; as the globe-trotting political activist. Some may know her as the author of the frightening novel, "She Came To Stay." The Simone who wrote this book was the best part of Simone de Beauvoir. The book is a snapshot of America, entering the center stage of world power, taken by a native of a country whose time of leadership has passed. It is also the story of a middle-aged woman falling in love. This book was unavailable for many years but it is important both as a view of America in mid-century and as an insight into one of the most important women of the 20th century.

Simone de Beauvoir writes America Day by Day as a daily journal, although she actually wrote it after her return to France. Her casual tone allows the reader to travel along with her journey across America. Beauvoir seems enthusiastic about America and does not focus on stereotypes, despite coming with some preconceived notions from movies and friends. Beauvoir also talks about the variety of people in America, which anti-American authors often overlook. The book portrays America well, while highlighting some social problems of the early 1950's, some of which no longer exist. Through her travels she speaks of the rising problems of the fear of communism, the semi-equality of women, and the segregation of Blacks. Other main themes she contemplates through her experiences are religion and democracy. Beauvoir also mentions her views on the American university system and on American intellectualism in general. Despite her relatively negative themes, Beauvoir's admiration for American friendliness and trust shows through. Her love for America is clearly seen. On the last page she describes her arrival in France and how dull it seems compared to America; she says, "Over there in the night, a vast continent is sparkling" (390). America Day by Day is a beautifully written and interesting book.

Publisher's Weekly notes that this engrossing travel account is "facile and condescending" in parts, and that's an understatement. I cringed when I read her hackneyed views of race relations, black dancing (so free! so unhindered by puritanical white uptightness! aren't "they" so very "primitif!" But in a good way! Ooh-la-lah!).

My buddy S and I were taking turns reading this book out loud to one another as we replicated part of de Beauvoir's journey through the Southwest. After a while we couldn't stop ourselves from commenting on various sites in the voice of Simone...
"While the majestic red rocks near Santa Fe present a dazzling profile against a cerulean sky, I cannot help but note that the American Working Man leads a life of quiet deslolation, inured to the tragic injustices perpetrated against that little lizard we see lifting its barbaric yet courageous head to better view us, its oppressors! Now we shall drink whiskey with some bums in the Bowery! Zout allors!"

There's much to like in this book, and much that's maddeningly trite. I bought the book in the UK and since many Brits love to hate the US, it was kind of fun to read the slobberingly positive pull quotes on the front pages. Still, I recommend this book to readers of good travel literature.

Warning: you will want to drink whiskey and smoke cigarettes while reading this book. I'm just sayin'.

"America Day by Day" written by Simone de Beauvoir is a first hand view of America during post-World War II times by one of France's intellectuals of the time. She travels around the United States, first landing in New York City and ending back in Paris only to become disappointed by the look Paris has after touring America. This book was written after her visit but creatively written in journal format, dating from January 25 to May 20, 1947. On the contrary to public opinion, Beauvoir is not anti-American in this reading. Although she is very critical of the way of life people have in the United States, she seems throughly interested throughout her stay. One can note recurring themes that Beauvoir focuses on throughout the book, ranging from female rights to racism to the architecture and fellow intellectuals from America. This book is recommended for help on discovering different perspectives about the United States.

"America Day by Day" is an insightful literary and analytical piece of American culture in the 1940s. Simone de Beauvoir looks at the United States through very critical and apprehensive eyes. She notes the virtues of American society: the food, jazz, the buildings and the warmth of the American people. She also notes the vices: racism, the poor state of plantation workers, American consumerism and the political apathy of the American youth. Beauvoir's opinions of America are particularly poignant because she already an established French intellectual before she travels to America. The fact that she is a French woman arriving in the United States after the end of the Second World War also gives a new dimension to her perception of America. Her past experiences have heightened her perception of all the things around her; this reflects in her sensitivity to sounds, smells and temperature changes. Simone de Beauvoir can be seen as a fair critic of the United States and its culture as she tries to describe her experiences in America holistically; and does not focus on the negative aspects of American culture as would be expected from a French critic.

One of the most accessible books by this great author. It has been a gateway to her other works including the Mandarins. Plus it is a joyous and interesting journey through an America rarely heard about. I realize now that so few Americans were really travelling in the fourties, we had wrapped up the war and wanted to stay home. Excellent book.

In Simone de Beauvoir's, America Day by Day, she travels through America in the late 1940's, post WWII. She documents her observations and experiences as she takes a cross-country journey, stopping in popular U.S. locations such as New York, Boston, Chicago, New Orleans, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Hollywood, and San Francisco.
Beauvoir's travels help her to understand the diversity that embodies America. America is considered `the land of opportunity,' a country where the inhabitants are granted certain freedoms. Thus, Beauvoir whole-heartedly embraces her first experience as an American. Intrigued by the American lifestyle, she wanders, looking for her next new experience, her next new adventure. The former Catholic school girl experiences a spectrum of American culture; she dabbles into alcohol and drugs but also incorporates touring museums and lecturing at various, distinguished women's colleges into her travels. Beauvoir almost seems reckless in how she behaves in a country completely foreign to her, but the way in which she free-spiritedly follows her instincts is very much admirable. She is very wide-eyed and excited about America, but she also expresses her irritation as she passionately acknowledges her opinions on topics like racism and segregation, education, American women, democracy, and communism. "Hardly a day has passed that I haven't been dazzled by America; hardly a day that I haven't been disappointed. I don't know if I could be happy living here; I am sure I'll miss it passionately" (382).

Like de Toqueville before her, Simone de Beauvoir analyzes America, its present state and future promise, as only an outsider can, objectively, without influence or taint from the very values and phenomena under examination. If that makes _America Day by Day_ sound like something other than a travel book, good, because it is much, much more.

It is an insightful essay on the very things that define us as a nation: our optimism, our work ethic, our *color line,* and our politics. Offered to us episodically, in the pages of her travel journal, her thoughts on American society are so accurate and penetrating that her conclusions remain relevant today.

Her main conclusion is this: "...America is one of the pivotal points of the world, where the future of man is being played out. To 'like' America, to 'dislike' it -- these words have no meaning. It is a battlefield, and you can only become passionate about the battle it is waging with itself, in which stakes are beyond measure." Everyone should read this book to discover why we are a "pivotal point" and what that means for us and the rest of the nations of the world.

Before reading it, I was concerned that the writing might be pretentious and annoying. But she essentially came here with an open mind and maintained it throughout her stay. She portrayed 1940's America beautifully.