"One of the most acute and thoughtful achievements of French fiction at mid-century." — New York Times
Set in Paris on the eve of World War II and sizzling with love, anger, and revenge, She Came to Stay explores the changes wrought in the soul of a woman and a city soon to fall. Although Françoise considers her relationship with Pierre an open one, she falls prey to jealousy when the gamine Xavière catches his attention. The moody young woman from the countryside pries her way between Françoise and Pierre, playing up to each one and deviously pulling them apart, until the only way out of the triangle is destruction. "Behind the sympathy there is curiosity. . . . A writer whose tears for her characters freeze as they drop." — Sunday London Times
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"One of the most acute and thoughtful achievements of French fiction at mid-century. -- >>
Behind the sympathy there is curiosity. . . . A writer whose tears for her characters freeze as they drop. -- Sunday London Times
Behind the sympathy there is curiosity. . . . A writer whose tears for her characters freeze as they drop. -- Sunday London Times
Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Original Language: French --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"She Came to Stay" is mostly a non-fictional account of a menage-a-trois between Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Olga Kosakievicz (who the book is dedicated to). Kosakievicz was a student of Beauvoir's and later developed a relationship with Beauvoir and Sartre. They were the dominate members of the trio and Kosakievicz was more of a submissive tag-along. Even after the trio split up Kosakivicz would remain financially dependent on Sartre and remain close friends with Beauvoir.
Beauvoir, much like Sartre, uses fiction as a way to explain philosophical concepts such as freedom and bad faith. "She Came to Stay" was published in 1943 and written at the same time Sartre was working on "Being and Nothingness." Beauvoir actively helped Sartre in his writing and the philosophical undertone of "Being and Nothingness" is apparent in "She Came to Stay."
Beauvoir's first novel does have two possible flaws. First, the writing is not pulp fiction. Like Sartre's writing it sometimes sacrifices the story for philosophical reasoning. This is not necessarily a flaw but it does make some sections of the novel rather dry. Second, Beauvoir's account of her emotions and actions are sometimes rather restricted. The novel was published in 1943 and she was still in contact with nearly everyone she wrote about. Her posthumously released "Letters to Sartre" give a much more detailed account of her affair with Olga.
"She Came to Stay" is a good novel to read for anyone interested in Beauvoir, the French intellectual elite of the late 1930's, or taboo relationships.
Beauvoir, much like Sartre, uses fiction as a way to explain philosophical concepts such as freedom and bad faith. "She Came to Stay" was published in 1943 and written at the same time Sartre was working on "Being and Nothingness." Beauvoir actively helped Sartre in his writing and the philosophical undertone of "Being and Nothingness" is apparent in "She Came to Stay."
Beauvoir's first novel does have two possible flaws. First, the writing is not pulp fiction. Like Sartre's writing it sometimes sacrifices the story for philosophical reasoning. This is not necessarily a flaw but it does make some sections of the novel rather dry. Second, Beauvoir's account of her emotions and actions are sometimes rather restricted. The novel was published in 1943 and she was still in contact with nearly everyone she wrote about. Her posthumously released "Letters to Sartre" give a much more detailed account of her affair with Olga.
"She Came to Stay" is a good novel to read for anyone interested in Beauvoir, the French intellectual elite of the late 1930's, or taboo relationships.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Stella
Format:Paperback
This book made me sad, happy, angry, interested...pretty much everything. I was going from ''kick her out'' to ''kick him out'', to ''get real'' even if aware of the existentialist ideas behind it and what I am 'supposed' to think about it.
A great read even if some were disappointed by De Beauvoir for preaching one thing an living the other. Hey, we are all just human and this book is so honest it is almost painful!
A great read even if some were disappointed by De Beauvoir for preaching one thing an living the other. Hey, we are all just human and this book is so honest it is almost painful!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Book about pretentious Parisian snobs which somehow works out to be a most enjoyable and engaging read! Highly recommend. Loved the ending.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Big Book
This is the semi-autobiographical work of the author and her relationship with JPS. I thought the book was good, very painful as she exposed JPS as a cheat. Read more
Published 1 day ago by G. McFadden
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good
The product arrived on time safe and sound. The product was covered against any kind of damage. Thanks for the good work!
Published 4 months ago by Muge Kuleli
1.0 out of 5 stars
TIRESOME GIBBERISH
I got about 200 pages into this book, and then gave up. I just found it so tiresome. Most of the book is dialogue, but meaningless gibberish dialogue. Read more
Published 10 months ago by LINDA LEVEN
5.0 out of 5 stars
Intense love, hate, jealousy, despair, revenge!
Based on the real life trio of Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sarte, and Olga Kosakievicz--a student of de Beauvoir, She Came To Stay is a tale of the complications that arise when... Read more
Published on April 4, 2008 by Jennifer J. Timmons
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Proud Emotional Creature
Francoise and Pierre Labrousse are a couple. Xaviere is a student from Rouen. Xaviere's real life has yet to begin. Read more
Published on August 9, 2004 by Mary E. Sibley
3.0 out of 5 stars
A riveting study of jealousy
This is Simone's first published novel and writing this book removed her own writer's block and enabled her to go on to win the Prix Goncourt and, of course, write "The Second... Read more
Published on July 17, 2000 by "really-siobhan"
4.0 out of 5 stars
a serious study of emotion and reason
While _The Mandarins_ is her most popular novel, _She Came to Stay_ offers another powerful writing of Simone De Beauvoir. Read more
Published on March 24, 2000
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