By Tengku Vriska Adelia Putri
A collection of short stories, all three of which potray the life of middle aged women experiencing an identity crisis.
The first story was bittersweet, the second was ferocious and the third just made me furious. Beauvoir’s characters are incredibly complex. These are women who sacrificed their individuality for the sake of family, only to be robbed of it once again after decades of dedication. Having reached a dead-end, they need to reconstruct themselves from the ground up while their significant others comfortably get on with their lives.
It might seem weird to read about the thoughts and reflections of women passed their 40’s full of flaws, of doubts, of failures . But these are exact same lives that will make us question more things we wouldn’t have dared before. Although this book was published in 1967, the book still relatable.After finishing Simone de Beauvior’s book, I immediately think “are good books bad for you?” This story is heartbreaking and emotionally provocative. Her fiction has the ability to influence my emotions and my opinions in a deep and powerful way. I found myself carefully questioning my own ideas about marriage, success, family, polyamory and the list goes on. I was wild with anxiety while reading this book, but I loved it and it broke my heart.
Officially one of my favorite book, I really want to rediscover in the original French.