Left Bank: Art, Passion, and the Rebirth of Paris, 1940-50

by Agnès Poirier

An incandescent group portrait of the midcentury artists and thinkers whose lives, loves, collaborations, and passions were forged against the wartime destruction and postwar rebirth of Paris

In this fascinating tour of a celebrated city during one of its most trying, significant, and ultimately triumphant eras, Agnes Poirier unspools the stories of the poets, writers, painters, and philosophers whose lives collided to extraordinary effect between 1940 and 1950. She gives us the human drama behind some of the most celebrated works of the 20th century, from Richard Wright’s Native Son, Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex, and James Baldwin's Giovanni's Room to Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot and Saul Bellow's Augie March, along with the origin stories of now legendary movements, from Existentialism to the Theatre of the Absurd, New Journalism, bebop, and French feminism.

We follow Arthur Koestler and Norman Mailer as young men, peek inside Picasso’s studio, and trail the twists of Camus's Sartre's, and Beauvoir’s epic love stories. We witness the births and deaths of newspapers and literary journals and peer through keyholes to see the first kisses and last nights of many ill-advised bedfellows. At every turn, Poirier deftly hones in on the most compelling and colorful history, without undermining the crucial significance of the era. She brings to life the flawed, visionary Parisians who fell in love and out of it, who infuriated and inspired one another, all while reconfiguring the world's political, intellectual, and creative landscapes.

With its balance of clear-eyed historical narrative and irresistible anecdotal charm, Left Bank transports readers to a Paris teeming with passion, drama, and life.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, France, Art, Biography, Philosophy, Cultural

320 pages, Hardcover

First published February 13, 2018

Reviews

[lorinbocol · Rating 3 out of 5]

(un po’ come leggere un paris match d’annata su intellos d’un certo livello.
alcune parti prendono di più, altre son troppo dettagliate e popolate di personaggi troppo gregari per reggere l’aspettativa di interesse. comunque, nota sciocca a margine, de beauvoir e sartre facevano decisamente più sesso che politica. e non tra di loro).

[Tosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can almost resist everything, except, any books about the Left Bank during the 1940s to the late 1950s. Generally, readers/culture addicts are seduced by images of Paris and its culture throughout the years. In a way, it's the conceptual 'Disneyland' for those who don't live there, yet, keep track of its beauty through pictures, movies, and of course, literature. I'm so much in tune to that world that I pretty much started up a press, TamTam Books, just focusing on the Paris post-war years, due that I love the literature as well as the figures that came out of that time, especially Boris Vian.

There are many books on Paris that was published throughout the years, as well as memoirs, diaries, and biographies - so it's not an obscure subject matter by any means. But it wasn't until recently one hears the name Boris Vian in English reading books on the Existentialist period. Vian was a significant figure in those years, and a lot of books about that period avoided his identity, I think due that none of his books were available in English at the time. Therefore I have to presume editors for various presses probably decided if editorial cuts are being made, it is perfectly OK to eliminate Vian in its narrative. That is not the case anymore. Although he's a side-figure in the recent book "Left Bank" by Agnès Poirier, at least he's given credit as a writer and social figure in Paris.

Beyond that, this book doesn't have any new information, and if one is a long-term reader of Paris literary and social history, still it's a fun read and Poirier does a good job in covering all the loose ends of the rambling narrative that is the grand city of romance and ideas. All the stars are here: Juliette Gréco, Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Samuel Beckett, Camus, as well as the Americans that came to Paris during the post-war years, such as James Baldwin, Miles Davis, Richard Wright, Saul Bellow, Norman Mailer, and the old stand-by's such as Picasso and Jean Cocteau. A colorful group of characters. One is in good company.

[Jay Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

Devoured this in a matter of hours. It would suit readers with a superficial familiarity with and interest in the period and its dramatis personae. Don't expect any great exposition of the existentialists' ideas. It's pretty much a run-of-the-mill journalistic chronology of events based on the autobiographies and biographies of those involved. If you've read Damned to Fame, Annie Cohen-Solal's Jean-Paul Sartre: A Life, and de Beauvoir's autobiographies, there's very little in this that will be new to you. Sarah Bakewell's At the Existentialist Cafe is a far more interesting and detailed book. That said, I'm hoping that this is the first in a series on this subject, because there's so much more to tell and because it feels like many of the stories have been left hanging in mid-air.

[Stephen Goldenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whenever I play that game of choosing a historical period and a place where and when I would most have liked to live then post-war left bank Paris is often my choice. Sitting around in cafes discussing life, politics and literature with the likes of Sartre, de Beauvoir and Camus or just being a flâneur and watching the world go by while sipping a glass of vin rouge.
This is a very entertaining history of the period. The contrast between Paris during the occupation and the exuberance and intellectual excitement of the immediate post-war period gives it added strength and seriousness. There’s a perfect mix of the day to day lives of these writers and intellectuals (especially their complex and promiscuous love lives) and the political and social struggle to rebuild the governance and institutions of a war shattered city. Particularly enjoyable and interesting was the contrast between the native Parisians and the influx of young American writers with their superior spending power and their more puritanical morals. The cast of characters is extensive but the star of the show is Simone de Beauvoir and her assertion of a new kind of sexual and social female independence.

[Marcello S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ricostruzione basata su una varietà di fonti e documenti che mette a fuoco l’incandescenza politica, artistica, sociale e sessuale della Parigi degli anni ’40.
È praticamente una cronologia giornalistica che racconta la riconquista di una posizione culturale predominante da parte di una generazione di intellettuali, scrittori, artisti che in quel periodo gravitavano nelle vie attorno a Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Parallelamente c’è la ricerca di una terza via alternativa sia alle politiche degli Usa sia alle prospettive del Partito comunista.
Sembra di ascoltare la voce off di un cinegiornale in bianco e nero. Si parla (purtroppo) poco di libri, quasi sempre solo citati. Poca o nessuna esposizione delle idee del movimento esistenzialista. Sui vari flirt, sui disamoramenti e le riconciliazioni, invece, si dice parecchio.
Tra i moltissimi citati (alcuni probabilmente solo per allungare l’indice dei nomi), protagonisti incontrastati sono Jean-Paul Sartre e Simone de Beauvoir.
Libro che incuriosisce e stimola ad approfondire. Diverso da quello che mi aspettavo, non in positivo.

[69/100]

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's no shortage of literature written about the famous Lost Generation of writers who populated Paris in the 1920's, and I have read my share. I was totally unfamiliar with the dynamic society of writers who made Paris their home between 1940 and 1950. This book filled that void in my knowledge about the intellectual society of Paris during that period.

The book unfolds around the circle of Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and Camus but the allure of the city and its cafe culture attracted jazz musicians, aspiring journalists, playwrights, and every garden variety of intellectual that your mind could possibly conjure.

It was easy to occasionally get bogged down by the day-t0-day domestic situations of these free-spirited individuals who seemed so intent to make their life an art form of its own, but the reward for this reader is an understanding of the striking differences between the life of these "public intellectuals" in Europe and the corresponding lifestyle of writers in America. The "ah-ha moment" for me was the statement from Richard Wright (author of NATIVE SON) that in New York he was recognized as "a successful Black novelist" and in Paris he was simply acknowledged as a writer. The sense that the society he moved in was color-blind was enough for him to move permanently to France .

I was also intrigued by the divergent reactions of de Beauvoir, Sarte and Camus to experiences lecturing/touring America. For the most part, they were individuals with no particular interest in money (nor a specific lack of it), but after the deprivations of Europe during WW2, at least one of them was dismayed by the American exuberance for possessions --- it was just not something these very liberal individualists could identify with. But, the issue that will stay with me for some time is de Beauvoir's puzzlement that American's "don't talk about ideas" (or anything of substance) --- conversation "in society" was pleasant and meaningless and she was totally baffled by this.

It was fascinating to be absorbed into a society of intellectuals whose primary "product" was their lifestyle. In some instances the writers' acknowledged that they were so busy "connecting" with each other and discussing their sexual and social politics that they didn't have time to write and it was then necessary to accept the fact that they were no longer writers, but "public intellectuals." I honestly can't think of a group of people in this country that we would classify as such now.

Netgalley provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in return for an honest review.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mostly chronological smattering of stories involving the writers, artists, musicians, and others who lived through WWII in Paris and the five years after. It didn't feel as cohesive as it could have, but was pretty fascinating all the same.

[Norman Weiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gut geschrieben und hochinformativ. Klare Leseempfehlung!

[Alan (the Lone Librarian rides again) Teder · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Not-So-Lost Generation

There is such a gust of positive energy in this terrific overview of the artists and writers who either lived in or visited Paris during the years 1939 to 1949. Agnès Poirier makes it all come alive with a thoroughly researched history of these figures of whom many created or received the inspiration for their greatest works during this decade that was spent half in the depths of World War II and half in its post-war recovery.

The caricature sketches on the cover give an idea of the variety of persons included: everyone (starting 1pm and going clockwise) from Simone de Beauvoir, Jean Cocteau, Janet Flanner, Miles Davis (who only appears for 2 pages, but still dramatic ones), Juliette Gréco, Albert Camus, Arthur Koestler, Saul Bellow, James Baldwin and Jean-Paul Sartre. Not pictured, but also making prominent appearances are Nelson Algren, Dominique Aury, Samuel Beckett, Art Buchwald, Edith Thomas, Theodore H. White, Richard Wright and many more.

One of the best inspirations from this book is the impetus to read many of the fiction, non-fiction, and/or theatrical classics which are written about, which include everything from Algren's The Man With the Golden Arm, de Beauvoir's The Second Sex, Beckett's Waiting for Godot(not published until 1953, but written in 1949), Bellow's The Adventures of Augie March, Camus' The Stranger (surprisingly passed by the German censors for publication in 1942), Koestler's Darkness at Noon, and many others.

Highly recommended for fans of Paris and the literature and art inspired by it!

Music Links
The Best of Juliette Greco (which includes "La rue des blancs-manteaux" (The Street of White Coats) with lyrics by Sartre & "Si tu t'imagines" (If You Imagine) with lyrics by Raymond Queneau, both as referenced in "Left Bank") https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjHlZ...
The popularity of the "Jazz Hot" and "Bebop" jazz music styles is often referenced in the book and several of the prominent concerts mentioned are available on recordings and (perhaps temporarily) on YouTube including:
Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five Live in Paris at Salle Pleyel 1948 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsp0t...
Dizzy Gillespie Live in Paris at Salle Pleyel February 28, 1948 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CKSV...
Miles Davis & Tadd Dameron Quintet Live at Salle Pleyel, Paris International Jazz Festival May 8, 1949 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DL_Sq...

Further Book Link
The recent At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails by Sarah Bakewell is a superb companion book to this current volume as it covers Sartre and de Beauvoir in even further detail.

#ThereIsAlwaysOne
pg. 231 "In January 1948, Elio Vittorini... a well known Fascist (sic) intellectual, ..." This is a copy editing error in the description of anti-Fascist writer Elio Vittorini, writer of Conversations in Sicily (1941) who was jailed for his writings by Italian authorities during World War II.

[Rachel Louise Atkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for non-fiction November.

This is a good book for people interested in the post-war artistic boom in Paris that focuses on the inhabitants of the Left Bank. I liked the focus on the existentialists as that’s what first drew me into the book and so it was great to learn a lot about Beauvoir, Sartre and Camus again along with others like Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Hannah Arendt. I really liked the last section where it discussed Brigette Bardot and Francois Sagan as I never connected those two to the movement in my head before but reading what Beauvoir wrote about them was so interesting.

There was a lot of gossip in this book about everyone’s affairs and the drama that happened between loads of people in the movement which I liked. Sometimes it got too text bookish and I didn’t feel a pull to pick it back up so definitely lulled at times for me. It’s not one of my favourite non-fiction read but I’m glad I’ve finally got it off my tbr.

[Sydney Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shockingly accessible, and seemed to relate to everything I’ve been reading recently. Huge fan of the vignettes that illuminated the political scene.

[Sarag22 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ho deciso di leggere questo libro, perché tempo fa mi ero imbattuta in un interessante ritratto di Arthur Koestler nel libro "L'età dell'oblio" dello storico Tony Judt. Curioso avere poi scoperto che anche la curiosità dell'autrice è stata mossa dalla lettura di un suo saggio, non so se il medesimo.
Agnes Poirier ci conduce, dunque, nelle fredde e anguste stanze della Rive Gauche di Parigi tra il 1940 e il 1950, per chiedersi con noi come sia potuta fiorire una tale vivacità culturale in una Parigi occupata, divisa, impoverita. Molte sono le figure che vediamo sfilare nei caffè , nei teatri e nelle redazioni, dalla triade Sarte, Camus e De Beauvoir, a tanti personaggi minori, ma sempre significativi per illustrare le luci e le ombre della boheme del secondo dopoguerra. Il racconto non è eccessivamente approfondito, ma ha il pregio di non essere pedante, di far sorgere curiosità che spingono ad annotare altre letture e, perché no, a tornare a passeggiare nelle strade grigie, fredde e umide della Rive Gauche, con il dubbio che sia stata proprio l'esigenza di sfuggirvi ad aver fatto nascere quei ritrovi che tanto hanno significato per lo sviluppo dell'arte e del pensiero.

[Sorin Hadârcă · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing account of the intellectual milieu of the Left Bank Paris in the '40s. Sartre, Beauvoir and their existentialist friends take centre stage. The selection of characters is somewhat accidental: Miles Davis who dated Juliette Gréco who knew Sartre is mentioned, but Ionesco who fathered the Theatre of Absurd on par with Samuel Beckett isn't. Picasso had little to do with existentialism but his 'existence' was too big to go unnoticed. All the same, what I enjoyed most (apart from literary gossip) is the simultaneity of action - what each and everyone did on, say, the Victory Day. That's a perspective you can't have in a straight biography and the mosaic works. The ending didn't work: abrupt, Simone de Beauvoir looking at Notre Dame, thinking. That was a bit hurried, as if another book project was due after lunch.

[Lynn Horton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read quite a bit about the Lost Generation, and this book differs from many others in that it begins with the war, which Poitier (rightly) insists set up the environment of 1940s/1950s Paris.

I found the first third of the book fascinating. The author has a way of crystallizing a time and trends that makes them easily digestible, and it’s apparent that her premise of the war creating the Lost Generation is correct. However, I then bogged down in the daily grind, the details, the seemingly unrelated affairs/grievances/fits/betrayals that fill the rest of the book. I can’t say that I came away from the read enlightened, or that my respect for the artists, journalists, and hangers-on increased after reading Left Bank, but I do have a better understanding of the mindset.

This is not a breezy read, but it’s a good book that evokes a time and place that created (or sharpened and nourished) artistic geniuses whose names are still revered.

Recommended.

[Bittner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me love Paris. I love recognizing all the street names and bookstores on my walk to class that I learned about in this book. Would highly highly recommend to anyone

[Jenny Maria · Rating 1 out of 5]

Blä.

[Denis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most enjoyable history books I’ve read in a long time. As fast-moving, eventful, and thrilling as an epic novel, it is also, first and foremost, a vibrant, skillful, literate and thoroughly researched study of the mythical left bank of Paris, at the time when it became the cultural beating heart of Europe and, maybe, of the world. Philosophers, novelists, playwrights, musicians, singers, painters, aspiring artists of all kinds: everybody seems to meet on the left bank at some point during the forties, even during the first five years, when Paris is occupied by the Nazis, and of course especially after the war. Agnès Poirier is a gifted narrator and guide, and she's remarkably knowledgeable. She does a superb job at exploring this world with fresh eyes. She deftly moves from the shadowy, terrifying times of Nazi Paris (not shying away from the ambiguous, sometimes questionable, behaviors of some famous people, but also underlining the fascinating role that some Germans who loved France and its artistic community played, often against the orders of their country) to the joyful, chaotic yet dazzling post-WWII period, which saw the birth of existentialism, and from which the myth of the left bank emerged. One of Poirier’s most astute decisions, as a historian and as a writer, is to introduce us with an equal amount of details to some of the most legendary names of the era (Picasso, Sartre, Camus, de Beauvoir, Beckett, Baldwin, Mailer, Giacometti, etc.) but also to now forgotten people who were integral part of what was then happening. Propelled by the excitement of having survived the war and of being free and at peace again, a whole generation of intellectuals and artists (some already established, some not) turned Paris’ left bank, after 1945, into a hive of extraordinary creativity. It attracted people from the whole world, especially Americans, and Poirier’s exploration of the Parisian years of people like Richard Wright is one of the highlights of her book. But, as she also brilliantly and not without humor tells it, all was not peaceful in this artistic colony: clashing ambitions, intense rivalries, ferocious political differences, tumultuous and messy love affairs, financial woes, private and public scandals pile up at a dizzying rate. It certainly makes up for immensely entertaining reading, but it also puts a very human face on some figures who, too often, have been buried under the weight of their own legend. In another clever move, Poirier very adroitly puts the women forward, and that is quite welcome. Simone de Beauvoir, who could be manipulative sometimes but who also helped many people, appears as the true heroine of this book, while a dozen of other women, who often remained hidden in the shadow of their most famous male lovers, truly shine: they deserve our admiration, and it’s exciting to learn about them. Without those women, actually, the left bank and its most iconic men would not have been what they were. Poirier justly denounces the sexism inherent to French society and the violence that some of those women were victim of: Arthur Koestler, notably, comes across as an appalling brute. Those times could be tragic for some. Mixing real discussions about philosophy, politics or arts, and fascinating anecdotes about the complicated characters that gave life to the legend of the left bank, Poirier’s book is a realistic, honest, multi-faceted ode to Paris, to Parisians, and to a decade that was a turning point in French history. Who wouldn’t have loved to meet Sartre for a coffee at the Flore, walk along the boulevard St Germain with Juliette Greco and Miles Davis, listen to Boris Vian play the trumpet in one of the neighborhood famed jazz clubs, have a vivid conversation with Richard Wright and de Beauvoir, visit Picasso’s studio, or follow Camus and his lover, the great actress Maria Casarès, along the narrow streets of what was, in fact, a rather small area? As much as during the fabled twenties, Paris after WWII was a formidable, glorious feast. The impact of what happened on the left bank during those years still resonates today, and Poirier's book is the best evocation of Paris in those turbulent times that one could find.

[Vansa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shakespeare and Co started their online store that shipped internationally last year, and this was the first book I bought from them. Agnes Poirier's excellent biography is a thoughtful look at Paris from World War II to its aftermath, the rebuilding of a city and more importantly, its soul. This isn't a book that glamorises the famed Rive Gauche-she shows you the reasons for that part of Paris attracting all the people it did, and it's quite a common reason-cheap rentals. Cafe de Flore and Deux Magots are packed tourist places now that charge exorbitant prices for a cup of coffee, because of their associations with the Lost Generation and the Existentialists, but for them, these were inexpensive, congenial places that had food during a time of intense rationing, and congenial proprietors that allowed customers to run up large tabs. Poirier writes a vivid account of life in Paris during the Nazi occupation, and brings out the nuances involved in collaboration-of course there were many intensely courageous people who risked their lvies in the Resitance, but that's not so easy, and it's easy to judge from the comfortable position ofan observer of history, but I'm not sure how many of us would have acquited ourselves much better! She explores the effect of those years on Beauvoir, Sartre, Camus, Beckett, Cocteau, Marais, Koestler, among others, and how those experiences affected their attitudes and political beliefs. Her chapters on the liberation of Paris are lovely and evocative and capture the atmosphere of overwhelming joy and relief incredibly well, amidst the violence of a German retreat.
The liberation of Paris didn't see an immediate relaxation in rationing but it did see a huge influx of Americans, both because of the GI Bill and a series of incentives by the French government to encourage tourists-rationing of food, petrol weren't applicable to them, only to French citizens, the franc's exchange rate very favourable to Americans-500 francs to a dollar! With the end of the war, basic survival was now not a constant worry, and all the artistes could focus on their work, with no more shortages of printers ink and paper either! 'Les temps modernes' was started and attracted the best writing from everywhere. Irwin Shaw, Norman Mailer, Saul Bellow and most famously, Richard Wright, lived in Paris at the time, specifically the Left Bank. A constant thread through the book is Poirier engaging with what their ideas meant-it's a far deeper book than some other group biographies that only deal with their bohemian Cafe Society lives involving frequent soirees and partner-swapping. Having lived through fascism, seen Communism as a hope for a better world, only to then hear of Stalinist oppression, the Existentialists ( a name that they're known by, for better or worse, not one they appreciated at all!) were seeking a political system that would promise a more equitable world ( I wonder what their views were on the Non-Aligned Movement, Poirier doesn't mention and I can't find anything about it).
An aspect of the book I loved was Poirier's focus on the fascinating women of the time-apart from Beauvoir, of course, she gives much deserved primacy to the much-put upon Mamaine Koestler, pioneer editor SOnia Brownell, and the women who were teenagers during the Occupation-Juliette Greco, Francoise Sagan, Brigitte Bardot, who were all influenced by Beauvoir's radical (for the time, and to a large extent now as well)ideas on women not needing men, or a family or children to have a fulfilling life. She's quite rightly cynical on the hypocrisies of the sexual attitudes of all the great thinkers, who preached free love, as long as it wasn't being practised by their partners! The book ends in the 50s, with the more liberal 60s around the corner, and feminist attitudes for which women like Beauvoir laid the foundation. The last paragraph of the book is absolutely perfect, and the pioneering Beauvoir gets to have the last word, a lovely, moving paragraph that telescopes the centuries. Excellent, rewarding read, and it's introduced me to my 2 new favourite essays by Irwin Shaw

[Paul Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

A strong story-telling narrative of the fascinating literary personalities of the postwar world on the Left Bank in the 1949s. It puts the lives of Albert Camus, Jean Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and Arthur Koestler into one powerful interwoven story. One understands the relationships between them and possibly the central place Sartre occupied as a result of his prodigious output. The story also puts the existential writers within the context of the political movements of the time and in particular the attraction of the Communist Left against the revulsion of Stalinism. In a similar way, America and its powerfully successful economy and consumerism posed an attraction but the crass consumerism held a certain revulsion. One can sense the awareness of the cultural imperialism that the French intellectuals held for the rise of American power and its mass culture. But the idea of a European Third Way never gained traction either politically or culturally because the cold threat of Communism was too real and the liberty-creating presence of the Americans was both much needed and ever-present.

[JoBerlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mit „An den Ufern der Seine“ legt die Journalistin Agnès Poirier ein wunderbares Sachbuch vor, es ist eine Biografie, eine Bibliografie, eine Hommage an ihre Heimatstadt Paris. Sie greift dabei schwerpunktmäßig das generation- uns stadtprägende Jahrzehnt 1940 – 1950 heraus.
In ihrem Vorwort fasst sie dazu zusammen:
„Die jungen Männer und Frauen, aufstrebende Romanciers, Philosophen, Maler, Komponisten, Anthropologen, Theoretiker, Schauspieler,Fotografen, Dichter, Herausgeber, Verleger und Dramatiker, die von den Qualen des 2.Weltkriegs geprägt waren, teilten nicht immer die gleichen politischen und kulturellen Einstellungen, hatten aber drei Gemeinsamkeiten: die Kriegserfahrung, die Begegnung mit dem Tod und die Hochstimmung, die sie bei der Befreiung in Paris erfasste.“
Nach Jahren der Besatzung, Erstarrung und auch Kollaboration, erwachen Galerien, Boulevards , Jazzclubs, Buchhandlungen, Zeitungen 1944 wieder zum Leben und werden zu Foren des Austauschs und der gegenseitigen Inspiration.
Agnès Poirier gelingt eine kenntnisreiche, flott geschriebene Rekonstruktion des Lebens und Arbeitens der Pariser Intellektuellen und Künstler dieser Zeit. Das Buch ist zudem schön ausgestattet - Stadtplan, ausführliche Anmerkungen, Bilder, Personenregister gehören dazu - die sehr geschickte Gliederung und die Einbindung der Kapitel in einen zeitlichen Kontext ermöglichen auch eine Art feuilletonistisches Lesen, ein kontinuierliches „Durcharbeiten“ des beschrieben Jahrzehnts ist nicht unbedingt erforderlich. Damit eröffnet sich auch die Möglichkeit eigenen Erlebens, eigener Schwerpunkte, eigener Recherche – Agnès Poirier und ihre Protagonisten der temps modernes werden mir noch oft zur Seite stehen und Aufschluss und charmante Unterhaltung zugleich bieten.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not being particularly into existentialist writers I wasn’t sure I would like this book. But it’s more a cultural history of Paris - including the thoughts, emotions, and even gooey gossip of the writers, artists, cinematographers, politicians, etc. who spent their formative years in Paris during and just after the Occupation.

[Dan O'Meara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hooked by this account of a world in political and intellectual turmoil. Simone de Beauvoir's Les Mandarins is one of my favourite novels, and Agnès Poirier's account of the world that de Beauvoir rendered in fiction is the perfect counterpart to that brilliant novel.

[Christian Peltenburg-brechneff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the book. Slightly gossipy but knowing a lot about most characters it is a wonderful journey through a world of the past. Not always written as poetic as the writers were but it flows along...anyone who is interested in that time in Paris should pick it up

[Miles Procter · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is extremely well-researched and so so interesting. it recounts a history of the most influential names of public intellectuals living in and about Paris in the pre to post war period. Many names are some of the biggest of writers of that period, so is so cool to hear how all their lives and friendships mingled together around the one city.

the creatives and writers are extremely inspiring in how they worked so hard and engaged so much with each other and the range of political events that occurred. Beyond that, they really do appear to be extremely talented.

I would've loved to give this 5 stars but beyond recounting the lives and interlocking experiences of these people, there did not seem to be much of an overarching point to the book, and hence the last half lost its allure and became fairly dry as it just continued to introduce names and flit seemingly aimlessly between a multitude of people. Very very interesting though, v enjoyed

[Claudia Elena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another case where the book I read was not the book I expected. It’s great but I was less interested in the jazz, liquor and sex than the political and historic events. Fascinating to learn who was a class traitor and fascist in occupied Paris! And as much as I enjoy Camus and Sartre I always found existentialism a little vulgar, but I have a greater understanding and appreciation for it now as a response to the profound trauma of living under fascist rule and processing the horrors of the Holocaust/WWIl. This took me forever to finish because I picked it up right before the election and needed to take a pause, because, well…

Oh I also docked one star because the copy editing was so atrocious. Several instances where the dates were messed up — 1492 instead of 1942, for instance... In a $40 book! Tsk tsk

[Lara Abrahams · Rating 2 out of 5]

Agnès Poirier ricrea l’atmosfera parigina degli anni durante la seconda guerra mondiale fino al 1949 attraverso gli scrittori e intellettuali che la caratterizzarono. L’idea é entusiasmante, ma dopo le prime centinaia di pagine mi sono chiesta quale fosse lo scopo del libro, e se ce ne fosse uno. Interessanti aneddoti su figure come Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Picasso, Juliette Greco e tantissimi altri. Ma in fondo il risultato é un semplice elenco di date, nomi e titoli che lascia con una conoscenza superficiale e vacua.

L’unico consiglio che posso dare a chi, compresa me stessa, é appassionato a questi scrittori e artisti del secolo scorso, é di leggere le loro stesse opere. Qualsiasi tentativo di sintesi é destinato al fallimento.

[Jack Lille Yerington · Rating 5 out of 5]

The past week reading this I genuinely felt the fear, excitement, joy, and craze of living these ten years in the Left Bank. I learned so much about the livelihoods of writers, artists, and musicians I love, and much more about those I've never heard of. The messy yet beautiful landscape of politics, friendship, and sex Poirier contends with felt like watching the most perfect dumpster fire I had ever seen. Recommend to all, haven't been so captivated by a book in ages.

[Nicola Pierce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly enjoyable and compelling read about writers, artists and the politically aware in 1940s/50s Paris. It flows like water out of the tap; the research and the attention to detail are made thoroughly accessible thanks to the delicious intelligence and fine writing style of Poirier. A joy to read!

[Amelia Valentino · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Left Bank is a survey history of the kaleidoscopic intellectual, literary and art scene of post-war Paris.

It’s was interesting but erred more on the side of anecdotal and personal gossip. I could have done with a stronger tying theme.

[June Nguyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I happily devoured myself in discovering the French society through this book. Poirer depicted justly the vibrant intellectual life Paris once inspired the world and shaped modern philosophy.