Comment

May 01, 2019hinahusain rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Where to begin this review - it took me about 3 months to get through reading this book, and now that I’m done, I feel sort of empty and as though my relationship with Montaigne has come to an end. This wasn’t a book that I could devour over a week like Bakewell’s ‘At The Existentialist Cafe’. I had to let the chapters sit in my mind and marinate before I could read any further. There is so much ground that is covered here, I feel as though Montaigne and I may as well have known each other in real life - that goes to show how well Bakewell researched for this book and how meticulously she provides an image of who he was. The content does get a little dry from time to time when names and dates are being thrown out page after page, and since I would leave the book for weeks at an end before coming back to it, I would need to refresh my memory as to who some of the key players were in Montaigne’s life. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, if you’re into that sort of detail. I really enjoyed this book and am glad I read this before attempting to read Montaigne’s ‘Essays’. It definitely helps knowing who the man was and where he came from and what sort of a life he lived for one to fully understand what his masterpiece is trying to convey. The amount of history covered about Montaigne (from his birth, to his death, and how his work has evolved over the centuries, right up to modern day editions of his book) is astounding. To give you an idea of just how much history and information there is in this book, here’s a fun fact - the last 60 pages are just a glossary and references for the book. Bakewell’s writing style is extremely light hearted and fun to read along with; it is as though she’s talking directly to you as a friend and sharing her love and fascination for the man. I don’t think I would have been able to read so much about a person who I barely knew anything about before starting this book had it not been for how accessible and intriguing Bakewell’s writing is. And now that I’m done, the real work begins - thinking about all the answers Montaigne tries to provide about how to live a life.