Parisian Lives: Samuel Beckett, Simone de Beauvoir, and Me—A Memoir by Deirdre Bair (review)

Bair recalls two decades of her life, which were intertwined with the lives of Samuel Beckett and Simone de Beauvoir, whose biographies she researched and wrote in the 1970s and 1980s. Beckett and Beauvoir lived in the Montparnasse area of Paris, where Bair met with them numerous times, first Beckett, in cafés, and then Beauvoir, in her small apartment. The work encompasses implicit lessons for biographers while portraying the personalities of her subjects and her own work habits. The account begins in 1971, when Bair was completing a dissertation on Beckett. Failing to secure an academic job, she daringly wrote to Beckett to propose her first biography. To her surprise, he casually agreed to the project and she was off on her first trip to Paris. When she met him, she realized that he was doubtful about her abilities, although he promised to neither help nor hinder her work. Seven years later, Beckett's biography was complete. During this time, Bair was juggling family duties and patching together financial support through grants and part-time teaching. Beckett was not available for in-depth interviews, but he directed her to friends and relatives for information. Bair visited Beckett's residences in Dublin and London and spoke to anyone who had known him at any stage of his life. In interviews, informants sometimes tried to sway her opinion of Beckett to agree with theirs or exaggerated their importance in his life. Bair did not consider any detail as factual without corroboration by two credible sources. Following complications with agents and publishers, another lesson for biographers, the work was published in 1978. It was generally well-received but criticized by some old-guard Beckett scholars, mostly male, who questioned her status as his biographer. Nonetheless, Bair continued her career and her frequent trips to Paris. She approached her next subject, Simone de Beauvoir, with the same trepidation. Beauvoir not only accepted Bair as a biographer but invited her into her small apartment for dozens of interviews, concluding each afternoon session with a relaxing drink. Unlike the formal and reserved Beckett, who frequently failed to appear for their appointments, Beauvoir welcomed Bair's company and talked freely about herself. Again, Bair met with the family and friends of her subject, and, unlike with Beckett, occasionally joined Beauvoir on social occasions. Her meeting with Beauvoir's sister is memorable, and her detailed description of Beauvoir's life during her final years is the work's most compelling aspect. When Beauvoir died unexpectedly in 1986, before the biography was completed, Bair felt a deep personal loss. She was among the prominent group of mourners who led the cortège from the hospital to the Montparnasse cemetery. Her biography of Beauvoir appeared in 1990, after ten years of effort. The work at hand is an account of the struggles and rewards of a biographer, along with glimpses into academic politics. This evocative and appealing work will be welcomed by a broad general audience and is essential for anyone interested in Beckett or Beauvoir.