Conversations with Jean-Paul Sartre Book

I have always been of two minds about French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. On one hand, he is the author of a number of philosophical works I see as being essentially unreadable. (That's why I downgraded Conversations with Jean-Paul Sartre to three stars: When the questions turn to philosophy, I sense a growing queasiness.) On the other hand, when he talks about literature or feminism (with no less than his consort Simone de Beauvoir) or politics, his thinking is more directly and cogently expressed.

This book consists of three interviews from the 1960s and 1970s. Subjects included feminism, American imperialism (during the time of the Viet Nam Conflict), Sartre's writing plans, and a large dollop at the beginning of philosophy using philosophical language that vaguely resembles human discourse.

If one skips through the turgidity at th beginning, this book has a lot to offer. I have always thought that Sartre's philosophy is best expressed in his novels such as Nausea and The Age of Reason; his plays, such as No Exit; and his autobiography The Words.

However great a literary figure he was, I could never forgive him for kissing Stalin's arse when he knew damned well what was going on in Russia at the time. I guess that's what philosophy can do to you: Hide the infamy behind a curtain of bland terminology.