A review by jenmcmaynes
How to Live: A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at An Answer by Sarah Bakewell

4.0

Part biography, part history, part literary analysis. A bit of an uneven mixture that somehow was still very satisfying in terms of conveying the life, times, and personality of Montaigne without actually reading all of the Essays. I did not find the structure very useful (asking “how to live?” and answering in 20 different chapters with examples from the Essays) as Montaigne’s philosophy probably would not have let him give a definitive answer to the question. :) But the writing was direct and easy to read, I learned quite a bit, and am considering reading the Essays now. Recommended.