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A review by bowienerd_82
How to Live: Or A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer by Sarah Bakewell
4.0
I have to admit that I'd never heard of Montaigne prior to reading this (I only have a smattering of learning when it comes to philosophy), and it was only because I'd just read the author's more recent book ([b:At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails|25658482|At the Existentialist Café Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails|Sarah Bakewell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1456742264s/25658482.jpg|45480464]) that I stumbled upon How to Live, but I'm glad that I did, as I have discovered myself in Montaigne's Essays (like so many others before me).
I found the start of the book a little slow, and I wound up putting it aside in favor of some other books for a time, but when I finally picked it up again, I read straight through to the end.
The section I found most meaningful was Chapter 12: Guard Your Humanity, which is about how people maintain their best selves in times of chaos and war. It's rather terrifying how relevant this has again become, and yet, strangely comforting to find some solace in words written by someone who died almost 400 years before I was born.
I still prefer At the Existentialist Cafe as the more interesting book, but How to Live is certainly worth a look, and I'm glad to be aware of Montaigne, and look forward to investigating his essays more myself.
I found the start of the book a little slow, and I wound up putting it aside in favor of some other books for a time, but when I finally picked it up again, I read straight through to the end.
The section I found most meaningful was Chapter 12: Guard Your Humanity, which is about how people maintain their best selves in times of chaos and war. It's rather terrifying how relevant this has again become, and yet, strangely comforting to find some solace in words written by someone who died almost 400 years before I was born.
I still prefer At the Existentialist Cafe as the more interesting book, but How to Live is certainly worth a look, and I'm glad to be aware of Montaigne, and look forward to investigating his essays more myself.