The Inseparables

The concept of "Love" has been glorified in literature to such an extent that when two characters start getting intimate, we immediately begin to assume that there might be a slight possibility that this is more than just friendship. And here I have stumbled upon "The Inseperables" which is semi-autobiographical and explores the dynamics between Andree and Sylvie from their meeting in school and through their adult lives.Meeting Andree was a turning point in Sylvie's life. Spending time with her was the high point in her otherwise mundane life. She came to value her company so much, that she decided if Andree died, she would die too.Theirs wasn't the conventional friendship. They did not show affection and yet shared their deepest secrets with each other. Added to that was Andree's strict family who were hell bent on marrying her to a man belonging to their social standing.One of the central themes of the book was showing the stark contrast between Sylvie's life and that of Andree's. While Sylvie thrived as she got older with the world opening up in front of her, Andree was fast losing herself in a constant battle against her conservative family.Through Sylvie, Simone de Beauvoir attempts to write a final ode to a friend who played a pivotal role in shaping her personality. The book is beautiful, intimate and real. There are photographs of Simone and Zaza during their time together as well as a number of letters which they wrote each other over the years.What makes this book even more intriguing was that Simone never published it in her lifetime. Long after her death her daughter discovered the manuscript and decided to share the story with the world. Simone did manage to make Zaza immortal like she had intended to. Such is the power of the written word.

The beautiful, lost novel by Simone de Beauvoir, written in 1954 but only just published. It is based on an intense friendship that the author had with another girl in her class, when they were 10 years old (around 1919). It captures the beauty and joy of a close friendship, but also the stifling atmosphere of those days, due to religiosity and social mores, with very few choices for young girls.

The book is an easy reading. I read Simons memoire in which she mentioned Zaza, but this book gave me an insight into Zazas brilliant character and their deep bond.

This book was apparently written when Ms de Beauvoir was in her forties and she chose to not publish it. I think that she had the right idea. Simone de Beauvoir, a writer of near perfect literature, chose not to publish this quite infantile and childish book so as not to damage her reputation. The protagonist presents as very immature and petulant and at first I thought that she had written this as a very young woman - similar to Francoise Sagan's 'Bonjour Tristesse'. The fact that it was written by a mature woman makes me wonder if Ms de Beauvoir wrote this purely as a cathartic exercise to herself.