The Mandarins by Simone de Beauvoir

I’ve just finished this book. I’m not sure if it is a “great” book; it certainly is stirring, thought provoking, and irritating. It made it easier for me to understand the still present split in French society about WWII collaborators. It highlighted the fact that moral absolutes are an impossibility. We are all implicated; we will all compromise to save something we love. The compromise leads to further compromises, perhaps even loss of that loved thing for which the original compromise was made.

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