Severally Seeking Sartre

“Benedict O’Donohoe’s edited volume makes a timely and measured contribution by bringing together eleven specialists from America, Europe, and Japan who each propose distinct and at times unorthodox approaches to Sartre’s writing and political activism. […] Throughout, a welcome balance is struck between Sartre’s literature and life-writing on the one hand, and his myriad philosophical and political essays on the other, ensuring an appeal to students and scholars from a variety of backgrounds. […] The material on display here is often invigorating and reiterates why, for a thinker whose celebrity has so often couched his writing in clichés, Sartre has managed to withstand the numerous attempts to relegate him to the past.”—Dr Bradley Stephens, University of Bristol; French Studies, 69:1, 2015“This edited volume delivers on its promise to offer its readers unorthodox perspectives as well as new insights in sartrologie. The essays assembled examine a wide array of themes in Sartre’s work, some well-known and others less prominent. Those better-known themes – such as authenticity, consciousness, humanism and Marxism – receive novel and thought-provoking treatments. Those less well-known – for example, Sartre’s appreciation of photography, orality in the theatre, or the figure of the revolutionary – are brought to light in perceptive ways, enriching our understanding of Sartre’s thinking. Thanks to the originality of approaches, the breadth of themes and the quality of scholarship, reading this volume will be worthwhile for neophytes and seasoned ‘Sartreans’ alike.” – Professor Christine Daigle, Brock University, Ontario