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3/5 Stars (%55/100)
Though I've found the book interesting sometimes, it was difficult to go through because she was heavily inspired by Sartre's ideas. Here's a brief synopsis/analysis:
Simone de Beauvoir visited the US in 1947, the same year Sartre published his own essay, and recorded her experiences in America Day by Day. Because de Beauvoir and Sartre had a rather complicated relationship, their writing style has lots of similarities. For instance, de Beavoir’s book has an existentialist tone which was Sartre’s specialty. She stayed in the US for four months and from her writing, it can be said that she was very much fascinated by the people and American way of life in general. However, similar to Sartre, and perhaps Max Weber, she also talked about the contrasting values of Americans. First few entries are mostly about her fascination with New York and she thinks that the city “belongs to the future” (De Beauvoir 3). She continuously compares New York with Paris and believes that the two “do not exist together” (7). She feels like she is in an entirely different world and finds many things strange.
In her January 26 entry, she compares the day and night life New York and thinks that in time, she will find her place here. The comparison between America and Europe continues as the views the architecture of the city. Here, she calls New York the “city of contrasts” (10) and explains the difference between small alleys with huge skyscrapers. Still, like Max Weber, she is astonished by the city, and the US in general. She continues to meet Americans and some French people and compares their different behaviors. She explains that when she visited other cities, Paris remained in her heart. However, in America, she thinks that she has “landed not only in a foreign country but in another world—an autonomous, separate world” (13). On February 1, she meets more Americans and the differences between American and French people puzzle her.
Here, she talks about American literature and mentions a few important authors such as Faulkner and Hemingway. Different Americans have different views about America and she finds it difficult to understand the people much like Sartre or Weber. The more time she spends in the US, the more difficult it is to understand the people. Still, it can be understood from her entries that she likes to spend time with Americans as she finds them fascinating. In a party, the Americans find her statements “worthy of a Soviet agent” (41) and criticize her Europeanness. In one of her later entries, she talks about the Puritan values of goodness and virtue and explains that Americans truly believe in these values. However, she also explains that “American myths rest not on lies but rather on skillfully exploited truths” (66) and once again makes a comparison between Europe and America. When she visits Queens, she experiences the differences between Queens and New York and briefly touches upon racial issues, especially in terms of music. In short, like Sartre or other Europeans, Simone de Beauvoir also finds America fascinating with its contrasting characteristics
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