BLRB 5: Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre

Jackson’s haunting (in every sense of the term) novel, The Haunting of Hill House, brought much discussion on Monday night. A large portion of the evening was spent discussing a (feminist psychoanalytic) reading which argues the house may be a force for good, a dismantling of heteronormativity and familial structures. Though some liked this reading, others were ultimately unable to reconcile this with the novel’s ending. It was a brilliant discussion; thank you to everyone who came.

Given how quickly places go, we encourage anyone hoping to join future sessions to sign up to our newsletter here (scroll to the end of the page), where updates on future book clubs will be sent.

November’s BLRB pick is Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre. November, at least to us, feels like a particularly existential month and so we turn to Sartre in the hope of answers. Or, at least, to take comfort in shared experience.

For good contextualisation see this article by Jonathan Rée which looks at another well-known work by Sartre, Being and Nothingness. For a more personal take, see this Diary entry from Edward Said on his encounter with Sartre. Also see this review from the New York Times archive.

How to attend

Please RSVP by following this link. Places are limited and we ask that if you can no longer attend you let us know at books@lrbshop.co.uk so we can give your ticket to someone else. We place emphasis on community building in this book club, we therefore ask that if you are unable to attend you let us know so others who want to come are able to do so. We operate a three-strike policy, if you do not give sufficient time before dropping out (or do not let us know) three times you will be unable to attend for six months.

While tickets are free, we do ask that you buy the book from us to support the continuation of this book club.

It will take place Monday 23 November at 6.45pm.

Looking forward to seeing you then!

Saff