The Blood of Others by Simone de Beauvoir

Simone de Beauvoir’s The Blood of Others is a romantic philosophical treatise, set in Nazi-occupied France. The novel opens with Jean Blomart keeping vigil beside Hélène (no last name), who has been fatally wounded while working for the French Resistance. From this moment, the narrative unfolds through a series of flashbacks that trace their relationship and the choices that brought them to this point.

We meet Jean first, born in a successful capitalistic family, he is riddled with guilt at his privilege and renounces it to become a working-class typographer. Then we meet Hélène, carefree and largely indifferent to politics, she is drawn to Jean’s sense of purpose and convictions. Their relationship develops during the war, and comes to an end when Jean enlists, while Hélène tries to protect him by appealing to Jean’s estranged father to secure him a safer position. Only later, when she joins the Resistance herself, does she begin to understand the weight of the commitments Jean has made. 

Characters in this novel come across as somewhat predictable. They are shaped more by ideas rather than characteristics, so the romance aspect of this novel comes very across very poorly to me. The more interesting parts are about the novel exploring personal responsibility and how even passivity can have far-reaching consequences. De Beauvoir explores how both action and inaction can make us complicit. Jean comes to realize that his resistance activities, though aimed at freedom, indirectly lead to the execution of innocent hostages. Yet doing nothing would also mean accepting injustice and oppression. The novel presents a world painted in shades of grey where every choice entails guilt.

It feels a bit sacrilegious but I’d give The Blood of Others around a ⅗ stars. I can see what Simone de Beauvoir is doing, and I respect the ideas behind it, the lasting resonance, but I didn’t feel deeply moved by it. At least not right now.

The novel is built around big questions of responsibility, guilt, and freedom, especially in extreme circumstances like war. Through Jean and Hélène, de Beauvoir explores the idea that every action or inaction has consequences for other people. It’s intellectually compelling, but I found myself feeling strangely detached from it and I think that’s because these questions don’t feel abstract anymore. In a globalised world, where crises are constant and interconnected, it already feels like “there’s blood on everyone’s hands” in some (in)direct way. The moral weight the novel tries to unpack is real, but also underwhelming. Instead of feeling enlightened in any way, I mostly just felt a kind of fatigue.

So while I appreciate the novel’s themes and its philosophical depth, it didn’t fully resonate with me on a personal level. It’s thought-provoking, but for our modern world, there are other books that are more direct about the point like The Wilder Path by Deborah Tomkins or Culpability by Bruce Holsinger where climate change and artificial intelligence and personal responsibility are the crux of the issue.

Final Rating: 3/5