A Very Easy Death.

A VERY EASY DEATH. Simone de Beauvoir. 1977/2005. Read by Hillary Huber. 3 cds. 3 hrs. Blackstone Audiobooks. 0-78618746-8. $27.00. Vinyl; content, author notes. SA

Francoise de Beauvoir, the feminist author's 77-year-old mother, went into the hospital with a broken femur she sustained in a fall and died there a month later of stomach cancer. This short, understated work deftly sketches her last days, places her in a familial and universal context, and T analyzes the relationship between life and death and the effect of the loss of a parent p on surviving children. During the course t of their lifetime, de Beauvoir's mother was both proud of her daughter's intellectual accomplishments and ashamed of her blatant spurning of traditional mores. Their relationship suffered accordingly. But watching her mother cope with a terminal illness led the author to a series of surprising and positive revelations about love, personal choice, and the triumph of individualism. Huber's portrayal of a vital, intelligent woman in her prime and a frail one at the end of her life is a sensitive masterpiece that subtly captures de Beauvoir's inner conflicts and her mother's pain, spirit and dignity. Francine Levitov, New York, NY

S--Recommended for senior high school students.

A--Recommended for advanced students and adults. This code will help librarians and teachers working in high schools where there are honors and advanced placement students. This also will help extend KLIATT's usefulness in public libraries.