A review by louisejulig
The Complete Works by Michel de Montaigne

adventurous challenging informative reflective slow-paced

4.5

The main founder of the essay form. I made a goal to read the Complete Works in one year, and ended up starting in January 2020. Reading this during a pandemic, when the Black Plague was a reality in Montaigne’s time, was surreal timing. Montaigne can be humorous, tedious, and contradictory, but he never takes himself too seriously. I actually loved the opportunity to sink deep into the 1500s and note that the more things change the more they stay the same. Highly recommended to read Sarah Bakewell’s excellent book , “How to Live: The Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer,” beforehand to give some context.