I fear in reading All Men are Mortal I have read a book that stands on its own. Firstly, I adore what I might describe as an almost speculative anthropology (probably not the right word but something about it sounds right to me haha); where an author creates a universe with some special rules and chronicles what follows. There are many of these out there I am sure, one that comes to mind is The Last Question by Asimov.
However, what I adore about All Men are Mortal is the mind behind it. Ive read a bunch of Sartre and De Beauvoir, and I think they are some brilliant thinkers and amazing writers. However, they usually focus on the more mundane, and while I do adore Roquentin and his tree root, there is something so interesting about seeing such a serious thinker create a work of science fiction.
I have never really seen many people talk about All Men are Mortal on reddit, and that’s a real shame because it’s such a brilliant book! If anyone has anything they feel comes close, in that pairing of a serious author telling a story or getting across a philosophical idea in such an interesting way… I’m all ears!
I’m not directly concerned with the themes of immortality, for I feel no one will do it better than Borges and De Beauvoir, and while I do enjoy some Ursula Le Guin… I don’t know, maybe I just enjoy this book too much.