Alain de Botton’s Fantasy New Years Eve

19/11/2007

The writer Alain de Botton has detailed in his blog the famous people he would ideally spend New Year’s Eve with.

De Botton says: “In my ideal New Year's Eve dinner, everyone would agree to give up the masks of ordinary life. The whole point of the evening would be to create an atmosphere of exceptional intimacy, where everyone could stop trying to seem impressive … Rather than boasting about achievements, people would be encouraged to reveal their fears and regrets.”

The writer went on to reveal that he found men to be generally very dull companions because they spent so much time trying to appear impressive. He specified Proust, Stendhal and Montaigne as men who “in their writings have given evidence of baring their souls” and therefore would make good dinner companions.

For women, de Botton would choose “Charlotte Gainsbourg, because she's sensitive and kind and clever (if I wasn't so happily married, I'd want to marry her). I'd also invite Keira Knightley, because she's got a lot going for her but has been hanging out with the wrong crowd and would benefit from a chat with Stendhal.” Margaret Howell was also mentioned as an ideal New Year’s Eve dinner companion.

Alain de Botton has published a number of books, including The Art of Travel, Status Anxiety and The Architecture of Happiness.