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49 reviews for:
TheAge of Absurdity Why Modern Life Makes it Hard to be Happy Paperback by Foley, Michael
Michael Foley
3.4 AVERAGE
49 reviews for:
TheAge of Absurdity Why Modern Life Makes it Hard to be Happy Paperback by Foley, Michael
Michael Foley
3.4 AVERAGE
medium-paced
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. In a clear, frank and, at times, crude way the author offers us a very interesting analysis of happiness - past and present. The emphasis, understandably, is on the present, which is what really makes the work so appealing. The book is crammed with ancient wisdom, perceptive observations and endless paradoxes about life in a modern world. While not a self-help book per se, it does include some very helpful and practical advice. It also provides many pointers to further reading including texts from several Buddhist, Stoic and Existentialist philosophers. I'll be hunting these texts down shortly :)
Brilliant book, anyone looking to understand how "modern" life is highjacking your relationships, self-esteem, job, sex life, love life, financial life, we live in an age of absurdity.
The author is so deeply cynical about e-ve-ry-thing in life that I promptly became a more joyous person for reading this book. So I guess there's that.
If you're the kind of person who others think of as a grumpy old man because you don't go along with every new piece of modern shite that is foisted upon you then this book will stroke your ego nicely. Enjoy it. We have so few crumbs of comfort left to us.
There is a nuanced conversation to be had about this book but I’m not the one to have it with.
This book reeked of hypocrisy, was snotty and openly used slurs. On top of being riddled with over generalisations, it was also blatantly false in areas.
This book reeked of hypocrisy, was snotty and openly used slurs. On top of being riddled with over generalisations, it was also blatantly false in areas.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
Objectifies and dehumanizes trans people already on page 11, uses the t-slur to continue on this track later on as well
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
Delightfully written and infinitely readable, this is not the chronicle of despairing resignation one might expect it to be, title and tagline considered. Full of underlineable lines and quotable quotes that cohabit most amiably, it is a pleasure to amble through, nodding, smirking, and pausing to ponder frequently. There are few pitfalls, but unfortunately they are too forthright to ignore - the times Foley gets a little too pleased with himself, or reveals woefully clanging views of trans* people and bisexuality, or puts science on a pedestal and religion in the gutter without due thought, for three examples I can immediately recount. It is a shame that ignorance in an obviously intelligent man has created these blemishes on such an enjoyable book, but it is testament to the overall work that they do not detract harshly or leave a bad taste in the mouth. I finished the book with a very satisfied flourish, and only after a moment did I give a little shake of my head for how, with the slightest bit more consideration, it could have been even better.
This was a bit of a disappointment, this book, but that has more to do with too high expectations, I guess. Foley describes the absurd aspects of modern life. Every now and then he comes close to the classic, sour discours of cultural pessimism (as in the chapter on education), but - happily - his writing is very humourous and witty. I do not agree, though, with his analysis that we live in an age of absurdity. Like many society-analists he's short-sighted, doesn't see the broader historical picture. Of course, I do appreciate a lot of his opinions (for example on our obsession with happiness, or the hilaric situations in the modern workplace), and I do share his view on remedies like detachment and silence, but it really irritated me that this was a very chaotic book, without baseline or logical order. All in all, mixed feelings. (ratingn 2.5 stars)