Reviews

The Age of Reason by Jean-Paul Sartre

nattjs's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

drapoco's review against another edition

3.0

It's like reading a prehistoric Brett Easton Ellis novel about midaged people.
I found the writing a bit dry and tidious but overall it is a decent classic that would recommend to readers with a liking to Brett Easton Ellis and Paul Auster.
The absurdity and hopelessness drips from every page.

nataliedallaire's review

challenging reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

arnenaess's review

4.0

delightful! We are what we do, not what we think - we are not free, we are products of our environment - life is much easier when we choose to believe, but does believing in something not impair your freedom and possible well being? Haven’t read fiction in a long time so this was refreshing. I love how books really make you get inside the heads of the characters. you participate with them, you do not just watch them. Also does a great job showing some of Sartre’s philosophical ideas. Great book!

meheher's review

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

zakiyah_hpub's review

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

‘Coming of age at 34’

It felt strange initially to refer to this story as a coming of age. Less so when I considered it pointless to restrict the label to teenagehood, as though we stop growing at 18. As the adult world imposes upon adolescence, the ‘age of reason’ further stamps out its dimmed light. 

One aspect of the novel that stood out quite prepotently amidst the candid prose and distinctive characters was the setting. No more evident than on the first page. The streets of Paris, alive in the dead of night. Life seemed to lurk ominously in every shadowed alley, as though waiting to jump out and change your path forever. I smelt the rum and smoke in the ‘bar’ and felt the imposing, sticky summer heat. The prose is covertly immersive, it never felt like the setting was focused on but I felt so drawn in by how the characters interacted with the world around them. 

I love more than anything when time factors into a conflict and I felt the imposition of the deadline across every page 

Philosophical without feeling heavy to read. I highly recommend. 

ozbtvs's review against another edition

if i wanted to get anxious about an abortion i'd let someone else fuck me raw

irisirae's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

3.0

darkandstormynight's review

dark funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

unitika's review

4.0

A true Intellectual!
First few chapters are hard to get by but by the end of the book, you have studied &googled enough that you almost live with the characters in 1935 Paris.
Sartre’s writings not only teach you something of yourself but also acts as a companion to your own inner psyche.