A review by zakiyah_hpub
The Age of Reason by Jean-Paul Sartre

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.