Fionnáin reviewed Everyone Dies Young by Marc Augé
The myth of age
3 stars
A playful and enjoyable memoir by an anthropologist who turns his observational lens on himself. This book is short but thoughtful, presenting the argument that age is a social construct, and not really existent. Opening with a critique on ageism that is well weighted, the book moves on to consider how people create a perception of what oldness is. Much of the book considers the role of story in film and novel as well as in personal reflections on age and youth. In the end, the book is a little short and would have been nice to see Augé dig a little deeper into some of his points, particularly the idea of the idealisation of youth when remembering; these points about nostalgia and personal narrative are interesting to consider, particularly in a time when Augé himself attests that perhaps it will be hard for people today to experience a similar …
A playful and enjoyable memoir by an anthropologist who turns his observational lens on himself. This book is short but thoughtful, presenting the argument that age is a social construct, and not really existent. Opening with a critique on ageism that is well weighted, the book moves on to consider how people create a perception of what oldness is. Much of the book considers the role of story in film and novel as well as in personal reflections on age and youth. In the end, the book is a little short and would have been nice to see Augé dig a little deeper into some of his points, particularly the idea of the idealisation of youth when remembering; these points about nostalgia and personal narrative are interesting to consider, particularly in a time when Augé himself attests that perhaps it will be hard for people today to experience a similar nostalgia for their youth.