The Age of Reason is also a book by Thomas Paine. Apparently it argues for critical thinking and God, maybe if I read that I would understand the other Age of Reason better.
Though actually I resent having to read other novels in order to understand novels. It’s elitist and pretentious and annoying.
Ain’t nobody got time for that.
So The Age of Reason is actually ok. It’s surprisingly compelling, enough to vaugely interest me in reading the rest of the Roads to Freedom trilogy but not enough to make me actually do it. Though I did look for an online summary because I wanted to know what happened to everyone. I’m not sure that was the point, but whatever.
It’s a bit insular? And philosophical? The women tend to be odd and flat and uninteresting. Marcelle is basically a womb within a womb. She’s always hot and pink and naked in a single room. And pregnant which is pretty much the plot.
Not that she does a thing about that. Very passive.
I guess that’s the idea? It’s a novel about people who can’t quite bring themselves to take any actions. Daniel wants to drown his cats and doesn’t, or kill himself and doesn’t. Mathieu wants something, to propose or run away or something. Ivitch and Boris don’t even seem to want to do anything, they’re ok to be young and actionless. When an action is necessary Boris gets Mathieu to do it.
It has a tendancy to stop when it gets most interesting. Mathieu’s about to sneak into a dead woman’s room and rob her and suddenly two page digression on…something. His state of mind? I skimmed it. Maybe that was a deliberate choice but no one is going to read those pages properly so why bother.
Anyway The Age of Reason. Read it or don’t.
1000 Little Pieces 