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  • The Age of Absurdity

  • Why Modern Life Makes It Hard to Be Happy
  • By: Michael Foley
  • Narrated by: John O'Mahony
  • Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (11 ratings)

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The Age of Absurdity

By: Michael Foley
Narrated by: John O'Mahony
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Publisher's Summary

The good news is that the great thinkers from history have proposed the same strategies for happiness and fulfilment. The bad news is that these turn out to be the very things most discouraged by contemporary culture. This knotty dilemma is the subject of The Age of Absurdity - a wry and accessible investigation into how the desirable states of well-being and satisfaction are constantly undermined by modern life.

Michael Foley examines the elusive condition of happiness common to philosophy, spiritual teachings and contemporary psychology, then shows how these are becoming increasingly difficult to apply in a world of high expectations. The common challenges of earning a living, maintaining a relationship and ageing are becoming battlegrounds of existential angst and self-loathing in a culture that demands conspicuous consumption, high-octane partnerships and perpetual youth.

In conclusion, rather than denouncing and rejecting the age, Foley presents an entertaining strategy of not just accepting but embracing today's world - finding happiness in its absurdity.

Cover credit: The Caravan Gallery.

©2011 Michael Foley (P)2016 Audible, Ltd

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odd

I really enjoyed Farming for the modern life by the same author .(and would highly recommend that )
However this work is sadly pretentious and obscure but without the fun and spattered with random references to penises and sex acts which seem out of place in the narrative.

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Interesting but hard to glean its main purpose

I enjoyed this discussion but I was distracted by the sarcasm in the narrator's voice. I do understand that the text is to some degree sarcastic but the voice was irritating. The book covered an interesting range of philosophical references but I found it difficult to find a central argument or theme... apart from the Absurdity itself.

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Brilliant narration

Perfect choice of narrator. Makes for an audio book that I can easily recommend over reading the paper version for that alone.

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