The Age of Absurdity: Why Modern Life makes it Hard to be Happy

(Paperback)

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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 wellbeing 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.

Reviews

"Achingly funny and wise . . . vastly entertaining." --"Daily Mail"
"Bound to be compared to the works of Patrick McCabe and Roddy Doyle, Foley's novel is stingingly funny, ruefully perceptive and anything but unremarkable." --"Publishers Weekly" on "Getting Used to Not Being Remarkable"
"Delivers well-judged wisdom." --Oliver James, author, "They F*** You Up"
"Michael Foley's entertaining, intelligent book may just help you get over yourself. . . . Absurdly readable." --"Observer"

Author Bio

Michael Foley was born in Derry, Northern Ireland, but has lived most of his adult life in London, working for twenty-three years as a Lecturer in Information Technology at the University of Westminster before retiring in 2007 to concentrate on full-time writing. He has published critically-acclaimed poetry, novels and non-fiction, including The Age of Absurdity (Simon & Schuster 2010), which was a bestseller and has been translated into seven languages.