Segal, L. (2014). Out of time: The pleasures and perils of ageing. London: Verso Books. Review by Carla Besora Barti

Abstract

What first drew me to read Lynne Segal’s book Out of Time (2014) was its subtitle, ‘The Pleasures and Perils of Ageing.’ I have embarked on a research project on ageing, women, and sexuality, and in reviewing the existing literature on the subject, I realized that much more attention is paid to the ‘perils’ than the ‘pleasures’ of ageing. Lynne Segal deals with both in her book, by combining analyses of narratives about ageing in literary fiction and the media with her own experience as a woman growing older. She examines the words and lives of poets, writers, and artists—mostly from the Anglophone world—to find out what it means to grow older in an ageist society.