Credit Christoph Niemann
This week, The New York Times Book Review features reviews of new books about childhood, parenting and the shifting definition of adulthood. A. O. Scott reviews Susan Neiman’s “Why Grow Up?”; Heather Havrilesky writes about “How to Raise an Adult,” by Julie Lythcott-Haims; and Meghan Daum assesses “The Prime of Life,” by Steven Mintz. Ms. Daum writes:
The notion that adulthood, despite its perks, is little more than a booby prize for surviving the scrapes and trials of youth has more or less become a cultural given in the modern age. From the 1950s narrative of soul-crushed men in gray flannel suits to the existential torment of hippies-turned-yuppies in the 1980s to the tyrannical scheduling demands of today’s Lean In movement, grown-up life in America is generally framed as a sort of bland entree following the assortment of colorful appetizers that make up childhood and young adulthood. Moreover, as any armchair social anthropologist will tell you, maturity seems to kick in later and later with each passing generation.
In “The Prime of Life,” Steven Mintz, a professor of history at the University of Texas and the author of two previous volumes tracing the roots of American life passages, offers some comforting news. Going back centuries in this country, “adults” never particularly had their acts together.
On this week’s podcast, Ms. Daum and Ms. Havrilesky discuss their reviews; Alexandra Alter has news from the publishing world; Vendela Vida talks about her new novel, “The Diver’s Clothes Lie Empty”; questions from readers; and Gregory Cowles has best-seller news. Pamela Paul is the host.