April Random Kit - Seven ages of (wo)man

In Shakespeare’s play As You Like It, Jacques gives the “All the World’s a Stage” speech, in which he describes the seven ages of man
All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms;
And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lin’d,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper’d pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well sav’d, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion;
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

The seven ages can be described as
* The helpless infant
* The whining schoolboy
* The emotional lover
* The devoted soldier
* The wise judge
* The old man
* The corpse

For this, read a book that fits into one of the seven ages. That can be the main character is one of those things, or there’s a word representing one of those stages in the title.
Helpless infant might be described as a baby, so any book with a baby as a lead character (struggling to think of any, if I’m honest), or a title like Rosemary’s Baby or Tar Baby

The whining Schoolboy doesn’t have to be all that whiny. A school setting would work, Harry Potter, Tom Brown’s School days, and, being all for equality between genders, the Mallory Towers series.

The Emotional Lover probably gives plenty of scope. Any romance would work here. I may get back to Georgette Heyer for this one. Love or Lover in the title is another option with plenty of scope.

The devoted soldier gives options. Featuring a soldier, written by one or containing the word in the title all work here. Azincourt, All Quiet on the Western Front, any anthology of war poetry, The Good Soldier, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy even.

The Wise Judge. I saw an obituary recently of His Honour Graham Boal who was a judge who also struggled with depression and alcoholism. His memoir A Drink at the Bar sounded like something worth reading. Books by or about judges fit, there are plenty about Ruth Bader Ginsberg, for instance. Judge in the title opens up a wider range Flowers for the Judge, Judge and Jury and it doesn’t even need to be used as a noun, Don’t Judge a Girl by her cover and I will judge you by your bookshelf (don’t we all?!) fit here.

The old man (or woman) has become a more common character in a positive light. The Hundred Year old man who climbed out of a window and disappeared being the most prominent example while When I am an old woman I shall wear purple is an example I aspire to. The old woman features in myths and stories as the wise woman archetype. And then you could go down the route of Macbeth’s witches.

And finally, the end comes. Any corpse would do here – and there are plenty of those in mystery and thriller literature! If you are after something more personal, there are an increasing number of books about the final step. Being mortal and when Breath becomes air being a couple I can think of.

I'd be interested to see if anyone can cover all 7 ages with different books!

The wiki is here: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2023_RandomKIT

I think this is one where I see if what I'm reading fits rather than choosing something to fit

I'll read My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I won't read all seven of the others for sure, but I have others I hope to work into a few of the other stages! This is fun!

I'm planning on reading David Copperfield. Maybe that works?

I'm going to be reading Barbecued Husbands and Other Stories from the Amazon, which I suspect will cover most, if not all, of these different stages. But just in case not, I'll also plan to slot Stuck Rubber Baby into my plans since I've been curious about that one for a while.

>2 Robertgreaves: Same here!

I might be stretching it a little bit, but I'm going to read Making the Rounds with Oscar by David Dosa. It's about a cat in a nursing facility that predicts an impending death. More about that when I read it and do my review.

I am thinking that Library of the sapphire wind might be a good match for this. The main characters are three women, retired or close to, who ends up as mentors for three teenagers in another world. I kind of appreciate the way that the protagonists are of an age that is rarely portrayed as protagonists (esp. in SFF), so it seems like a potential fit.
So age 2 and 6 in one go?

Oooo I love this prompt!

Leaning toward a soldier book at the moment, because as soon as I read this prompt, Evelyn Waugh's Sword of Honour trilogy popped into my head. Perhaps now is the time for Men at Arms.

>3 clue: sounds like an excellent fit! Thank you, I hoped it might be interesting for people.

>4 majkia: not to my recollection, but see what you think. It has been a while.

>5 whitewavedarling: I suspect my husband would not barbecue terribly well!

>7 dudes22: I can't decide if that will be cosy or horror - or some mashup between the two!

>8 amberwitch: That sounds interesting, you may well have a fit in two ages there.

>2 Robertgreaves:, >6 MissBrangwen: Yup, I reckon anyone reading a range of books each month would find one or two that would fit into one of these categories. Have fun with it regardless.

>9 rabbitprincess: Thank you. Like you need an excuse to scurry off the the bookshelves... but happy to oblige!

Already finished my scurrying! :D

>11 rabbitprincess: That was quick! And, I see, successful.

I've starred this and going to have a think. I have a few books which might fit, but I'm also a bit behind on my reading and have quite a few books on the go that I really ought to finish. Let me think...

>12 Helenliz: Turns out my edition of Sword of Honour is actually a one-volume book that blends all three volumes of the trilogy together. Evelyn Waugh was not happy about how the story was split into three books, and apparently this one-volume blend reflects his original vision.

This is a fun topic! Currently I am planning on three books that I can see fit different ages - False Colors by Georgette Heyer for the emotional lover; The Low Bird by David L. Robbins for the devoted soldier, and Now We Are Dead by Stuart MacBride for the corpse.

>4 majkia:, >10 Helenliz: I think David Copperfield fits perfectly for the first three stages:

Infant: The book starts out with David's birth to his recently widowed mother; Aunt Trotwood arrives to help, but is so incensed that he's not a girl, she then leaves in a huff. David and his mother are left alone to fend for themselves, assisted by Pegotty their faithful servant.

Schoolboy: A few years later, David's mother remarries the stern Mr Murdstone, who considers David nothing more than a whining, insolent schoolboy.

Lover: As he comes of age, David falls passionately in love with "Dear Dora", his employer's daughter. He marries Dora (over her father's objection) and remains devoted to her.

Excellent choice! I like it. Off to my shelves!

I'm considering reading A Time for Mercy by John Grisham for SeriesCAT. I'm sure there is at least one judge in it, but the main character is a lawyer, so I'm not sure if it would work here. I might look a bit closer at it to find out maybe if a judge plays a bigger role...?

Excellent topic, Helen! And so much choice! Maybe a Judge Dee mystery?

I've decided I'm going to go for the soldier for this one (I have quite a few dementia and dying memoirs which I don't feel quite up to at the moment). So I will be reading the 4th volume of Spike Milligan's WW2 memoirs, Mussolini: His Part in My Downfall.

>18 LibraryCin: I can't remember that one well, it's been so many years since I read it. I liked The Judge's List and it would work and is pretty fast.

>21 clue: Ooooh, thanks! I'll look into that one!

ETA: Ha! Funny - looks like it's book 2 in a series, but assuming it could be read as a one-off without reading the first, it could also fit for SeriesCAT. :-)

>15 DeltaQueen50: Excellent! I did think that covering multiple ages in the month would be doable.

>16 kac522: oh!! My memory of it must have been a lot worse than I thought! You are right that does seem to be a fit.

>17 LadyoftheLodge:, >19 MissWatson: thank you, it struck me as offering a lot of options. Judge Dee would work for sure.

>20 Jackie_K: I know what you mean, I have a few end of life books on my shelf, I think they'd need the right state of mind.

>18 LibraryCin: >21 clue: Not one I'm familiar with, sounds like you have options, though.

Such a fun and interesting challenge! I am off to see what my shelves have to offer.

Wonderful challenge, Helen!

I've found six books in my collection that will work but haven't found one yet that fits "mewling infant". I'll keep looking.

I'll start with Tragedy at Law by Cyril Hare for the judge.

Today at the Virginia Festival of the Book I heard retired Virginia judge John Charles Thomas interviewed concerning his recent memoir The Poetic Justice. Judge Thomas was the first black judge on the Supreme Court of Virginia and the youngest judge when he was appointed by former governor Chuck Robb. I plan to read this book.

>26 sallylou61: excellent!

>25 VivienneR: Oh wow! I look forward to seeing what you find for each one. Cheering you on for book 7!

>24 beach85: Thank you! Have fun at the shelves.

>27 Helenliz: If The Stranger's Child by Alan Hollinghurst is acceptable for "the helpless infant" then that will be the seventh. I've no idea what age the child is.

I'm thinking of delving back into the Leaphorn/Chee mysteries with The Ghostway. There's an old man and a corpse in the description.

Finished The Stranger's Child by Alan Hollinghurst. Beautifully written but long. An epic family saga that is sometimes compared to Waugh's Brideshead Revisited in style.

I just finished the romantic comedy The Love Wager by Lynn Painter, which fits right into stage 3, the emotional lover. I read a lot of romance, so I think the bigger challenge for me will be to read something that fits into one of the other stages!

I'm thinking of reading Smoke Gets in Your Eyes for Corpse - There are sure to be more than a few of those in any book by Caitlin!

I read Yinka, Where is Your Huzband? by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn for the lover.

Every nationality has family members who pressure singletons to marry, then follow up with the push to have children, but it seems Nigerian aunties are in the Olympic medalist echelon. The charming if immature, Yinka is delightful and ends up searching for a job and a boyfriend at the same time. This 31 year-old woman is smart, an Oxford graduate, yet lacks self-confidence and believes social media opinions of what a beautiful Black woman should look like. Blackburn’s debut is not a perfect book but it's witty and has believable characters. It is set in London's Nigerian community.

Well, that's the infant and the lover done. I'm still working on the judge and the schoolboy. This is fun!

I read The Case of the Late Pig where there are corpses aplenty. One of them even gets up and walks around for a while after the funeral, before it is properly dead and goes missing.

>33 VivienneR: Loving the enthusiasm for this challenge!

>32 dreamweaver529: Nice reasoning.

>31 christina_reads: I did hope that there'd be something for everyone in the seven ages.

>29 fuzzi: Sounds like a fit.

I read The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane (1895), which follows Henry Fleming (mostly referred to as "the youth") as a young soldier during the Civil War. He's excited and petrified; he is not always "the devoted soldier", but by the end of the story he puts those failures behind him and concentrates on his successes. There is a lot of sensual imagery of war: sights, sounds, smells, etc. It was a tough one to read; I had to do it in bits.

I then found a short story by Stephen Crane a year later (1896) called "The Veteran." Henry Fleming is again the main character, this time many years later as a grandfather and celebrated humble war hero in his small town. Completely different feel to the story from the earlier novel.

I have found a book about a girl's last year at primary school, normally a special year of looking forward to new beginnings, but this is set in 2020. The Goodbye Year by Emily Gale

Another one for the "lover" stage, The Seduction of the Crimson Rose by Lauren Willig. So far, upon re-reading, this is my favorite book in the series!

>35 kac522:
That is a really nice way of fulfulling the challenge. Very inspiring.

I read At Bertram's Hotel by Dame Agatha, which features Miss Marple.

Great topic idea! I think I'll use something I'm already planning to read, In Dependence by Sarah Ladipo Manyika for the whining schoolboy, though I don't know how much whining there will be in this one. And though it starts with the main character traveling to London for college, it covers more than one age. I'm already planning to read it for another thread.

>38 amberwitch: Yes, I thought so, too, especially after I found the short story with the same soldier character as an old man.

I just finished two books that together covers most of the ages;

a Discovery of witches by Deborah Harkness:
A fantasy romance between a witch (the lover) and a vampire. The vampire being the Grand Master of a templar order (the warrior). They meet in a library, when the witch finds an enchanted manuskript that makes her a target for both witches and vampires. The vampire activates his order to protect the witch from attacks, and the witch kills an enemy vampire (the corpse). An unborn baby (the baby) helps bring others to their cause.
Not a very good read, kind of boring. Flowery prose and a lot of pathos. Characters I did not care for, and romantic protagonists where I could not se the attraction between them.

library of the Sapphire wind by jane Lindskold:
Parallel world fantasy with a trio of youngsters (the schoolboy/girl) calling upon an oracle to help them in their quests, ending up with a trio of book club members made up of a retired librarian (the Old woman) and a tenured professor of archeology (the judge).
Lindskold is a bit hit or miss for me, and this one is a miss. The worldbuilding is not engaging or believable, and while the idea of an ensemble cast with an unusual age
diversity is appealing, none of the characters are particularly convincing or engaging. And the continue use of pop cultural references, which I assume are meant as tongue in cheek funny, 1) falls flat, 2) is jarring and distracting from the plot and 3) interruptus progression of the plot for no good reason.
diana wynne jones did a lot better in dark Lord of derkholm

I've finished Making Rounds with Oscar by David Dosa, MD which fits into the old man stage of life.

A lot of my reads this month will fit this category. The first one is The Big Bad Wolf by James Patterson. I am counting this as the devoted soldier. Alex Cross is one of the most dedicated and devoted police officers ever created and a definite soldier.

Using The Wee Free Men for the whining schoolboy, although Tiffany does not whine and is not a boy, she is the right age and trades produce to learn. She's looking for Witching school when it finds her.

I have completed my read of False Colours by Georgette Heyer, which was a good match for the "Emotional Lover".

There were several corpses in Murder in Postscript, the first in a new series. 4/5 stars, some predictable parts, but overall a good story.

At last I finished Tragedy at Law by Cyril Hare for the judge stage.
Not sure why, but I feel like I've been reading this for weeks. I enjoyed it but it didn't hold my attention so my reading spells were short. Excellent plot and well developed characters. The ending was a complete surprise.

Finished The Judge's House by Bram Stoker for the wise Judge. This Judge not being wise so much as evil.

A short read but I thought it was perfect - and perfect for the old man.

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

I've always been reluctant to read this short book because the only description I've ever heard is that it's boring. What a mistake. It's fabulous.

I read The Autumn Bride by Anne Gracie, which fits two of the ages: "The emotional lover" because of the central couple, and "The old man", or woman in this case, because of aunt Beatrice, an elderly lady who is also a main character in the novel.

In case you missed it, May's thread is here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/350159

>52 kac522: Thank you Kathy. I got interrupted while I was trying to make pictures for my post and forgot about the link. Sorry.

I read The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West.

A soldier, shell-shocked in the trenches of WWI, has lost all memory of the previous fifteen years, leaving him with idyllic memories of young love with an innkeeper's daughter. His arrogant upper-crust wife is a complete stranger, and a cousin (who relates the story) he remembers only as a child. A potential cure means he faces the memory of all the horrors of the front. Is this a real cure or is he better off sick? Even the doctor sees no urgency for change.

The opening chapter filled with upper class horror of anything below them almost put me off reading this book. A woman is noticed approaching the house and Kitty (the soldier's wife) is horrified - ugh, she is badly dressed, ugly, not one of us, don't open the door… That attitude prevails. While the wife is painted as saintly, the other woman, her clothing, her umbrella, is cruelly disparaged.

West's descriptions of nature are lengthy and beautiful, but of necessity character development is minimal as she focuses in on the small group. It is unfortunate that the author used outrageous class prejudice to highlight the tragedy, evidently unable to to recognize that it would be just as devastating in any circumstances. The result is overly romantic but as the author was aged 24 when she wrote this, her first novel, in 1918, maybe it is understandable.

Finished Cotillion by Georgette Heyer and it is littered with lovers.

I read The Funny Moon by Chris Lincoln, about a 25-year-old marriage, for the emotional lover.
I am reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets for the whining schoolboy. Ron and Draco are especially whiny in this one.
That completes 3 of the 7 stages so far.

I have finished Third girl where poor Poirot is informed that he is too old to take on the case.

My book club read of The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah fits this category and counts as a soldier read.

I have finished Theodore Boone: The Abduction by John Grisham for the schoolboy.
What I like about Theodore Boone books is that his investigations are not childish and the legal systerm is accurately portrayed. Both his parents are lawyers so this is only to be expected. It seems his law training has begun early. In this book, a friend of Theo's is missing and an abduction is suspected.

This was the 6th for this month's prompt and I'm happy to say I'm just about to start the last one for the corpse: Dead like you by Peter James.

ETA: Peter James' book turned out to be a bad choice for the category. I'll read something else instead.

I finished Mussolini: His Part in my Downfall, the fourth of Spike Milligan's war memoirs. I found it funny, sad, and poignant. It ends with him in a psychiatric field hospital with PTSD, so I'm counting it for wounded soldier in this month's challenge.

>60 Jackie_K: My son has Spike Milligan's war memoir series and often pushes me to read them. Maybe I'll take him up on the offer sometime.

The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly has a character who is a devoted soldier. After a stint in a convalescent hospital temporarily located in a large manor house, the character, even as a newlywed, wants to return to the front and lead his men.

I believe The Alice Network covers the soldier stage quite well. If spies could count as soldiers, there are plenty. But there is also a side character who is a legit army soldier.

Fault Lines explores marriage and extramarital love.

Finished Hans Vogel is Dead: Volume 1, which is about a downed fighter pilot. I'd been meaning to read it for ages, and I'm so glad I finally got around to it. The illustrations were so powerful, especially where the fairy tale was in full force and when emotions were high, this reminded me how some stories really are best told as graphic novels. I loved it. Full review written.

I think I can use The Chosen here: the schoolboys Danny and Reuven are not whining, but study hard.

>1 Helenliz: Thank you Helen, I really enjoyed this category. So much that I was able to read a book for each of the seven ages. I just finished Beau Death by Peter Lovesey for the corpse that was a perfect fit and very entertaining.

The seven books:
child: The Stranger’s Child by Alan Hollinghurst
schoolboy: Theodore Boone: The Abduction by John Grisham
lover: Yinka Where is Your Huzband by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn
soldier: The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West
judge: Tragedy at Law by Cyril Hare
old man: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
corpse: Beau Death by Peter Lovesey

I am adding Thinner by Stephen King to my list. One of the main characters is over 100 years old.
I have now completed 4 of the 7 ages. Schoolboy, lover, soldier, old man.

I completed my third book for this Kit with The Low Bird, a military novel about rescuing downed pilots during the Vietnam War.

The cat who saved books fits into the schoolboy section, with Rintaro being a high school student.

Well, Harry Flashman is not exactly a devoted soldier, quite the opposite in fact. But it was fun to revisit his royal adventure in Royal Flash where he foils a plot by Otto von Bismarck. The historical background doesn't quite convince, but is a fun romp. Utterly politically incorrect, of course.

I covered several stages in this family saga. Black Cake
Infant, School girl, lover, old woman, corpse.
Really enjoyed this book. https://www.librarything.com/topic/347793#8130919

I had one picked out for this, but I'm on a long hold list at the library. I'm come back and post when it comes in and I get to it!

I'm still reading My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, will repoprt when I'm finished!

>73 clue: I really enjoyed that--I listened to it on audio, and some of the speeches were actual recordings of Justice Ginsburg speaking.

I'm hoping that you've enjoyed this challenge and not found it unreasonably challenging.

A little late with my post, but I managed to hit a few of the stages:
A Song for Arbonne by Guy Gavriel Kay: lovers & soldiers
The Rat Catchers' Olympics by Colin Cotterill: the old man & the corpse
The Dark Child by Camara Laye: the student

Finally got my book in from the library and finished last night:

The Judge's List / John Grisham
4 stars

Lacy is a lawyer, working for an organization that investigates complaints against judges. She is contacted by someone who wants to remain anonymous about a judge (a current sitting judge!) who she says has murdered at least eight people, including her father over 20 years previous. Lacy hesitates taking the case, as they are not equipped to investigate murders, but Jeri refuses to go to the police, and they are required to start an investigation if there is a complaint. All the cases are cold (except the most recent), and there was zero evidence left behind. All Jeri has is motive and (I don’t remember what they called it) the same way of killing.

I thought this was really good, a unique scenario. It got especially creepy once we started “following” from the judge’s point of view about the middle of the book, but that, of course, ramped up the suspense a bit.

>77 LibraryCin: I'm glad you liked this, I did too. I thought it would make a good TV movie . Lucy was in a prevous book, The Whistler. I had forgotten that and I'm going to put it on my list. I have read it's not as compelling as this one but good.

>78 clue: Oh, yes it would make a good movie! I did see that the character as in a previous book. Not sure if I'll pick it up or not.