‘Stop mocking the male mid-life crisis’

LONDON: It’s the central plot of hundreds of books – a man going through a mid-life crisis starts making ridiculous decisions and runs off with a younger woman.

But best-selling author Marian Keyes has said writers should stop mocking the male mid-life crisis.

Keyes, who has written novels on men going through a mid-life crisis, said too many books portrayed men at this point as “complete fools”.

She said she believed every person who went through a mid-life crisis faced “real fear” which should not be ridiculed.

The 54-year-old, who has sold more than 30 million books worldwide, said: “There are a lot of books written about midlife crises. And they’re almost always ones where the man is portrayed as a complete fool, who’s just totally lost it. He’s a ridiculous character.

“He runs off with a 19-yearold who obviously has no interest in him other than his money, and he buys a car he’s far too old for.

“They’re always presented as figures to mock.”

She added: “I think that nobody really goes through a midlife crisis without experiencing real despair.

“Real fear, and real soul-searching about ‘what have you done with your life?’.”

Keyes has previously revealed that at 46 she had a mid-life crisis that saw her contemplate suicide. Last year, she said she reluctantly let her husband of 22 years, Tony Baines, go on a 12-day marriage sabbatical to climb Mount Kenya. Discussing her latest book,

The Break, which tells the story of a woman whose husband leaves her for a six-month trip to Asia, the Irish author said she wanted to “do justice” to a mid-life crisis.

“I wanted to write a book about a couple: a man who has had two big losses and he’s suddenly re-evaluating everything,” she said.

“I wanted to be sympathetic to both parties and wanted to do justice to a mid-life crisis novel.” – Daily Mail