Beyond Beige: A Woman's Illustrated Story of Old Age by Boulay Sylvie was a lovely funny book about getting Old!!! "Once I was young........then poof I was Old!!! How did that happen?!?"

This book was very honest and I can relate to some of it at my time of life - No I am not that old but Boulay tells you about the joys of getting old/older...........Especially as it has great and funny illustrations of cartoon and drawings throughout that made me laugh. She doesn't complain about getting old.......It is a privilege of getting to this age and seeing how much things has changed.

When, we were a kid back in the 70's etc, and this only seems like yesterday I was wearing platform shoes, flared jeans and a small top thinking I was a cool kid.........Now I think when I look back at these photo's...........What the xxxx was I wearing!!!!

What you will find in this book is..........

1. You know you are old when......
2. My Precious brain
3. Depression
4. Anxiety
5. Tiredness
6. Illness and cancer
7. Toilet diaries
8. Technology
9. Sex
10. Grand mothering
11. Friendships
12. Who am I?
13. My mother
14. Coping skills
15. Death
16. Last words

One of her quotes.....

"The old-fashioned French view is that a person does not need to look young........but they must look beautiful...........(strangely, this does not apply to men!!)"

I Live in France and the UK, this statement made me smile and so true......I don't see women with face fillers/botox, 👄 lips made bigger! etc living here - just ladies with dyed hair and ageing gracefully - But, when, when I go back to the UK WoW...........I have to look twice and some of the woman there and think ..........?????....... 😂 👄 😂

So, Don't be fooled! This book maybe only 140 pages long but it will have you laughing out loud especially if you are in or coming up to old age!

I love this book and I highly recommend it.......Just Brilliant!

BLOG TOUR REVIEW


Review for 'Beyond Beige' by Sylvie Boulay.

Read and reviewed paperback for Sylvie Boulay, Ortus Press, NetGalley, Literally PR.

Publication date: 28th February 2024.

This book consists of a prologue and 16 chapters. The chapters and book is short and can be read in one sitting or several.

This is the first book I have read by this author but most definitely won't be my last!!

When I first read about this book I knew that I probably would not be in the target age for it at 37 years old but the cover alone meant that I just had to read it and I am very pleased that I did!! This book is a humorous, honest, witty, insightful and fun memoir of a woman born in 1951 and now in the year 2024 is in her 70's. It is filled with delightful tales and illustrations that had me chuckling away on occasions such as when she illustrates herself trying to find her urethra, to worrying moments where she talks about depression and death to intriguing parts where she speaks of her past and family. I absolutely loved where she talks about her cat and I found myself laughing out loud on several occasions due to the reality of what cats are like! I run Golden Oldies Cat Rescue and Hospice (you can find me on Facebook) and I can definitely relate to many of the actions her cat takes!!! this book really is a delightful read even when there are moments I am definitely not looking forward to myself! It is a lovely short read and I devoured it in less than an hour so it is perfect to pick up on your breaks or when you are travelling. The many illustrations are absolutely fantastic and I really enjoyed looking at them along with reading the book. Sylvie's fantastic writing skills makes you feel you are sitting next t to her while she talks to you over a cup of tea, it really felt like I could hear the humour, thoughtfulness and memories in her voice. This book may not be relatable to me yet but I can definitely see some of what Sylvie is going and went through in older members of the family especially the worries of dementia and cancer. Sylvie covers many important as well as scary topics such as depression, anxiety, illness, cancer and death but does so in a way that, while lightening the subject with her illustrations, also portrays the difficulties she and others deals with as they get older, weaving them all into this this fantastic memoir. The chapters are each titles with the topic she discusses in them so readers can chose to skip any they feel they would struggle reading which I thought was a nice and thoughtful touch. In this memoir Sylvie states that the only good thing about getting old is that it is better than the alternative but she also describes happier times like her interactions with her granddaughter. I also enjoyed the sections where she discusses times where people may offer her up their seat on the bus and being unsure how to react as by accepting she feels even older but by refusing is she encouraging the person offering the seat to not do so in the future which could hinder others who need it? It really is a truly thoughtful and insightful memoir on the struggles of aging. I am not going to say much more as it is a short book and by saying too much I will give too much of it away and I definitely recommend you grab a copy yourself. I do want to mention that I liked the little list that Sylvie includes at the end of items that she no longer has to worry about but I especially loved her open and honest tone throughout the book which makes the whole book feel authentic and genuine and leaves you feel you have made a new fun and refreshing friend!! I am looking forward to reading more books by Sylvie Boulay and I hope that she is busy writing and illustrating the next one already!

Congratulations Sylvie on an absolutely fantastic memoir filled with humour, illness, sadness and joy that made me laugh, think and shout about it to my friends!! I am looking forward to see what you come up with next!!!

Overall a fantastically illustrated memoir filled with laughter and sadness that is thought provoking and entertaining!! An absolute must read for anyone and everyone!!

200 pages

This book is just £11.39 to purchase on kindle and £11.99 in paperback via Amazon at time of review which I think is a bargain for this book.

Rated 5/5 (I loved it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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This is a thoroughly enjoyable story. The author finally realises that she has reached old age. She illustrates her experiences with different drawings which emphasise for the reader exactly what the author is feeling and going through.

It happens or will happen to all of us if we live a long life.

I enjoyed reading this book. I am two years away from the author’s age and I am having an excellent time and finally living my ‘best life’ as some people call it. This book has made me realise that age and how it is experienced is very much dependent on the individual. My cousin who is three years younger than me is forever moaning about her aching bones and health. My sister who is two years younger than me parties like a teenager and I (being older and wiser) just observe from a safe distance.

Each to his own!

This book made me think about my own experiences of age and life, and what might lie ahead. I found it interesting and very entertaining and I thought the artwork was just perfect for the book. It isn’t a very long book and it is easy to read, and it is an engaging and entertaining glimpse into the life of another person.

It was good to read!

Well worth reading if you like graphic novels and memoirs.

Copy provided by Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

There's a famous quote somewhere about the only good thing where growing old is concerned is that it's better than the alternative. That is pretty much the message of this much longer book, too, although you can get around that by checking all the parts that are not about getting grey, infirm and/or aged. For yes, this packs a lot more in – to such an extent you do lose track of the purpose of it all.

What this is is a collection of one-shot cartoons and very short comic strips, annotated all over the shop by the author to discuss the concerns of each and every chapter. And yes, while they do vary from her incontinence and things generally going south, to forgetfulness and suchlike, they concern side-issues too, such as cancer, her mother, depression, the need to keep going for her granddaughter. And as such we get an ungainly mix of issues – the book can clearly generate many a spark of recognition on this subject and on that topic, but all of them?

So yes, the piece feels a touch too indulgent at times, and/or too loose in its focus. Here is the quandary of accepting a proffered seat on public transport, but here is a lot that is so much more personal to the creator, and while we gain insight into her we lose the zing of being entertained.

I felt this would have been better if more in-depth and narrowed down, for the visual style is fine, showing an easy way with conveying what it wants to in close-to-blunt fashion. And it may well still find a market, and a home, however counter-intuitive comics for wrinklies as a concept may be. The grey pound could be spent on this, but more concision would have made that more of a likely proposition.

I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are my own

Although, at 39, I'm not the target audience for Beyond Beige, I felt like I may relate to it more than I do books about middle-aged humans.

Turns out I do, and I found this book comforting and amusing. I let my mother read it after, and she chuckled. Entertaining quick read

I really wanted to love this book. As a 62 year old woman I can see the authors viewpoint. However I didn’t like the illustrations. A personal viewpoint, but I found them distracting. This is a (very) short book on the joys and perils of growing old.

This book can be a nightmare for the younger readers but will hold as true for the right age the book is meant for, the “old women”.

Thank you, Free Association Books, for the advance reading copy.

The content is fun yet covers serious issues faced by older people. The humour is mostly dry and sarcastic as you can expect.

It’s a fun time!

As someone in their mid-sixties, I heartily approve of this little book. It’s an easy read with madcap illustrations which fit the mood of the author’s thoughts on aging. How wonderful to read about looking at the bright side of being a senior. Bravo!

Beyond Beige is another autobiographic take on the subject of women aging - I am catching myself reading more of those recently, drawn by the mixture of bluntless and shrewdness that underpins many of the observations made. This comic book has more of the bluntness to it than shrewdness, I would say, with good sprinklings of humor and illustrations that punctuate the story well. I liked the open and honest tone chosen, it seemed quite genuine and authentic. I would not call it the most memorable of its kind, however.

Special thank you for the publisher for reaching out and offering a different review copy after the errors were flagged.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

This is a quick, fun, delightful read about growing older. The author is a mere 70 ish years old, being born in 1951 and she writes and draws cartoons about the joys, vagaries, and bothersomeness of growing older. She states this applies to women, as she doesn't know how it feels to a man. I'd say, similar. The book is smart and enjoyable and insightful without being heavy or pedantic or preachy. Yeah, growing old has its downsides and its upsides, and its sideways-sides. So, why not enjoy? Is there any other rational approach?

I couldn’t help but chuckle at many of the author’s thoughts and cartoons. Many (if not all) older women will identify with some of the author’s experiences. She helps us all look at life with more humor and wisdom.

The drawings are basic and not to my taste, but they are all relevant to the book. The texts are mostly brief and the book is very short, suitable for a quick read.

3 stars from me.

Beyond Beige is humor, sadness, illness and joy wrapped into twenty seven pages of drawings and reflective paragraphs. It is a delightful small book organized into brief chapters - Technology follows Toilet Diaries! Sylvie Boulay alternates a very real cancer diagnosis with feelings of anxiety and fatigue and the humor of learning new skills at an older age. She ends with a list of things you don’t have to worry about when you reach a certain age. This is a quick, thoughtful read. Enjoy! 5stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Free Association Books and Sylvia Boulay for this ARC.

I feel like something is missing with the book because it seemed too short. The download says 27 pages and that can't be correct. I liked it but felt like I should have enjoyed it more and would have if it was longer.

I was really looking forward to this one as it sounded funny. The copies i was sent both to netgalley and kindle were incomplete - most images are not available, Netgalley says the book should be 140 pages but its coming through as 27 pages. I tried downloading to my phone and laptop and neither opens :(

3 stars because the bits that were included were good but was a frustrating reading experience. I wish i would have waited for the book to be released and got a physical copy.