To my knowledge, this comprehensive collection of essays is the first such volume in English-language scholarship, and thus a much-needed contribution to the field of Slavonic Studies. It also expands the current limit of Literary Gerontology, which so far has predominantly referred to the so-called ‘Western’ cultures and traditions. Moreover, many authors of this volume bridge the fields of humanities and social science by embracing inter-disciplinary approaches and by bringing to their writing their own varied academic backgrounds. While not all of them advance such an experimental methodology, essays by Marija and Zdenko Zemans, Liana Goletiani, L'ubica Vol'anská, Ilaria Remonato and Dagmar Gramshammer-Hohl clearly stand out in this respect. They open up a new perspective on how the study of ageing and literature can be mutually enriching. Their findings are occasionally informed by Susan Sontag, Judith Butler and Michel Foucault while simultaneously building on the study by Anne M. Wyatt-Brown, Mike Hepworth, Jan Assmann, Anne Jamieson, Andrew W. Achenbaum and others. The mentioned authors broaden their perspective by unique insights revealed through literary characters and the works they analyse.

The spread of literatures and historical periods covered here is diverse and unique as the volume analyses narratives written in Croatian, Polish, Russian, Slovak, Slovene and Ukrainian, and most of the explored works still remain unavailable in English translation. As a result, the study reveals many hidden treasures not only in respective literatures but also in historical time. Besides modern works, there are texts from Polish Classicism, Dalmatian Renaissance and Russian Middle Ages. Such in-depth content offers a very useful reminder that ‘ageing’ as a literary subject is not a modern invention connected to ageism but is as old as writing itself and has a legacy that can be revived and re-visited today for comparative and cognitive reasons.

While it is impossible to comment here in detail on all the 12 essays, it is worth noting that articles on Vedrana Rudan's novel The Skeletons of Madison County (2012), the reading of Volodomyr Lys's novel Jakiv's Century (2010), as well as the investigation of Rasputin's and Trifonov's old characters or women's memoirs from the Soviet period offer insightful explorations evidencing claims that ageing can be liberating and exhilarating, that it enhances memory of past times, and revives will for honest self-reflection and self-expression. It can cultivate life with artistic and ethical urges, as well as healthy indifference to other people's judgemental views. The essays prove beyond any doubt that in recent fiction ‘the ageing subject requires “flesh and voice”’ (p. 11). The authors offer additional insights regarding the social construction of ageing with its dependence on local traditions, religion and politics.

There are many outstanding observations made in relation to language/speech, memory, nostalgia, identity, gender and sexuality, which deepen our understanding of all these concepts. Predictably, the older the literature selected for analysis, the more patriarchal and male-centred its focus appears to be, but its reading reveals surprises as well. When discussing examples from the Russian Primary Chronicle (1377), Nicoletta Cabassi establishes that ‘transmitting knowledge and experience seems not to be exclusive of old age’ which is predominantly idealised but which is not devoid of fragility and weakness ‘no matter how strong the overall conviction of its ethical value is’ (p. 277). Still, loss of mental faculties due to age, tiredness, loneliness, sadness as well as physical decline, all appear in this medieval source. Like all essays here, this closing piece is thorough and comprehensive. Since all the quotations of primary sources throughout the volume are quoted in bi-lingual format, the speakers of Slavonic languages are up for a real treat. The editorial work is rigorous and performed to the highest standard.

Overall, the volume presents a valuable resource for students, researchers and readers interested in literary depictions of human ageing across a variety of Slavonic cultures. It complements splendidly the growing volume of works on ageing studies and lays strong foundation for further research of comparative and inter-disciplinary nature. It makes an excellent listing for academic courses on Central and Eastern Europe as well as medical humanities. Health practitioners, who enjoy learning through literary insights, can enhance their own understanding of ageing and consequently inform their own attitudes towards it as well. In short, this is a splendid publication for all minds curious about human ageing, its subversive nature, and its literary legacy across cultures and times.