A literary review : Two ages, a novel by the author of A story of everyday life, published by J.L. Heiberg, Copenhagen, Reitzel, 1845

While ostensibly commenting on the work of a contemporary novelist, Kierkegaard used this review as a critique of his society and age.

The influence of this short piece has been far-reaching.

The apocalyptic final sections are the source for central notions in Heidegger's "Being and Time".

Later readers have seized on the essay as a prophetic analysis of our own time.

Its concepts have been drawn into current debates on identity, addiction, and social conformity.