Trapped in the Mirror

The pain and performance of narcissism

Apparently it’s everywhere.

In the millennial selfies.

In slickly constructed and curated Instagram accounts showcasing sex appeal and perfect lives.

In the boardroom, the seats of power and at the highest levels of government.

The narcissist is your ex-partner who fights you over the children, the boss who has no empathy for your mistakes, the co-worker who steals your ideas, the neighbour who stymies your extension.

But the reality of narcissism is far different.

In “The Life of I,” cultural theorist Anne Manne provides an account of our current ills as a society sick with self-aggrandisement and solipsism.

Ranging from the evil of Nordic mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik to the phenomena of selfies and celebrities, Manne describes our obsessions and weaknesses — and that we all have a tendency towards narcissism.

In developing her argument, Manne takes on the diagnostic picture of NPD, including an allusive analysis of the DSMV, but neglects the wider clinical picture, which can be both more subtle and more complex.

Although Manne’s is one of the more thoughtful explorations of narcissism, she unfortunately…