Fictional Characters: Age Is More Than A Number

One of the character details I look out for whenever I'm reading a novel is the protagonist's age. Sometimes their age is reported along with the introductory description of the protagonist. This straightforward approach just drops their age on you. I've noticed in other novels the age is given in more subtle ways. For instance, the age might be mentioned somewhere else in the novel. Perhaps we're told the protagonist runs fast for a fifty-nine-year-old man. Or a maturer lady of a certain age has kept her youthful looks. Other details about the protagonist like the hair or eye color don't matter to me so much (or at all). However, I like to set their age in my mind as a means for me to visualize the protagonist. Unlike in real life, we can find out the protagonist's age without having to ask it. I've read in novels re: age something like "she could be anywhere from forty to sixty." If only. That is an exaggeration. None of us at 60 appear like we did at 40. Unlike in real life, we can find out the protagonist's age without having to be nosey and ask it.