Zeno's Conscience

Description

This 20th century masterpiece uses the traditional form of autobiography to explore some very untraditional themes. Under the guidance of a psychoanalyst an old man looks back over his life, exploring his motives and trying to make sense of things, but when he decides to abandon the treatment, his reminiscences are published by Doctor S as an act of revenge against the patient who has frustrated the doctor's own desire for complete understanding. In laying bare the disturbing power relations between therapist and subject, Svevo explores the dynamics of identity and self-knowledge in ways which link him with his great contemporaries, Joyce, Proust and Musil.

Aron Ettore Schmitz (December 19, 1861 - September 13, 1928), better known by the pseudonym Italo Svevo, was an Italian businessman and author of novels, plays, and short stories. His best-known novel is The Confessions of Zeno (or Zeno's Conscience) (1923). Svevo published the work at the age of 62 at his own expense. The novel, dealing with the self-revelations of a nicotine addict, is considered one of the greatest examples of European experimental modernist writing. Svevo was killed in an automobile accident. Further Confessions of Zeno (1969) appeared posthumously.

"Svevo's masterpiece . . . Ýin a fresh translation by the dean of Italian literary translators." -"Los Angeles Times" "An excellent new rendering Ýof a marvellous and original book."-James Wood, "London Review of Books" "A masterpiece, a novel overflowing with human truth in all its murkiness, laughter and terror, a book as striking and relevant today as when it was first published, and a book that is in every good way-its originality included-like life." -Claire Messud, "The New Republic""Hilarious. . . . Effortlessly inventive and eerily prescient. . . . William Weaver . . . updates the novelist's idiosyncratic prose with great affection." -"The Atlantic Monthly""An event in modern publishing. For the first time, I believe, in English, we get the true, dark music, the pewter tints, of Svevo's great last novel. . . . ÝSvevo is a master." -Joan Acocella, "The New Yorker""ÝAn exhilarating and utterly original novel. . . . Weaver's version strikes one as excellent." -P. N. Furbank, "Literary Review""One of the great comic novels of the twentieth century. . . . ÝSvevo is perhaps "the "most significant Italian modernist novelist." -"The Times Literary Supplement""ÝA neglected masterpiece. Seventy-five years old, the novel feels entirely modern." -"The Boston Globe""A reason for celebration. . . . If you have never read Svevo, do so as soon as you can. He is beautiful and important." -"New Statesman""One of the indispensable 20th-century novels. . . . A revolutionary book, and arguably (in fact, probably) the finest of all Italian novels." -"Kirkus Reviews""No one has done more to make modern Italian literatureavailable in English than William Weaver. . . . ÝHis new translation is scrupulously accurate." -"Anniston Star"