Confessions of Zeno: The cult classic discovered and championed by James Joyce

By Italo Svevo

Book Overview

'Italy's first modernist ... a marvellous writer, unjustly neglected. Svevo is a master.' - The New Yorker

The cult classic discovered and championed by James Joyce, Confessions of Zeno is a miracle of psychological realism from one of the most important figures in modern Italian literary history. A hymn to self-delusion and procrastination, long hailed as a seminal work of modernism in the tradition of Joyce, Musil, Proust and Kafka.

When the vain, obsessive and guilt-ridden Zeno seeks help for his neuroses, his psychoanalyst suggests he writes his memoirs as a form of therapy. Zeno's account is an alternative reality, a series of elliptical episodes dealing with the death of his father, his career, his marriage and affairs, and, above all, his passion for smoking and his spectacular failure to resist the promise of that last cigarette. Zeno's adventures rise to antic heights in this pioneering psychoanalytic novel, as his restlessly self-preserving commentary inevitably embroiders the truth. Absorbing and devilishly entertaining, Confessions of Zeno is at once a comedy of errors, a sly testimonial to the joys of procrastination, and a surpassingly lucid vision of human nature by one of the most important Italian literary figures of the twentieth century.

Praise:

'One of the indispensable 20th-century novels ... A revolutionary book, and arguably (in fact, probably) the finest of all Italian novels.' - Kirkus Reviews

'Hilarious ... Effortlessly inventive and eerily prescient.' - The Atlantic Monthly

'One of the great comic novels of the twentieth century ... Svevo is] perhaps the most significant Italian modernist novelist.' - The Times Literary Supplement

'There are moments where his realism seems, by the sheer strangeness and rawness of what lies exposed under its microscopic focus, only a hair's breadth away from the austere fabulism of Kafka.' - The Guardian

'Svevo's masterpiece.' - Los Angeles Times

About the author:

Italo Svevo, one of Italy's great Modernists, was unrecognized in his own country until James Joyce befriended the writer and championed his work. His three novels, A Life, As a Man Grows Older and Confessions of Zeno, are all recognised as masterpieces of Italian literature.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1922491527
• ISBN13: 9781922491527
• Release Date: March 2022
• Publisher: Actuel Editions
• Length: 302 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

One of the best novels I ever read

Psychoanalysis usually does not make a good basis for fiction writing. There is, to my knowledge, one unique and very bright exception which is this book. The previous novels of Italo Svevo were showing real litterary talent but nothing like the genius he displayed in this one. At some point in his life, this man who must have considered himself a failed writer was encouraged to try it again by a totally unknown young Irishman who was giving him English lessons, one James Joyce. He created the funniest of the great masterpieces of modern litterature. Thinking about it, Ulysses and A la recherche du temps perdu can also be seen as essentially comical works. My personal preference goes to Zeno's Conscience.

Beautiful Life

I just quit from an engineering consultant coporation last Friday; I will take approximately one month off, then probably to be a business owner with my friend later. When I walked around in the biggest bookstore "ESLITE" in Taipei last Sunday, the book " La Conscienza di Zeno" catch my eyes. Then, I decided to buy it without opening it in the bookstore. I have to admit that I really have an enjoyable Sunday afternoon by reading this lovely masterwork. I can't help myself to stop laughing when I read the confession of Zeno's conscience. I think it's pretty similar to read this novel and someone's diary. But, the difference to our diaries or biographies is that Italo Svevo¡¦s writing skill is much better than us (even better than Milan Kundera), and I think the way that Svevo observes and perceives this world and the life is more interesting than ordinary people. In my eyes, I think the best point of this book is that Svevo tried to stand on an ordinary people¡¦s point to describe a real and ridiculous life, and I really appreciate Svevo¡¦s humor. This is an admirable and recommendable book, especially for people who want to involve into this spectacular and ridiculous world. I haven¡¦t read the English translation of this book yet, but I believe it would be worthy to spend 35 dollars to enjoy an enjoyable summer afternoon or night.THE MOST DANGEROUS ENEMY OF ORDINARY PEOPLE IS THE ORDINARINESS.

still great

Having read this book over ten years ago, it is nice to know that it reads better now (probably because I understand more of Svevo's concerns). The book isn't a comedy, it's a sad and moving look at the last century's human condition. It is an end of cycle lament at the start of modernism, the first shots of postmodernism and the loss of humanity this all ensues. Technology leads to the bomb and the obssession with consumerism and political correctness that have made our era a tragic one. Literature is the only secular salve for bruised lives and quests for happiness.

One of my 5 all-time favorites

This is a book that I read to please a friend who begged me to try it. It sounded dull, especially when I was told that the author was a wealthy middle aged friend of James Joyce and had only written the book as an experiment, to have something in common with his writer pal. I don't know if that story is true, but no matter...the book is very good. You don't have to know anything about literature or about Italy to enjoy meeting ZENO and getting to know him. Warning: skip over the first few chapters if you're trying to quit smoking or if you're staying up late and you don't want to wake up your spouse with a late-night laughing jag. Enjoy.

one of my all time favorites

I have just reread this novel, and was floored again. Much better than the Salinger book (sorry kids) this is a more truthful look at how we view our lives and choices we make. Should be required reading for everyone