Confessions of Zeno (riverrun editions)
'I am sure a cigarette has a more poignant flavour when it is the last'
A neurotic Italian businessman obsessed by his own hypochondria, Zeno Cosini recounts his early years to his psychoanalyst Dr S as a form of therapy. With a cigarette clutched permanently between his fingers, he explores the important themes of his life: his love of smoking, his relationship with his parents, his marriage. Structured as a series of conversations with his psychoanalyst, Zeno was an innovation in its time, and remains a curious and intriguing delight.
Michael Hoffman places Confessions of Zeno in its European context in his sparkling introduction.
Italo Svevo was the pen name of Ettore Schmitz, who was born in Trieste in 1861. He wrote two books as a young man, but failed to achieve any literary renown. Confessions of Zeno came to the attention of literary circles in Paris through Svevo's connection with James Joyce and was soon recognized as a comic masterpiece.
Beryl de Zoete (1879 - 1962) was a ballet dancer, dance critic, dance researcher as well as a translator. She traveled extensively in Bali and South Asia and co-wrote the classic Dance and Drama in Bali.
Michael Hofmann is a German-born poet and translator.