Confessions of Zeno by Italo Svevo

Introduction

Zeno Cosini, an aging Trieste businessman, begins writing his memoirs at the suggestion of his psychoanalyst. He tries to quit smoking. He writes: "This will be my last cigarette." And then smokes another. And another. Every resolution becomes a fresh failure, every insight a new self-deception. Italo Svevo's Confessions of Zeno (1923) was ignored in Italy until James Joyce championed it. Today it is recognized as one of the great comic novels of the 20th century.

The Unreliable Narrator as Hero

Zeno is the most lovable of unreliable narrators. He lies to his analyst, to his wife, to himself—but his lies are so transparent, so human, that they reveal more than honesty could. His affairs, his business schemes, his relationship with his rival Guido—everything is filtered through a consciousness that cannot stop analyzing and cannot start changing.

Key Takeaways

• Self-knowledge does not lead to change
• Every last cigarette is followed by another
• Neurosis is the modern condition