Not so long ago Emilio Brentani was a promising young author. Now he is an insurance agent on the fast track to forty. He gains a new lease on life, though, when he falls for the young and gorgeous Angiolina-except that his angel just happens to be an unapologetic cheat. But what begins as a comedy of infatuated misunderstanding ends in tragedy, as Emilio's jealous persistence in his folly-against his friends' and devoted sister's advice, and even his own best knowledge-leads to the loss of the one person who, too late, he realizes he truly loves. Marked by deep humanity and earthy humor, by psychological insight and an elegant simplicity of style, As a Man Grows Older (Senilità, in Italian; the English title was the suggestion of Svevo's great friend and admirer, James Joyce) is a brilliant study of hopeless love and hapless indecision. It is a masterwork of Italian literature, here beautifully rendered into English in Beryl de Zoete's classic translation.

伊塔洛·斯韋沃 (ltalo Svevo, 1861－1928), 原名埃托雷·施米茨（ Ettore Schmitz）， 意大利商人兼小說傢，開意大利心理小說的先河，其代錶作品包括長篇小說《澤諾的意識》《一生》《當你老去》。 他大器晚成，60歲後纔寫齣成名之作《澤諾的意識》，這本書令其躋身國際重要作傢之列，諾貝爾文學奬得主濛塔萊推崇他為普魯斯特第二；他與卡夫卡和普魯斯特並駕齊驅， 是20世紀最齣色的小說傢之一。

譯者

張智中（1966- ），天津師範大學外國語學院英語翻譯教師。2005年畢業於南開大學外國語學院，獲典籍英譯方嚮博士學位。2007年起於河南大學做博士後研究，主要研究方嚮是詩歌翻譯美學。齣版編、譯、著24部，發錶學術論文近50篇，譯詩近2000首，發錶詩歌30餘首，並曾獲多種奬項。被我國著名翻譯傢許淵衝先生贊為"中國新一代翻譯者當中漢英雙語能力皆非常齣色的年輕一代翻譯者。"