As a Man Grows Older by Italo Svevo, translated from the Italian by Beryl De Zoete
New York: New York Review Books, 2001 (First published in Italian as Senilita in 1892, this translation first published in 1932) ISBN 9780940322844
There is something about Italian Literature that I find, as an Australian, intriguing. The imagination, the mindset of the Italian literature that was produced before World War Two is very foreign to me - I think the mindset and imagination of Australians like myself have more in common with twentieth-century American and English Literature, which is no real surprise I guess.
For me, European literature presents a language barrier (I don't read Italian) and so I am dependent on the translation delivering not only the words, but the style and the mood of the novel: for us uneducated souls who don't even have enough of the original language to make our own judgement, we are very much at the mercy of the translator. There has been much interesting work written about the art of translation, and personally I always wonder when reading whether I do have a direct line into the original work by the author, or is it more correct to think that I'm reading an interpretation, and the real author is in fact the translator? Hard to know, and one has to rely on those that do know to guide one to the best translations. Another issue, which struck me when reading the verso of the title page of this edition is the time lag between the writing and the translating. The original work in this review was published in Italian in 1892, but the English translation was not published until 1932: during that time the whole European world changed: of course a good translator would cleave to the original sentiment of the novel, but time gaps do give rise to more questioning of a translation (vide all the different translations of something like The Iliad over the years....). These are questions that I think have some validity when approaching translations of works, but questions I can't answer because I can't speak for the original text. Whatever the truth is for this particular translation, I found this a fascinating and in the end gripping work.
Simply put, the story is about an affair between Emilio Brentani and Angiolina Zarri. Brentani is a middle-aged insurance office worker who lives with his unmarried sister in what seems to be genteel poverty. Angiolina is younger, also unmarried, and beautiful. Immediately the gulf of a century hovers over the premise of this book - in our age what transpires in this book would not be considered an affair, or illicit in any way (but of course we are "enlightened" about such things, aren't we...). The story follows the anguish of Brentani, as he destroys not only his wellbeing, but his friendship with Stefano Balli, and his relationship with his sister Amalia. His monomaniacal desire for Angiolina is well described by Svevo: Brentani's construction of the lover Angiolina has very little to do with the real woman, as we the reader can see. When Brentani has his moments of understanding, he explains Angiolina's "whoring" away, or, if he does confront her, he cannot follow through with any decision to break with her.
As a Man Grows Older is a novel of class. Brentani is poor, but educated. His close friend Balli is a sculptor and artist. Angiolina is, as we can see from descriptions of her parents, a peasant. Brentani, despite what he says to Balli, and unlike Balli himself, cannot have "just" a dalliance, or keep a mistress in the commonly accepted way. He is in love with Angiolina, with all the joy and pain that entails. Angiolina, on the other hand, loves to be loved: she courts every eye, and has many admirers. Brentani drives himself wild with the thought that Balli himself will succumb to Angiolina's charms, but Balli is the least of his worries. The reader always knows a little more than Brentani of the true nature of Angiolina, and I found myself constantly hoping that Brentani would come to his senses...alas he does not before all is lost. It is ironic the Angiolina can have just the type of affair that Brentani wishes to have, just not with him.
Another thing worth mentioning about this book is the depiction of Trieste, the city in which it is set. The sights, sounds and weather of the city are very much part of the mood, and are skillfully used to draw the reader in to scenes where they impart another level to what is happening.
Overall, despite the barriers of the language and the years, I found As a Man Grows Older to be worthy of its claim to be a classic of Italian Literature.
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