{"product_id":"2026100007292-secondhand-as-a-man-grows-older","title":"As A Man Grows Older","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Good\u003cbr\u003eJacket: Worn\/faded, no tears\u003cbr\u003ePages: Good\u003cbr\u003eMarkings: Previous owner\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the fog of middle-aged longing and quiet desperation, As A Man Grows Older chronicles the ill-fated romantic obsession of Emilio Brentani, a mediocre insurance clerk in late nineteenth-century Trieste who becomes dangerously enthralled by the vivacious and unpredictable working-class woman Angiolina. Italo Svevo's second novel, originally published in Italian as Senilità (1898), presents a devastating portrait of self-delusion, as Emilio constructs an idealised fantasy of his lover while simultaneously watching his unmarried sister Amalia wither away in silent, unrequited longing for his closest friend.\n\nA landmark of Italian modernist literature, this novel sits alongside the works of Proust and Joyce — the latter of whom was Svevo's personal friend and champion — in its ruthless psychological dissection of the self-deceiving male ego. Svevo's prose, rendered here into English by the accomplished translator Beryl de Zoete, carries an ironic detachment that is both clinically precise and achingly human, exposing the gap between how we perceive ourselves and the quiet devastation we inflict upon those around us. If you have ever wondered how a man can pursue ruin with such elegant conviction, Svevo's answer will haunt you long after the final page.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49130978803931,"sku":"2026100007292-SECONDHAND","price":20.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/b5e6edf4-ae83-4f93-9852-ad609b0728fb.png?v=1786593442","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026100007292-secondhand-as-a-man-grows-older","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}