The story of the frustrated existence of Alfonso, a bank clerk who wants to be a poet and seems to be falling in love with Annetta, the daughter of his boss. But the emptiness of both his attempts at writing and at love lead to an ironic and painful conclusion.

Italo Svevo was born Hector Schmitz in Trieste in 1861 and educated in Bavaria. As a young man he worked in a bank. In 1892 he published A Life at his own expense and followed it in 1896 with As a Man Grows Older. His friend, James Joyce, was eventually able to use his influence to make Svevo known in Europe but Svevo was killed in a car accident in 1928 before he could enjoy his fame.