SOURCE: "Mellow Wisdom," in The New York Times Book Review, March 16, 1930, p. 6.

In the following assessment of "The Hoax, " an anonymous critic commends Svevo's effort, asserting that, "though the story is simple, Svevo has made more of it than most writers can make with formidable and ambitious plots. "

Ettore Schmitz, who wrote under the name of Italo Svevo, was for many years an intimate friend of James Joyce; but their work is as different as Scott's is different from Proust's. Yet, for all their dissimilarities, it is easy to understand Joyce's admiration for Svevo; it would only be difficult to understand someone who did not admire him. For here is a little book of authentic charm, full of tender humanity and ironic wisdom, and written, if we may judge by Miss de Zoete's admirable translation, in a pure and delightful Italian.

"The Hoax" tells the simplest of stories...