Who is Alfie Zimmer?

Alfie Zimmer is the main character in “All That You Love Will Be Carried Away.” Alfie is a traveling salesman who has filled a notebook with quotes he has copied off bathroom walls. He intends to kill himself in his hotel room that night because he is tired of being a traveling salesman, but is afraid he does not have what it takes to write a book about his quotes. Alfie sees a farmhouse across the field from his hotel and imagines that the farmer has the ideal life. Alfie finally decides that if he sees lights from the farmhouse in a certain amount of time, he will continue to live and will write the book. The story ends with Alfie watching for the lights.