Aubrey holds a Ph.D. in English. In this essay, Aubrey considers Adams's story as one of moral and spiritual transformation.

Adams's "The Last Lovely City" is a story with many themes. Through its aging protagonist, Dr. Benito Zamora, it touches on emotions connected with loss, regret, loneliness, isolation, guilt and the longing for love. It is also a story about the past, about looking back and remembering. It shows how deeply the past exerts a hold on the present. Ultimately, though, this is a story about moral and spiritual transformation, the possibility that even an old life, deformed by many years of living by an ethical double standard may, yet give itself a fresh start.

At first glance, Benito seems an unlikely candidate for transformation. He is old and much of his life is now behind him. The portrait Adams presents in the opening paragraph is...