I liked the way the writer portrays the protagonist through his own words and conversations with and about him. The protagonist is kind of a loner and comes across as (and indeed seems to be, judging his inner voice) a bit of an arrogant prick.

A celebrated poet with a knack for linguistics is part of an expedition to Mars where he discovers the Martians get very old, have an old, rich culture and they're dying off because the men became infertile after a global disaster. The Martians are defeatist about it.

He gets a girl pregnant, shows them a rose and reads from Ecclesiastes - convincing them to not give up.

The girl does not love him, though. The book ends when the protagonist wakes from a suicide attempt and on the way back to earth .