Alberto Moravia is an Italian journalist, short-story writer, and novelist known for his fictional portrayals of social alienation and loveless sexuality. He was a major figure in 20th-century Italian literature.
Moravia contracted tuberculosis of the bone (a form of osteomyelitis usually caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis) at the age of 8, but, during several years in which he was confined to bed and two years in sanatoriums, he studied French, German, and English; read Giovanni Boccaccio, Ludovico Ariosto, William Shakespeare, and Molire; and began to write. Moravia was a journalist for a time in Turin and a foreign correspondent in London. His first novel, Gli indifferenti (1929; Time of Indifference), is a scathingly realistic study of the moral corruption of a middle-class mother and two of her children. It became a sensation. Some of his more important novels are Agostino (1944; Two Adolescents); La Romana (1947; The Woman of Rome); La disubbidienza (1948; Disobedience); and Il conformista (1951; The Conformist), all on themes of isolation and alienation. La ciociara (1957; Two Women) tells of an adaptation to post-World War II Italian life. La noia (1960; The Empty Canvas) is the story of a painter unable to find meaning either in love or work. Many of Moravia's books were made into motion pictures.
His books of short stories include Racconti romani (1954; Roman Tales) and Nuovi racconti romani (1959; More Roman Tales). Racconti di Alberto Moravia (1968) is a collection of earlier stories. Later short-story collections include Il paradiso (1970; “Paradise”) and Boh (1976; The Voice of the Sea and Other Stories).
Most of Moravia's works deal with emotional aridity, isolation, and existential frustration and express the futility of either sexual promiscuity or conjugal love as an escape. Critics have praised the author's stark, unadorned style, his psychological penetration, his narrative skill, and his ability to create authentic characters and realistic dialogue.
Moravia's views on literature and realism are expressed in a stimulating book of essays, L'uomo come fine (1963; Man as an End), and his autobiography, Alberto Moravia's Life, was published in 1990. He was married for a time to the novelist Elsa Morante.
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Fiction, Fiction, general, Italian Authors, Authors, Italian, Continental european fiction (fictional works by one author), Description and travel, Italian fiction, Social life and customs, Biography, Translations into English, Interviews, Politics and government, Travel, Italian Short stories, Italy, fiction, Triangles (Interpersonal relations), Children's fiction, Correspondence, Fiction, thrillers, general, Man-woman relationships, Manners and customs, Rome, fiction, Short stories, Italian, Apathy, CivilizationPlaces
Italy, China, India, Rome (Italy), Africa, Rome, Capri (Italy), Dublin, Sub-Saharan Africa, Algeria, Barre, Barre (Vt.), Chine, Europe, Hippo (Extinct city), Ireland, Italien, New England, Rome (Empire), Russia, Soviet Union, Tuscany, Italy, Venice, Vermont, Wigan (England)People
Alberto Moravia (1907-), Alberto Moravia (1907-1990), Amelia Rosselli, Augustine Saint, Bishop of Hippo, Beatrice Cenci (1577-1599), Bill Hutchinson, Claudia Cardinale (1939-), Desideria, Dina D'Isa, Elsa Morante (approximately 1912-1985), Giuseppe Prezzolini (1882-), Harry Graves, James Joyce (1882-1941), Kathleen Kearney, Mao Zedong (1893-1976), Mr. Doran, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Holohan, Mr. Summers, Mrs. Kearney, Mrs. Mooney, Old Man Warner, Polly Mooney, Tessie Hutchinson, TintinTime
20th century, 1945-, 1949-1976, 1922-1945, 1420-1798, 1934, 1945-1989, 1947-1980, 1949-, 20th century,, Irish Revival, Siglo XX, early 1950's, mid-20th century-
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ID Numbers
- OLID: OL20919A
- ISNI: 0000000122760711
- VIAF: 7394594
- Wikidata: Q161933
- Inventaire.io: wd:Q161933
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Alternative names
- alberto moravia
- Alberto.- MORAVIA
- ALBERTO MORAVIA
- Alberto MORAVIA
- moravia alberto
- Moravia Alberto
- Moravia Alberto.
- Alberto 1907- Moravia
- MORAVIA (Alberto).
| June 26, 2023 | Edited by Tom Morris | merge authors |
| February 27, 2023 | Edited by Tom Morris | merge authors |
| September 30, 2020 | Edited by MARC Bot | add ISNI |
| January 16, 2020 | Edited by Camillo Pellizzari | Edited without comment. |
| April 1, 2008 | Created by an anonymous user | initial import |