506
in themselves mediocre. Now, in
the atmosphere of liberty, the liter–
ary Messiahs are awaited. Itali,iln
authors, many of whom took an
active and courageous part in the
clandestine movement, have re–
turned to their writing. As a sign
of rebirth and resumption of nor–
mality, the first "literary prize"
smce the liberation has been
awarded.
The winner of first place in the
Milan Prize contest is a well-known
author, Alberto Moravia. The
monetary value of the prize,
100,000 lire, corresponds to about
350 dollars. Alberto Moravia is a
Roman, half Jewish, and about
forty years of age. When he was
twenty-two years old he wrote an
outstanding novel,
Gli Indifferenti,
a cold, deep analysis of the corrup-
PARTISAN REVIEW
tion of a certain stratum of the
Italian bourgeoisie in Rome in the
twenties. From then on Moravia,
whose real name is Pincherle, has
given proof of involution rather
than evolution. There is no doubt
that he is a sincere writer, yet very
limited. The full possession of the
means of expression, which came
to him with intellectual maturity,
has exposed those
shortcornin~
(limitations in taste and, above all,
limitations in irp.agination) which,
at the time he wrote
Gli Indiffe–
renti,
seemed only due to expedi–
ency and inexperience.
The book which earned him this
first prize is a very short novel
called
Agostino.
It is the story of
one day in the life of a twelve-year–
old boy; the memorable but bitter
day in which sex is revealed to him.
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