orig. Alberto Pincherle
born Nov. 28, 1907, Rome, Italy
died Sept. 26, 1990, Rome
Italian journalist, novelist, and short-story writer.
He worked as a journalist in Turin and as a foreign correspondent in London. Time of Indifference (1929), his first novel, is a scathing study of middle-class moral corruption. His works were censored by Benito Mussolini 's fascists and placed on the Index librorum prohibitorum . Later important novels, many of them portrayals of social alienation and loveless sexuality, include The Conformist (1951; film, 1971), Two Women (1957; film, 1961), and The Empty Canvas (1960). His books of short stories include Roman Tales (1954) and More Roman Tales (1959). He was married to the writer Elsa Morante (191885).