Abstract
Dino Buzzati was born in 1906 and has published several novels as well as other collections of short stories. Ii Deserto dei Tartari (The Tartar Steppe) is his only novel that has been translated and published in English. His other works are: L'invasione degli Orsi in Sicilia (The Invasion of the Bears in Italy), II Crollo della Baliverna (The Ruin of the Constable), II grande Ritratto (The Great Portrait), Un Ancora (One More), II Colombre (The Pigeon), In quel Preciso Momento (In that Precise Moment), and Un Caso Clinico (A Clinical Case). Dino Buzzati is a well-known Italian writer who can easily take a place with Verga, D'Annunzio, and Moravia as one of the most prominent and representative of contemporary authors in Italy. He, like many other Italian writers, is most adept at the novella or short story, and his themes are basically existential. His characters are often overpowered by fear and insecurity; and one is struck by the similarity between the world they inhabit and that of Kafka's characters, for alienation is one of the central issues in his stories. The first story, The Dog Who Saw God, is both cynical and humorous. The opportunism of the central character, the baker, is exposed very skilfully as he and the other inhabitants of the city of Tis become enslaved by their secret fear of a dog; who they think is, in some sense, divine. Afraid to admit their fear to each other, but also afraid to renounce allegiance to the dog, they find themselves imprisoned by their superstition and ignorance. There is an interesting conflict in the story between the people's reverence for the dog and their shame that they would alter their behavior merely because of a dog. The second story, The Seven Messengers, is the shortest of the three stories and is most characteristic of Buzzati. It is very similar to The Tartar Steppe. The central character leaves home and security behind to enter a world that gradually becomes so strange it seems unreal. The hero is finally overcome by exhaustion, feeling totally estranged from all that seems familiar. The Seven Floors has much in common with The Seven Messengers in that the action in both leads to gradual alienation. The hero in this story is subjected to the world inside a famous hospital. He is well cared for, and sincere attempts seem to be made to cure him. Incidents become gradually more disturbing, however, as he is moved and handled against his will and in violation of his original doctor's orders. He becomes frustrated and eventually resigned as he is totally unsuccessful in having any voice in how he is to be treated or what floor he is to be placed on.