Antonio di Benedetto
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Antonio di Benedetto, (2 November, 1922–10 October, 1986), was an Argentinean writer.
Biography
Di Benedetto began writing and publishing stories in his teens, inspired by the works of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoeyevsky and Luigi Pirandello. Mundo Animal, appearing in 1952, was his first story collection and won prestigious awards. A revised version came out in 1971, but the Xenos Books translation uses the first edition to catch the youthful flavor.
Di Benedetto wrote five novels, the most famous being the existential masterpiece Zama (1956). Los suicidas (The Suicides, 1969) is noteworthy for expressing his intense abhorrence of noise. Critics have compared his works to Alain Robbe-Grillet, Julio Cortázar and Ernesto Sábato.
In 1976, during the military dictatorship of General Videla, di Benedetto was imprisoned and tortured. Released after a year, he went into exile in Spain, then returned home in 1984. He travelled widely and won numerous awards, but never acquired the worldwide fame of other Latin American writers. Perhaps more translations will correct this injustice.
Bibliography
As Animal World, translated by H. E. Francis, with an Afterword by Jorge García-Gómez. Grand Terrace, CA: Xenos Books. As Mundo animal. 1971.
- Zama. 1956.
- Las suicidas. 1969.