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Ernesto Sabato

エルネスト・サバート

Ernesto Sabato

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1911-06-24 （Rojas, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina）
Died
2011-04-30 （Santos Lugares, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina） age 99
Nationality
Argentina, Italy
Languages
Spanish
Residence History
Rojas (birthplace) → La Plata (education, early career) → Paris (research, stay) → Boston / MIT (short stay) → Buenos Aires (later residence)

Career

Occupations
novelist, essayist, painter, physicist
Active Years
1941-2004
Influenced By
Pedro Henríquez Ureña, Surrealist artists (e.g. Oscar Domínguez, Roberto Matta), Existentialist and philosophical thinkers (e.g. Albert Camus)
Influenced
Latin American literary world (later writers), Younger novelists and critics (e.g. engaged with Mario Vargas Llosa)

Education

Universidad Nacional de La Plata
Physics
Degree: PhD
Period: 1929–1938
Year of Graduation: 1938
Country: Argentina
Earned a PhD in physics; later received a research fellowship in Paris.
University of Paris (Sorbonne)
Physics (research / postgraduate)
Period: 1938–1940
Country: France
Included research at the Curie Institute; later turned from science to literature.

Awards

Legion of Honour
Organization: Government of France
Result: 受賞
Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger
1976
Work: Abaddón el exterminador / The Angel of Darkness
Organization: France (literary prize)
Result: 受賞（フランスでの外国書部門最優秀）
Miguel de Cervantes Prize
1984
Organization: Spain (Cervantes Prize organization)
Result: 受賞
Jerusalem Prize
Organization: Jerusalem Prize organization
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

El túnel / The Tunnel

1948 psychological novel

A first-person psychological novel exploring isolation, obsession, love and destruction.

isolationobsessive loveexistentialism
Translations
  • The Tunnel (translated by Harriet de Onis, 1950)
  • The Tunnel (translated by Margaret Sayers Peden, 1988)

Sobre héroes y tumbas / On Heroes and Tombs

1961 novel (regarded as his masterpiece)

A major work intertwining Argentina's social darkness with individual interiority; includes complex sections such as the 'Report on the Blind'.

state violencefamily historymadness
Translations
  • On Heroes and Tombs (translated by Helen R. Lane, 1981)

Abaddón el exterminador / The Angel of Darkness

1974 novel (experimental, eschatological elements)

A lengthy, philosophically rich novel mixing history and eschatological themes; received international recognition in France.

eschatologyhistorical anguishindividual vs society
Translations
  • The Angel of Darkness (translated by Andrew Hurley, 1991)

Bibliography

  • Uno y el Universo (1945)
  • El túnel (1948)
  • Sobre héroes y tumbas (1961)
  • Abaddón el exterminador (1974)
  • Nunca más (1984, CONADEP report)
  • Antes del fin (1998)
  • Various essays and other works

Translations by Author

  • Spanish translation of George Gamow's 'The Birth and Death of the Sun'
  • Spanish translation of Bertrand Russell's 'The ABC of Relativity'

Translations of Works

  • El túnel has been translated into more than 10 languages (including English and French)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
existential and philosophical styleintrospective narration focused on psychological depictionessays are clear, ethical and political in tone
Recurring Motifs
loneliness and alienationdarkness / blindness metaphorsindividual vs society (state violence)conflict between science and humanity

Health

  • bronchitis
    2011（死因）
    Suffered bronchitis in his final period; reported as the cause of death in 2011.

Legacy

Ernesto Sabato is one of Argentina's major writers; his existential and philosophical works had wide influence across Latin American literature. He received major international honours (Cervantes Prize, Legion of Honour, Jerusalem Prize etc.) and chaired CONADEP, producing the 'Nunca Más' report.

Academic Societies

  • Sociedad Argentina de Escritores

Archives

  • National Library of Argentina (likely holds archives)

In Popular Culture

  • Honored with a Google Doodle on his 108th birthday in 2019

Quotes

  • During that time I buried myself with electrometers and graduated cylinders during the morning and spent the nights in bars with the delirious surrealists.
    Source: Autobiographical writing / essay (excerpt)

Trivia

  • Acquired Italian citizenship in 1999.
  • On Heroes and Tombs is considered his masterpiece; he nearly burned it along with other manuscripts.
  • Won many international prizes and had major influence on Latin American literature.
  • Presided over CONADEP and compiled the 'Nunca Más' report on forced disappearances.
  • Honored by a Google Doodle in 2019.