The Time Of Indifference

( 1 )

Overview

IN 1929, THE FIFTH YEAR of the Fascist era and the twenty-first year of Alberto Moravia's life, the Italian literary world was stunned by the appearance of his first novel, The Time of Indifference. It was a deceptively simple story - five characters, the events of a few days, the intrigues of families and lovers.
The place is Rome. The central figure is Michele, a young man in confused but furious rebellion against the emptiness of bourgeois life. His father is dead; his ...
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More About This Book

Overview

IN 1929, THE FIFTH YEAR of the Fascist era and the twenty-first year of Alberto Moravia's life, the Italian literary world was stunned by the appearance of his first novel, The Time of Indifference. It was a deceptively simple story - five characters, the events of a few days, the intrigues of families and lovers.
The place is Rome. The central figure is Michele, a young man in confused but furious rebellion against the emptiness of bourgeois life. His father is dead; his mother, Mariagrazia, desperately clings to her bored lover, Leo; his sister has no hope of marriage or career and bleakly prepares to give herself to Leo as well. A frequent visitor is Leo's former lover, Lisa, ostensibly Mariagrazia's friend, a woman who feels she is in the final late bloom before age destroys beauty. She longs to make Michele her lover, but he is bored and disgusted by her pretenses, her vanity, her desperation.
All five are cast loose on the sea of modern life - obsessed with what they want, what they feel they are owed, the wrongs that have been done them, their loneliness. What Moravia destroys forever in this pitiless novel is the illusion that a world of ever-growing material comfort can ever feed the human soul.
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Editorial Reviews

Library Journal
This is a new translation of the 1929 novel that launched Moravia's literary career at the tender age of 21. The plot follows five young men and women living in Rome who long for things they cannot have. A very serious look at life from such a young writer. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781586420055
  • Publisher: Steerforth Press
  • Publication date: 2/12/2000
  • Series: Steerforth Italia Series
  • Edition description: 1 ED
  • Pages: 322
  • Sales rank: 1,373,519
  • Product dimensions: 5.50 (w) x 8.50 (h) x 0.75 (d)

Meet the Author

ALBERTO MORAVIA began this novel when he was eighteen and confined to bed with a long illness. Author of more than twenty books, he was married to the well-known Italian writers Elsa Morante and Dacia Maraini. He died in his apartment in Rome on the day in 1990 when the first copies of his autobiography, Life of Moravia, arrived from the printer.
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Read an Excerpt

IN 1929, THE FIFTH YEAR of the Fascist era and the twenty-first year of Alberto Moravia's life, the Italian literary world was stunned by the appearance of his first novel, The Time of Indifference. It was a deceptively simple story - five characters, the events of a few days, the intrigues of families and lovers.
The place is Rome. The central figure is Michele, a young man in confused but furious rebellion against the emptiness of bourgeois life. His father is dead; his mother, Mariagrazia, desperately clings to her bored lover, Leo; his sister has no hope of marriage or career and bleakly prepares to give herself to Leo as well. A frequent visitor is Leo's former lover, Lisa, ostensibly Mariagrazia's friend, a woman who feels she is in the final late bloom before age destroys beauty. She longs to make Michele her lover, but he is bored and disgusted by her pretenses, her vanity, her desperation.
All five are cast loose on the sea of modern life - obsessed with what they want, what they feel they are owed, the wrongs that have been done them, their loneliness. What Moravia destroys forever in this pitiless novel is the illusion that a world of ever-growing material comfort can ever feed the human soul.
Read More Show Less

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Sort by: Showing 1 Customer Review

  • Anonymous

    Posted June 21, 2006

    Stunning First Novel

    exquisitely written. Moravia is a master of evocative language in his portrayal of the human condition.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
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