Ernesto Sabato | |
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Born |
Rojas, Argentina, |
June 24, 1911
Died | April 30, 2011 Santos Lugares, Argentina |
(aged 99)
Occupation | Novelist and essayist, painter |
Language | Spanish |
Nationality | Argentine |
Ethnicity | Italian and Arbëreshë |
Citizenship | Argentine |
Education | PhD in Physics |
Alma mater | Universidad Nacional de La Plata |
Period | 1941–2004 |
Genre | Novel, essay |
Notable works |
El Túnel Sobre héroes y tumbas Abaddón el exterminador |
Notable awards |
Legion of Honour Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger Miguel de Cervantes Prize Jerusalem Prize |
Spouse | Matilde Kusminsky Richter (1936–1998) |
Children | Jorge Federico Sabato Mario Sabato |
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Ernesto Sabato (June 24, 1911 – April 30, 2011) was an Argentine writer, painter and physicist. According to the BBC he "won some of the most prestigious prizes in Hispanic literature" and "became very influential in the literary world throughout Latin America". Upon his death El País dubbed him the "last classic writer in Argentine literature".
Sabato was distinguished by his bald pate and brush moustache and wore tinted spectacles and open-necked shirts. He was born in Rojas, a small town in Buenos Aires Province. Sabato began his studies at the Colegio Nacional de La Plata. He then studied physics at the Universidad Nacional de La Plata, where he earned a PhD. He then attended the Sorbonne in Paris and worked at the Curie Institute. After World War II, he lost interest in science and started writing.
Sabato's oeuvre includes three novels: El Túnel (1948), Sobre héroes y tumbas (1961) and Abaddón el exterminador (1974). The first of these received critical acclaim upon its publication from, among others, fellow writers Albert Camus and Thomas Mann. The second is regarded as his masterpiece, though he nearly burnt it like many of his other works. Sabato's essays cover topics as diverse as metaphysics, politics and tango. His writings led him to receive many international prizes, including the Legion of Honour (France), the Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger (France) and the Miguel de Cervantes Prize (Spain).