Ernesto (novel)
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.jpg) First edition | |
| Author | Umberto Saba |
|---|---|
| Language | Italian |
| Genre | Novel |
| Publisher | Einaudi |
Publication date | 1975 |
| Publication place | Italy |
| Media type | Hardback and paperback |
| Pages | 162 pp (hardback edition) |
Ernesto is an unfinished novel by Umberto Saba (1883–1957), written in 1953 and published posthumously in 1975. It was his only work of fiction.[1] It was largely autobiographical, including details about the title character's friendship and love for a violinist, and his attachment to his native Trieste. As one critic says: "he revisited not only the scenes but also the moods of his puberty".[2]
A screenplay freely adapted from the novel served as the basis for an Italian-language film of the same name in 1979.[3][4]
The events in the novel take place in the course of a month in 1898 in Trieste. Ernesto, a 16-year-old apprentice clerk to a flour merchant named Wilder, lives with his mother and aunt. He and his mother rely on the charity of relatives, whose control Ernesto resents. When he was thirteen, he spent a perfect summer reading the Arabian Nights.[a] He adopts leftist political views, partly out of conviction and partly to needle Wilder. He has his first sexual experiences on several occasions with a 28-year-old laborer identified as "the man". Their roles reflect classical models, with the older man insisting that since he has a beard he must be the active partner in intercourse. Ernesto also has one experience with a female prostitute. He imagines a different life for himself, perhaps as an adored concert violinist, though he lacks talent. His tentative approach to manhood is reflected in a visit to the barber where he has his first shave, though he hardly seems to need it. He becomes resentful about being overworked, though he refuses to share tasks with a younger assistant. He resents his employer and resigns his post with an insulting letter. Ending his employment will also end his casual encounters with "the man" at work. His mother succeeds in arranging for his employer to rehire Ernesto, who then reveals his sexual history to his mother to avoid taking up his clerk's post again.
That night Ernesto attends a violin recital and at intermission sees a beautiful boy a bit younger than himself but fails to locate him at the end of the concert. They meet by chance the next day, discovering they have the same violin teacher. "They could have been two puppies, who instead of wagging their tails were smiling at each other."[6] Ernesto says he has just turned 17 and the other boy, Emilio called "Ilio", is 15 and a half and a more talented violin student than Ernesto. They decide to be friends.
