, 15 November 1920 - 14 June 1996), was an Italian writer.

Gesualdo Bufalino was born in Comiso

Comiso

Comiso is an Italian municipality in the Province of Ragusa in Sicily.-Geography:Comiso consists of three boroughs: Comiso, Pedalino, and Quaglio. It lies some 22 km west of Ragusa in the South of Sicily...

, Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

. He studied literature and was, for most of his life a high-school professor in his hometown. The time spent in an hospital for tuberculosis

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...

 immediately after World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 provided the material for the novel Diceria dell'untore (The Plague Sower), that, begun in 1950, would be published only in 1981, when, at the age of 61, his friend and celebrated writer Leonardo Sciascia

Leonardo Sciascia

Leonardo Sciascia was an Italian writer, novelist, essayist, playwright and politician. Some of his works have been made into films, including Open Doors and Il giorno della civetta .- Biography :Sciascia was born in Racalmuto, Sicily...

 discovered his talents. In 1988, the novel Le menzogne della notte (Night's Lies) won the Strega Prize

Strega Prize

The Strega Prize is the most prestigious Italian literary award. It has been awarded annually since 1947 for the best work of prose fiction by an Italian author and first published between 1 May of the previous year and 30 April...

. In 1990 he won the Nino Martoglio International Book Award.
In his native town the Biblioteca di Bufalino ("Bufalino's Library") is now named after him.

See also

• Breath of Life
  Breath of Life (1990 film)
  Breath of Life is a 1990 Italian drama film directed by Beppe Cino. It is an adaptation of Gesualdo Bufalino's 1981 novel, Diceria dell'untore. The film, starring Franco Nero and Vanessa Redgrave was released in Italy on 11 October, 1990.-Plot:...
  
  , film adaptation of Diceria dell'untore.