This fine novel, Flaiano's only full-length work of fiction, was published in 1947 and won the Strega Prize. Translated into English as The Short Cut in 1950, it explores the plight of a young Italian officer during the conquest of Abyssinia in 1935-1936. Suffering from a toothache, the hero seeks a dentist and takes a shortcut through a sinister valley, where he encounters a native woman bathing in a stream. They spend the night together, but when he mistakenly fires at what he believes to be a wild animal, the bullet fatally strikes her. Unable to seek help, he shoots her while she sleeps. The narrative follows the lieutenant's attempts to evade responsibility and assuage his guilt, even as he commits further crimes. Ultimately, he confronts the realization that the chain of circumstances leading to the tragedy lies within himself. Albert Guerard notes that while Dostoevsky might have offered the lieutenant redemption, he lacks both divine grace and a guiding figure. The crime haunts him, symbolized by an odor that transforms from floral to a sickly, putrid scent, representing his inescapable guilt. The lieutenant's final punishment looms, echoing Raskolnikov's struggle with impunity.
Tempo di uccidere, Ennio Flaiano
Příběh vyprávěný italským vojákem sloužícím v Africe. Nebýt této knihy, tak bych si asi těžko uvědomil, že v Africe působilo i italské vojsko - není to tak známo jako u britských, francouzských a nizozemských jednotek. Celý příběh se točí okolo nešťastného zastřelení domorodé ženy a vyprávění italského vojáka je takovou sondou do svědomí.
