cilia (1945)
             Il capitano Pic e altre poesie (1965, poetry) (http://en.wikipedia)
             Though not achieving fame and fortune in America's literary world, many experts in Italy believed his straight forward style was indicative of genius. Born in Belluno, Italy in 1906 much of his younger life was affected by World War I. Evidence of that effect can be seen in some of his novels and stories.
             The Tartar Steppe, his most famous novel, tells the story of a military outpost that awaits a Tartar invasion. In its sentiment and its conclusions, it has been compared to existentialist works, notably Albert Camus's the Myth of Sisyphus. (en.wikipedia).
             De Feo dubs him with the dubious title of The Italian Kafka and says, Buzzati's tales are notable for the odd, haunting little worlds they create and for their ability to tease and stimulate the mind. (De Feo 1983 pg 247).
             Stimulating the mind is exactly what this paper will discuss regarding the stories; Something that Begins with L, and Seven Floors.
             Buzzati's attempt to anneal a character's authentic life with the authority of fate, and perhaps of history as well, introduces the terms of the impasse that preoccupies, in their very different ways, Milan Kundera and Nadine Gordimer. What authority can clothe the nakedness of story? (Winner 1998 pg 94)
             Buzzati's authentic characters coupled with the very true-to-life environment in which they find themselves can sometimes leave the reader with a sense of overwhelming futility. This futility is especially evident in the two stories discussed herein.
             In Seven Floors the futility is probably more evident because it is so
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