SOURCE: "One Good Tune," in The New Yorker, May 7, 1955, ñ 39.

In the following summation of an interview conducted in the New Yorker, Moravia discusses his writing and feel for his characters.

The distinguished Italian writer Alberto Moravia is in this country as a guest of the State Department, and we were fortunate enough to have lunch with him a few days ago, shortly before he took off to explore the Wild West. A swarthy, stocky man of forty-seven, Signor Moravia speaks a somewhat rickety brand of English and speaks it every bit as fast as if it were his native tongue. The words come in lengthy bursts, followed by hard-breathing silences; then more bursts. This machine-gun-like delivery appears to present no difficulties to the great man but is apt to leave his American listeners a burst or two behind. We were occasionally in that fix ourself, and if any...