Biography
Tondelli developed an early interest in reading as an adolescent, reading what one might normally expect from a young adult male -- ''Treasure Island'', ''Journey to the Center of the Earth'', and various Westerns. As Tondelli grew older, his reading tastes would develop and in 1974 he began to write his first narratives, saying: "I have always written, starting at 16 years of age with the usual story about adolescent frustrations".Tondelli, Pier Vittorio, and Fulvio Panzeri. ''Opere: romanzi, teatro, racconti''. Classici Bompiani. Milano: Bompiani, 2000: xxxiv These adolescent frustrations are conflicts between Tondelli's religiosity, his desire to express his artistry, and his homosexual desires as well as a change in Tondelli's belief system, in which he writes: "I find it vulgar to pray to God side by side with people for whom God is different from my God."Tondelli, Pier Vittorio, and Fulvio Panzeri. ''Opere: romanzi, teatro, racconti''. Classici Bompiani. Milano: Bompiani, 2000: xxxv Tondelli developed a jealousy towards God, who he describes as unique to himself, developing a ''mysticism'' all of his own but admitted to losing something as his belief system matured. Tondelli took his high school exams in 1974 and then enrolled at the University of Bologna's DAMS (Discipline Arte Musica e Spettacolo) where he took courses with Umberto Eco and Gianni Celati, two of Italy's most celebrated writers and academics. In 1979, he sent a manuscript to Aldo Tagliaferri. Tondelli credits Tagliaferri with teaching and guiding him in his writing, reinforcing upon the young author the necessity of re-writing one's work. A year later in January 1980, '' Altri Libertini'' was published, and, the following month, Tondelli graduated from the University of Bologna. In April 1980, Tondelli was called up for military service, a requirement for Italian men at the time, stationed at Orvieto and then in Rome. Tondelli's military service provided him with the necessary experience to write two works: ''Il diario del soldato Acci'' and ''Pao Pao''.Works by Tondelli
Many of Tondelli's works have been published by Bompiani in a two-volume set. Volume 1 contains his novels and short stories, and Volume 2 contains more stories, essays, conversations and miscellaneous writings. Volume 1 includes an introduction and chronology by Fulvio Panzeri: ''Opere''. Milano: Bompiani, 2000. . Volume 2 contains an extensive bibliography of Tondelli's writings and writings on/about Tondelli, his works, etc. Many of his works can also be purchased individually as well. *'' Altri Libertini'' (1980) *'' Il Diario Del Soldato Acci'' (1981) *''Criticism and interpretation
Although most of the criticism of Tondelli is in Italian, some well-researched monographs have been published in English.In English
* Baranski, Zygmunt G. and Lino Pertile. ''The New Italian Novel''. Writers of Italy. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1993. * Duncan, Derek. ''Reading and Writing Italian Homosexuality: A Case of Possible Difference''. Aldershot, Hampshire, England: Ashgate, 2006. * Pallotta, Augustus. ''Italian Novelists Since World War II, 1965-1995.'' Dictionary of literary biography, v. 196. Detroit, Mich: Gale Research, 1998.In Italian
* Elena Buia. ''Verso casa : viaggio nella narrativa di Pier Vittorio Tondelli'', 2000. * Viller Masoni, and Fulvio Panzeri. ''Studi per Tondelli: le tesi di laurea e i saggi critici del Premio Tondelli 2001.'' Parma: Monte Università Parma, 2002. * Elisabetta Mondello. ''In principio fu Tondelli: letteratura, merci, televisione nella narrativa degli anni Novanta''. Cultura, 601. Milano: Il saggiatore, 2007. *Footnotes
External links