Argentine novelist and essayist, 1911-2011, author of El túnel, Sobre héroes y tumbas, Tres aproximaciones a la literatura de nuestro tiempo and other works
Fishburn and Hughes: "An Argentine scientist and writer, author of novels, such as The Tunnel (1948) and On Heroes and Tombs (1961), and of critical work such as Uno y el universo (1945) and Heterodoxia (1953). Sábato focuses on the condition of modern man, whose alienation often leads to despair. The psychological and philosophical concerns of his writings do not, however, detract from the depth of characterisation in his fiction. Sábato has always shown respect for Borges and interest in his work. When, at the annual literary competition of 1942, Borges failed to receive the first prize for his collection The Garden of Forking Paths Sábato was one of the twenty-one writers who protested and contributed to 'Reparation to Borges'. In 1968 he published Tres aproximaciones a la literatura de nuestro tiempo (Three Approximations to the Literature of Our Time) in which he wrote on three leading literary figures: Robbe-Grillet, Borges and Sartre." (172)