War by Luigi Pirandello
Biography: Luigi Pirandello, born in Sicily, Italy in 1867, was one of Italy's most famous playwrights and modern authors. He became interested in literature at a very young age and wrote his first play at the age of twelve. His father, however, enrolled him in a technical school but that changed almost instantly as he transferred to an academic secondary school to study oratory and literature. He did agree to marry his father's business partners' daughter, Antoinetta Portulano. He then earned his doctorate in Romance literature, married, and moved to Rome, where he began publishing his short stories and poems. In 1903, Pirandello suffered a terribly financial devastation as his family's sulfur mine was destroyed. Antoinetta suffered a mental breakdown and was institutionalized after battling mental illness for years. He then immersed himself in his writing to free from his troubles. Later on, he invented "grotesco", a form of theatrical expressionism that sacrifices realism in order to portray psychological experience. In his lifetime, many of Pirandello's works were considered controversial. His work is known for its atmosphere of mystery and tension, along with the questions he raises about the "fictions we create for ourselves". In 1934, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Luigi Pirandello's works are still strongly influencing playwrights and writers who explore life's ironies and paradoxes.

Summary: "War" by Luigi Pirandello is a short story about a couple whose son has been sent to war. They board a train to leave Rome, the departure spot for their sons and young men going off to war. The wife felt she was the only mother who grieved about her son leaving. All the passengers on this train have one or more loved ones on the front in the war. This couple, who boards the train last, has their one and only son in war. The