The following year he made his literary debut with the novel Sei stato felice, Giovanni (1952), published by Einaudi.
He won the Strega Prize in 1964 with L'ombra delle colline, the Premio Campiello of 1972 with Randagio è l'eroe, and the 1980 SuperCampiello with Il fratello italiano.
His novel Un delitto d'onore was adapted for film as Pietro Germi’s highly regarded 1962 comedy Divorce, Italian Style, starring Marcello Mastroianni.
American Martin Brest directed the English-language Scent of a Woman (1992), which earned Al Pacino an Academy Award for Best Actor.
His birthplace of Bra has celebrated his links to that town by establishing a multifunctional cultural centre and a prize for children's literature.