The Cambridge Companion to Primo Levi

Primo Levi (1919–1987) was the author of a rich body of work, including memoirs and reflections on Auschwitz, poetry, science fiction, historical fiction and essays. In particular, his lucid and direct accounts of his time at Auschwitz, begun immediately after liberation in 1945 and sustained until weeks before his suicide in 1987, has made him one of the most admired of all Holocaust writer-survivors and one of the best guides we have for the interrogation of that horrific event. But there is also more to Levi than the voice of the witness. He has increasingly come to be recognised as one of the major literary voices of the twentieth century. This Companion brings together leading specialists on Levi and scholars in the fields of Holocaust studies, Italian literature and language, and literature and science, to offer a stimulating introduction to all aspects of the work of this extraordinary writer.

Primo Levi has increasingly come to be recognised as one of the major literary voices of the twentieth century. This Companion brings together leading scholars to offer a stimulating introduction to all aspects of the work of this extraordinary writer.

Preface Robert S. C. Gordon; Chronology; Part I. Cultures: 1. Primo Levi's Turin David Ward; 2. Primo Levi and Jewish identity Nancy Harrowitz; Part II. The Holocaust: 3. From If This is a Man to The Drowned and the Saved Judith Woolf; 4. Primo Levi's Holocaust vocabularies Marco Belpoliti and Robert S. C. Gordon; 5. Appropriating Primo Levi Bryan Cheyette; Part III. Science: 6. Primo Levi and 'man as maker' Pierpaolo Antonello; 7. Primo Levi's science fiction Charlotte Ross; Part IV. Language and Literature: 8. Primo Levi's languages Anna Laura Lepschy and Giulio Lepschy; 9. Primo Levi's humour Mirna Cicioni; 10. Primo Levi and translation Zaia Alexander; 11. Primo Levi, the canon and Italian literature Jonathan Usher; Guide to further reading; Index.