The Cambridge Companion to Primo Levi (Cambridge Companions to Literature)

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 Contents......Page 6 Notes on contributors......Page 8 Acknowledgements......Page 10 References and quotations......Page 11 Chronology......Page 13 Introduction......Page 18 1 Primo Levi’s Turin......Page 24 2 Primo Levi’s Jewish identity......Page 38 3 From If This is a Man to The Drowned and the Saved......Page 54 4 Primo Levi’s Holocaust vocabularies......Page 70 5 Appropriating Primo Levi......Page 86 6 Primo Levi and ‘man as maker’......Page 106 7 Primo Levi’s science-fiction......Page 122 8 Primo Levi’s languages......Page 136 9 Primo Levi’s humour......Page 152 10 Primo Levi and translation......Page 170 11 Primo Levi, the canon and Italian literature......Page 186 Guide to further reading......Page 204 Index of references to works by Primo Levi......Page 215 General index......Page 218 Introduction / Robert S.C. Gordon. Pt. I. Cultures. Primo Levi's Turin / David Ward Primo Levi's Jewish identity / Nancy Harrowitz. Pt. II. The Holocaust. From If this is a man to The drowned and the saved / Judith Woolf Primo Levi's Holocaust vocabularies / Marco Belpoliti and Robert S.C. Gordon Appropriating Primo Levi / Bryan Cheyette. Pt. III. Science. Primo Levi and 'man as maker' / Pierpaolo Antonello Primo Levi's science-fiction / Charlotte Ross. Pt. IV. Language and literature. Primo Levi's lanaguage / Anna Laura Lepschy and Giulio Lepschy Primo Levi's humour / Mirna Cicioni Primo Levi and translation / Zaia Alexander Primo Levi, the canon and Italian literature / Jonathan Usher.

Primo Levi, one of the most admired of Holocaust writers and survivors, was the author of a rich body of work, including memoirs and reflections on Auschwitz and also poetry, science fiction, historical fiction and a wide range of essays. This Companion brings together leading specialists and young scholars in the fields of Holocaust studies, Italian literature and language, and literature and science, to offer an accessible introduction to the work of this major writer of the twentieth century.

"This edited work offers a stimulating overview of the works, life and times of this important 20th century writer. Aimed at readers of Levi in both English and Italian, the book also includes a comprehensive bibliography of Levi's work and its translations into English."--[Source inconnue]

a Stimulating Overview Of The Works, Life And Times Of This Important Twentieth-century Writer.