The voice of memory : interviews 1961-1987 / Primo Levi ; edited by Marco Belpoliti and Robert Gordon ; translated by Robert Gordon

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Independent scholar Belpoliti and Gordon have translated and annotated 36 interviews, out of over 200, given by Primo Levi between 1961 and 1987. The editors contend that these interviews, many of them not previously available in English, provide readers with new insights into Levi's complex character. The interviews cover a variety of subjects, from mountaineering to reflections on Levi's visit to Auschwitz in 1982. Of particular interest to those who study the Holocaust are a 1961 set of questions and answers on the nature of anti-Semitism and the uniqueness of the Shoah. In this interview, Levi not only generalizes about anti-Semitism, he also reveals his sense of the motivations behind human behavior. The publication of this material will be welcomed by devotees of Levi's work, as well as scholars in general, for the material provides a wider perspective on Levi the man.