Primo Levi : Tragedy of an optimist
/ Myriam Anissimov ; translated by Steve Cox
- New York : Overlook Press , 1999.
- x, 452 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 417-440) and index.
Levi, an Italian Jew, lived a ghastly year in Auschwitz. Liberated by the Russians, he roved through Europe before returning home, where he resumed his career as a chemist. Determined to bear witness to his harrowing experiences, he recounted them ceaselessly and wrote an agonizing account of his ordeal. Initially greeted with indifference, If This Is a Man was reissued 12 years later in 1958, this time reaching a broad audience. Prize-winning and widely translated books and articles followed. But Levi's growing international recognition gave him no comfort. He continued to struggle with his guilt and shame for having survived, and he was devastated by the Holocaust deniers. Finally, he committed suicide. Elie Wiesel said, "Primo Levi died at Auschwitz 40 years later." This biography tells Levi's tragic story largely through his writing.