Primo Levi
1986
Around 205 pages
Reading Primo Levi involves confronting the very worst that humanity has to offer. So it's not an enjoyable experience, but it is an unforgettable one.
This is a collection of essays on Nazi extermination camps, based on Levi's own experience. He addresses some of his most frequently asked questions as an Auschwitz survivor, presents real letters he have received from Germans in reaction to his writings, questions whether something like the Holocaust could happen again, and examines how the average human being could participate in something so evil.
No words can express what Levi went through, but he is an incredibly moving writer who describes things I wish I didn't know about. And when he was describing his survivor's guilt, my heart hurt. For me, there wasn't a whole lot of inspirational underpinnings about the human spirit in this one, but it's not his job to try to coddle his reader.
Not a book that you can put down and easily walk away from. I can't say I'm glad I read it, but of course it deserves its five stars.
RATING: *****
Interesting Facts:
Interesting Facts:
Written a year before Levi's death.
UP NEXT: Foe by J.M. Coetzee
UP NEXT: Foe by J.M. Coetzee
1 comment:
I am glad that you wrote this review so I know not to read this book. I don't need anymore terrible images in my head. However, I am glad the reality is written down.
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