Primo Levi: The Tragedy of an Optimist

Until now, the world's representation of Primo Levi came almost entirely through his own writings. His public self - shy, intelligent, diffident - in some respects disguised the man within. This first biography delves deeply into the life and mind of a controversial writer, one who was really a philosophical student of life itself. Primo Levi explores the complex nature of a man who was both a strong and spirited survivor as well as a man prone to severe depression, a man who felt misunderstood and certain that future generations would forget and deny what many would call the central informing disaster of the century. By bringing Levi's life into focus with material gathered from extensive research, interviews with friends and relatives, and numerous unpublished texts and testimonies, Myriam Anissimov has written not only the first biography of this major figure, but also a guide to Levi's works and times, which, even decades later, we must always call our times.