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Primo Levi's account of life as a concentration camp prisoner falls into two parts. IF THIS IS A MAN describes his deportation to Poland and the twenty months he spend working in Auschwitz. THE TRUCE covers his long journey to Italy at the end of the war through Russia and Central Europe. Levi never raises his voice, complains or attributes blame. By telling his story quietly, objectively and in plain language he renders both the horror and the hope of the situation with absolute clarity. Probing the themes which preoccupy all his writing - work love, power, the nature of things, what it is to be human - he leaves the reader drained, elated, apprehensive.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I agree with the other reviews, this book is wonderful. I particularly enjoyed The Truce, as it showed the immediate aftermath of the war, a time in recent history that I knew nothing about.
I bought this version after reading the adverse comments on the translation in the paperback. This translation is very good. I haven't read the original in Italian, but the clear language and simple style of this version work very well to witness the extraordinary events, as I'm sure Primo Levi intended.
I bought this version after reading the adverse comments on the translation in the paperback. This translation is very good. I haven't read the original in Italian, but the clear language and simple style of this version work very well to witness the extraordinary events, as I'm sure Primo Levi intended.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The book is a compilation of two books, initially published separately, namely "If this is a man" and "The truce". The first book is an autobiographical account of the approximately 11 months he spent at a concentration camp in Auschwitz. The second book is an account of his long journey home, administered by the russians, which takes him on several detours around Russia and Europe before returning to his home in Turin, Italy.
In "If this is a man", Levi describes the conditions at Auschwitz, right from his arrival, at which point he has no idea what a concentration camp is, let alone that such things exist, until his departure 11 months later by the hands of the russians. The conditions are, obviously, horrendous. Levi describes this unemotionally and soberly, and the lack of hyperbole makes the account all the more eerie and unpleasant. The most notable property of the account is his description of the effect of the camp on himself and his fellow prisoners. He analyzes what traits make people liable to die quickly, what traits make people liable to degenerate to animals, and what traits make it possible for people to survive Auschwitz without losing their humanity. In this sense, Levi turns the story of Auschwitz into a profound parable of the basest and the noblest in human nature.
The second book, "The truce", describes Levi's journey home. The conditions are not as dire as those encountered in the camp. What makes the book very interesting is the description of the breakdown of society after the war. The russian administration appears to have very little coordination as regards their transportation of the concentration camp victims. The small societies which Levi and his companions pass through are often ravaged by war and abandoned. This makes the book a very frightening story of what happens when society ceases to exist and anarchy is allowed to reign. Levi also meets some very colorful individuals along the way, which in themselves are interesting to observe.
Both books are well written. They are some of the most emotionally touching books I have read in a long time. I highly recommend them to anyone.
In "If this is a man", Levi describes the conditions at Auschwitz, right from his arrival, at which point he has no idea what a concentration camp is, let alone that such things exist, until his departure 11 months later by the hands of the russians. The conditions are, obviously, horrendous. Levi describes this unemotionally and soberly, and the lack of hyperbole makes the account all the more eerie and unpleasant. The most notable property of the account is his description of the effect of the camp on himself and his fellow prisoners. He analyzes what traits make people liable to die quickly, what traits make people liable to degenerate to animals, and what traits make it possible for people to survive Auschwitz without losing their humanity. In this sense, Levi turns the story of Auschwitz into a profound parable of the basest and the noblest in human nature.
The second book, "The truce", describes Levi's journey home. The conditions are not as dire as those encountered in the camp. What makes the book very interesting is the description of the breakdown of society after the war. The russian administration appears to have very little coordination as regards their transportation of the concentration camp victims. The small societies which Levi and his companions pass through are often ravaged by war and abandoned. This makes the book a very frightening story of what happens when society ceases to exist and anarchy is allowed to reign. Levi also meets some very colorful individuals along the way, which in themselves are interesting to observe.
Both books are well written. They are some of the most emotionally touching books I have read in a long time. I highly recommend them to anyone.
18 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Primo Levi's book is an eyewitness account of what went on not just within the fences of Auscwitz but within the minds and hearts of the human beings trapped inside. The author tells a story with its characters and settings but most of all he shows how even in the suffering that was the order of the day in the camp, he keeps his human dignity and does not resort to any kind of retribution. Primo Levi's great lesson is that what the Jews went through in the camp teaches us that one can destroy the body but not the spirit of man. Levi's simplicty of narration and language are disarmingly effective in conveying this profound message. His experience of suffering was a purification and this is perhaps the greatest merit of the book: how man can overcome his oppressor's injustice by an intimate revolution of dignity.I would recommend this book to the younger generations of all countries. My own country, Malta was not directly hit by the Holocaust because we were within the Allies camp but I am sure that there is a lesson for everyone from this little great book.
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