His works
"Woe to the one who lives: the veil is the worst of sufferings."
Primo Levi
If it’s a man
Presentation of the work
Why did Primo Levi write it?
- First of all, because it is vital for him: he could not 'survive' without telling, as if to relieve himself. As he says to me: "It is above all to meet such a need that I wrote my book, it is above all with a view to an international liberation" (face pr.)
- On the other hand, he is a common dream at the port s, that of his return home: he sees himself telling his loved ones about the suffering experienced, but no one seems to pay for it.
- Finally, for what he calls the "duty of memory". Primo Levi is not a worthy fight against racism and non-gationism. He wishes that future generations will know the existence of the Shoah, so that it may never be forgotten.
This work is based on the desire to show how man can be a shumanis, quasi-bestialis by concentration hell. What we find elsewhere in the title: in Italian, Se questo un uomo. Indeed, the use of "questo", which translates as "a", is related to the fact that port s were reduced to the rank of "things". Moreover, this id is found in the po me that introduces If it’s a man (see home page), o Primo Levi asks the reader to judge if it is indeed a man that he is talking about. The entire work will therefore resemble a proc s.
The Tr ve
The second book on portation
After the extermination camp, Primo Levi wrote his second book on the liberation of Auschwitz by the Arm e Rouge, and his odyssey and Kafka-esque in the universe sovi tique.
His mock is direct, telling his own story without judgment, never in a touching or romantic tone, but rather like a scientific analysis. The characters he meets will be victims of the 'grey zone', this h sitation between signing and the struggle for life, this shame proven in the face of their experience that will allow them to break the silence. Between his release and his return to Italy, he wrote the name of his unique adventure that he wanted to share.
It is noted that there is a film adaptation of The Tr ve, which is a film by Rosi and bears the same title. We couldn’t get it.
The Naufrag s and the Rescap s
The latest book by Primo Levi
This work is considered as a deepening (in relation to the mental evolution of Primo Levi: his vision on his experience, with hindsight) of If it’s a man : crite 40 years later, this work is darker, more pessimistic. Primo Levi does not content himself with telling his story, but asks questions, and responds in an effective way, particularly about the Nazi psyche and its functioning. Probably inspired by encounters and therefore questions, this book is 'moral' in the sense that its author invites r chir, and warns for the future.