Product Description

Primo Levi was among the greatest witnesses to twentieth-century atrocity. In this gripping novel, based on a true story, he reveals the extraordinary lives of the Russian, Polish and Jewish partisans trapped behind enemy lines during the Second World War. Wracked by fear, hunger and fierce rivalries, they link up, fall apart, struggle to stay alive and to sabotage the efforts of the all-powerful German army. A compelling tale of action, resistance and epic adventure, it also reveals Levi's characteristic compassion and deep insight into the moral dilemmas of total war. It ranks alongside "The Period Table" and "If This is a Man" as one of the rare authentic masterpieces of our times.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #342245 in Books
• Published on: 1995-07-01
• Original language: Italian
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Language Notes
Text: English, Italian (translation)

About the Author
Writer Primo Levi (1919-1987), an Italian Jew, did not come to the wide attention of the English-reading audience until the last years of his life. A survivor of the Holocaust and imprisonment in Auschwitz, Levi is considered to be one of the century's most compelling voices, and THE PERIODIC TABLE is his most famous book. Levi is also the author of the forthcoming Modern Classics: MOMENTS OF REPRIEVE.

Customer Reviews

Gripping tale of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstan
This fictional account of Jewish partisans fighting their way through war ravaged eastern Europe is incredibly moving. The characters are so realistically human in their reactions to the chaotic conditions that they encounter. The book explores a chapter of WWII history that is not very well known and does so from the perspectives of ordinary people caught up in the swirling events and joined together by a desire to survive as well as by a common hatred of the Nazis. There is an incredible life affirming wedding scene in the midst of countless grim episodes that demonstrates the human capacity of endurance. The translation is excellent and the narrative is crisp and fast moving. One of the best literary works dealing with the European war.Unforgettable!.

A great story .. sad, moving and very human!
Primo Levi, from what I know was a very gifted and sensitive man. Levi never forgave himself for surviving the holocaust, he felt guilty because his own life was spared, eventually he committed suicide. A very little known fact of World War II, was the work of the Jewish Resistance. Millions of European Jews perished in the holocaust, some managed to get away, a few managed to hide, and there also were the Jewish Partisans; those who fought. If not now .. when? is an absolutely beautiful story of those souls who fought the oppression. This is not a graphic book of the suffering of the holocaust; this is a great novel about a group of people who in spite of all the suffering keep moving forward. They do hold it together, they make friends, love, sing, and cry, celebrate and mourn. This is not a war glory story, it is a people story, and how they changed and adapted, how they kept going. Yes, the overused expression of "triumph of the human spirit" so appropriately describes the theme of the book, but not always; Levi was realistic enough to see to that. I was profoundly touched by this book and thoroughly enjoyed it as a non-Jew. However, I never saw this book as a journey to Palestine, as suggested by some. These were people rising up to fight injustice and to stay alive, they largely moved aimlessly. To interpret this book as a part of the Zionist ovement would in my opinion be wrong. This is translated book, it is excellent in English, and it must have been even better in Italian. I wish I could read it in its original language.

A must read
While the book isn't a true story, the characters are based on real people Primo Levi met during the holocaust. It surprises, inspires and humbles the reader to know that humanity can exist in the midst of such horrible chaos.

I liked the fact that there is not happily ever after, that the characters must fight to produce their own future. But, it is good to know that along their journey, they met many who would help them.

Primo Levi is a wonderful writer. He stays true to character, winds the subplots into the main plot without jerky interruptions and allows the characters to be real, not stereotypes.