In this literary masterpiece, one of the twentieth century’s most significant writers reflects on his life before and after the Holocaust, merging the scientific and the humane into a profound “work of healing” (New York Times Book Review) • Fiftieth anniversary edition, with a new introduction by Rivka Galchen
As a youth, Primo Levi became fascinated by the laboratory, a site where the mysteries of the material world are unlocked and substances reveal their deepest truths. In this graceful, vital book—originally published in Italian in 1975—his passion for chemistry spans his extraordinary life story, with each chapter’s theme anchored in a different element of the periodic table. Beginning with his childhood in Italy’s Piedmontese Jewish community, Levi narrates his years as a student and fledgling scientist, before the descent of World War II, when he fought as an anti-fascist partisan until his arrest and transportation to Auschwitz. After surviving captivity, he returned to his work as a chemist and as a writer, striving in both realms to transmute matter into meaning. An artistic masterpiece of the highest order, The Periodic Table champions the power of friendship and curiosity to transcend times of tyranny and testifies to the fundamental interconnectedness of all the stuff of the universe—including us.
“I immersed myself in The Periodic Table gladly and gratefully. There is nothing superfluous here, everything this book contains is essential. It is wonderful pure, and beautifully translated…I was deeply impressed.” –Saul Bellow
“The best introduction to the psychological world of one of the most important and gifted writers of our time.”–Italo Calvino
“A work of healing, of tranquil, even buoyant imagination.” –The New York Times Book Review
“Brilliant, grave and oddly sunny; certainly a masterpiece.” –Los Angeles Times
“Every chapter is full of surprises, insights, high humor, and language that often rises to poetry.” –The New Yorker
“One of the most important Italian writers.” –Umberto Eco
In this literary masterpiece, one of the twentieth century’s most significant writers reflects on his life before and after the Holocaust, merging the scientific and the humane into a profound “work of healing” (New York Times Book Review) • Fiftieth anniversary edition, with a new introduction by Rivka Galchen
As a youth, Primo Levi became fascinated by the laboratory, a site where the mysteries of the material world are unlocked and substances reveal their deepest truths. In this graceful, vital book—originally published in Italian in 1975—his passion for chemistry spans his extraordinary life story, with each chapter’s theme anchored in a different element of the periodic table. Beginning with his childhood in Italy’s Piedmontese Jewish community, Levi narrates his years as a student and fledgling scientist, before the descent of World War II, when he fought as an anti-fascist partisan until his arrest and transportation to Auschwitz. After surviving captivity, he returned to his work as a chemist and as a writer, striving in both realms to transmute matter into meaning. An artistic masterpiece of the highest order, The Periodic Table champions the power of friendship and curiosity to transcend times of tyranny and testifies to the fundamental interconnectedness of all the stuff of the universe—including us.
Praise
“I immersed myself in The Periodic Table gladly and gratefully. There is nothing superfluous here, everything this book contains is essential. It is wonderful pure, and beautifully translated…I was deeply impressed.” –Saul Bellow
“The best introduction to the psychological world of one of the most important and gifted writers of our time.”–Italo Calvino
“A work of healing, of tranquil, even buoyant imagination.” –The New York Times Book Review
“Brilliant, grave and oddly sunny; certainly a masterpiece.” –Los Angeles Times
“Every chapter is full of surprises, insights, high humor, and language that often rises to poetry.” –The New Yorker
“One of the most important Italian writers.” –Umberto Eco
