Primo Levi: Tragedy of an Optimist

The landmark biography of the Italian writer and Holocaust survivor who helped shape our understanding of humanity.

Myriam Anissimov’s major biography of Primo Levi delves deeply into the life and mind of this controversial writer, philosopher, and Holocaust witness, exploring the complex nature of a man who was both a strong-spirited survivor and a sufferer of severe bouts of depression, a man who felt misunderstood. His experiences at Auschwitz resulted in some of this century’s most remarkable literature, which includes The Periodic Table and Survival at Auschwitz . He was haunted not only by his own experiences, but by the fear that future generations would inevitably forget and even deny the Holocaust. On April 11, 1987, Levi committed suicide, throwing himself down the staircase of the building where he was born.

By bringing Levi’s life into focus with material gathered from exhaustive research, interviews with his friends and relatives, and numerous unpublished texts and testimonies, Anissimov’s biography is an invaluable contribution to Holocaust scholarship and a crucial companion to the writings of this tortured genius.

“Myriam Anissimov’s biography of Primo Levi is masterfully evocative and will serve as a companion volume to his own books. It helps explain their depth and greatness.”– Elie Wiesel

“An important event. . . . a serious, lively, and at times fervently told story that is always sympathetic to Levi’s shy personality and restrained tone.”– front page, The New York Times Book Review