In 1943, Primo Levi, a twenty-five-year-old chemist and "Italian citizen of Jewish race," was arrested by Italian fascists and deported from his na...
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Dec 16, 2009
Sam
rated it: 
I will try not to overstate my feelings on this book.
I believe this is one of (if not THE) most important book ever written. Everyone should read this book. It details Levi's journey from his home in Turin to Buchenwald. It is absolutely beautifully written. Levi's style of writing is unlike any other I've read. It is detailed, incredibly intelligent, moving, poignant, and in some way almost detached from his experience, which makes reading about it all the more moving and pai More...
I believe this is one of (if not THE) most important book ever written. Everyone should read this book. It details Levi's journey from his home in Turin to Buchenwald. It is absolutely beautifully written. Levi's style of writing is unlike any other I've read. It is detailed, incredibly intelligent, moving, poignant, and in some way almost detached from his experience, which makes reading about it all the more moving and pai More...
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Oct 06, 2011
Rita
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Original title ''If This Is a Man'' [Se questo e un uomo:] 1958. Levi is deservedly famous for this book, which tells us how it was to be a prisoner in Auschwitz during the final year of the war. He somehow manages to relate the shockingly inhumane conditions the prisoners lived in without making the book uncomfortable to read.
In an interview with Philip Roth at the end of my edition of the book, he mentions that he did this deliberately, aided by the more than 10 years of ''space'' b More...
In an interview with Philip Roth at the end of my edition of the book, he mentions that he did this deliberately, aided by the more than 10 years of ''space'' b More...
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Sep 23, 2008
Melissa
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Primo Levi’s Survival in Auschwitz tells Levi’s true story of his experience in Auschwitz from December of 1943 until its “liberation.” I apologize, but having read Elie Wiesel’s Night a week ago, I’m compelled to look at Levi’s work in comparison to Wiesel’s, though hopefully without discrediting either.
Compared with Wiesel’s very emotional, introspective memoir, Levi’s story seems to be a much more intellectual examination of life in a concentration camp. Levi’s book almost reads m More...
Compared with Wiesel’s very emotional, introspective memoir, Levi’s story seems to be a much more intellectual examination of life in a concentration camp. Levi’s book almost reads m More...
Jan 14, 2011
Andre
rated it:
A life perspective changing book.
A classic and one of those must read books.
Portuguese version also deserves a 5 stars for th translator.
A classic and one of those must read books.
Portuguese version also deserves a 5 stars for th translator.
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Jan 01, 2012
C
rated it:
An alternate title of this is 'If This Is A Man' which is on the '1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die' list. That makes this one of the very few non-fiction books on the list. I don't know why they'd only include a couple. I think they should limit the list to fiction, but this one is very worthy of being on it anyway.
Primo Levi was a Jewish man living in Italy that was sent to Auschwitz. He says he writes things in order of urgency, the order details need to go on the page. But More...
Primo Levi was a Jewish man living in Italy that was sent to Auschwitz. He says he writes things in order of urgency, the order details need to go on the page. But More...
Oct 27, 2011
Julia
rated it:
No horror da Lager, Primo Levi encontra a humilhação, o cansaço, a fome, os prisioneiros que roubam uns dos outros, que se desumanizam, e também um operário que se arrisca para lhe dar sopa, amigos, crianças, pessoas que admira e que o espantam, pessoas que morrem de doenças banais. Levi não é ingênuo, vê tudo que lhe aconteceu e pergunta É Isso um Homem? Que não conhece paz, que luta por meio pão, que morre por um sim e por um não? E amaldiçoa as pessoas que não repetirem a história aos filhos.
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Sep 29, 2011
Stephen
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It seems a little odd on Goodreads, I didn't actually read this book in a day or so, I'd been reading it on and off for a while...it was only recently that I added it on here.
For those who don't know, this is a true story of the horrors witnessed by Primo Levi, an Italian Jew who was a prisoner of one of the German 'labour camps' in WW2.
It's honest, touching, and very well written...when you consider that it was written after his time in this hell. It was (obviously) forbidden for More...
For those who don't know, this is a true story of the horrors witnessed by Primo Levi, an Italian Jew who was a prisoner of one of the German 'labour camps' in WW2.
It's honest, touching, and very well written...when you consider that it was written after his time in this hell. It was (obviously) forbidden for More...
Aug 11, 2011
Fruity_spikey69
rated it:
Le malheur dans la Shoah ne sera jamais entièrement décrit même si certains peuvent penser le contraire. "Si, c'est un Homme" de Primo Lévi est un témoignage poignant, bouleversant d'un jeune homme juif italien qui est déporté à Auschwitz : la chance, la débrouillardise, la foi en lui-même qui lui crie sans cesse qu'il est bien resté un être humain, lui permettent de survivre. L'être humain justement a été anéanti dans le camp, il n'est plus qu'un numéro au sein du Lager voire même qu'
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Aug 01, 2011
Dave
rated it:
Levi's harrowing tale about the time he spent in the Buden Camp of the Auschwitz complex before being liberated by the Red Army (his book Reawakening tells the tale from the liberation to eventual return to Italy).
I know that Levi wrote down events while in the camp on precious scraps of paper and material. These scribblings were each destroyed soon after being created (if found Levi could have been executed as a spy--even ownership of your personal narrative was forbidden, evidently). He More...
I know that Levi wrote down events while in the camp on precious scraps of paper and material. These scribblings were each destroyed soon after being created (if found Levi could have been executed as a spy--even ownership of your personal narrative was forbidden, evidently). He More...
Jul 09, 2011
Jennifer
rated it:
First published in 1958, Survival in Auschwitz documents Primo Levi’s life from December 1943 until January 1945 focusing on his experiences as a prisoner in Auschwitz. In the work’s preface he suggests it “adds nothing to what is already known…on the disturbing question of the death camps.” (Levi 9) To explain his decision to write, Levi speaks poignantly of camp conditions. “The need to tell our story to ‘the rest’, to make ‘the rest’ participate in it, had taken on for us [the prisoners], the
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Aug 28, 2010
Agnes
rated it:
This was one of the most difficult books I've ever read. Not in it's word usage or general prose style, but reading about this man's experience in Auschwitz and knowing that it was real . . . I had a really hard time getting through it.
This was the story of Primo Levi, a man who lived in Auschwitz and managed to survive. As I was reading this, I kept thinking about how strange the human's want to survive is. If I were in his position, I am not sure that I would continue fighting. I'm More...
This was the story of Primo Levi, a man who lived in Auschwitz and managed to survive. As I was reading this, I kept thinking about how strange the human's want to survive is. If I were in his position, I am not sure that I would continue fighting. I'm More...
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Jan 11, 2010
Oscar
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As its title would suggest, Primo Levi’s text focuses on the story of his survival while living in one of the concentration camps at Auschwitz. While the subject is obviously difficult to read, Levi attempts to tell his story in a very direct and objective manner that discusses his experiences, his ongoing fear, and ultimately, his feelings of hopelessness. One of the scenes that stands out, for example, has Levi discussing that unlike some of the other camp members, he quickly stops caring for
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Sep 07, 2011
Susan
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Having long been fascinated by Primo Levi (and his disputed suicide years after his liberation from Auschwitz), I was drawn to "If This Is A Man." Read about him, as well as read "The Periodic Table" and interviews. This is an incredible book, published in 1959, I think, with his wife Lucia's help in editing. It does need more editing.
An Italian "half-Jew," Levi was deported to A. in 1944 and spent 10 or 11 months in the camp. He was 25, a trained chemist.
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An Italian "half-Jew," Levi was deported to A. in 1944 and spent 10 or 11 months in the camp. He was 25, a trained chemist.
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Jul 26, 2011
Panthère
rated it:
Quatrième de couverture
On est volontiers persuadé d'avoir lu beaucoup de choses à propos de l'holocauste, on est convaincu d'en savoir au moins autant. Et, convenons-en avec une sincérité égale au sentiment de la honte, quelquefois, devant l'accumulation, on a envie de crier grâce. C'est que l'on n'a pas encore entendu Levi analyser la nature complexe de l'état du malheur. Peu l'ont prouvé aussi bien que Levi, qui a l'air de nous retenir par les basques au bord du menaçant oubli : si la li More...
On est volontiers persuadé d'avoir lu beaucoup de choses à propos de l'holocauste, on est convaincu d'en savoir au moins autant. Et, convenons-en avec une sincérité égale au sentiment de la honte, quelquefois, devant l'accumulation, on a envie de crier grâce. C'est que l'on n'a pas encore entendu Levi analyser la nature complexe de l'état du malheur. Peu l'ont prouvé aussi bien que Levi, qui a l'air de nous retenir par les basques au bord du menaçant oubli : si la li More...
Dec 15, 2008
DebbieK
rated it:
Searing account of life in Monowitz, aka Auschwitz III. What makes this book remarkable is not so much the style—though much of the description is, indeed, beautifully crafted—but the sheer will it must have taken to write it. Most survivors, at least most that I'm aware of, could only cope by refusing to talk about their experiences.
Still, some topics seem too painful to broach, even for Levi. Not only does he omit his family, he also, as much as possible, excludes himself from t More...
Still, some topics seem too painful to broach, even for Levi. Not only does he omit his family, he also, as much as possible, excludes himself from t More...
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Feb 12, 2011
Meredith
rated it: 
Survival in Auschwitz is the painful memoir written by the Italian chemist Primo Levi who, after being on the lam as a result of Italy's racial purity laws during World War II, was caught and sent to the subcamp Monowitz-Buna in 1944.
Levi's description of life in the camps is gritty than Elie Wiesel's depiction in Night and intellectual rather than poetic. Oddly enough, Levi begins by being thankful that he only in the concentration camps for a single year, that the year of More...
Feb 06, 2012
Eric
rated it:
This was an interesting book to read because of the fact that this is a factual account of one Holocaust survivors account of living in a concentration camp. For the majority of the book it was hard to read what Levi had to say was his reality because it was so harsh, but that was the reality of this existence. The most interesting part of the book for me was when he started mentioning several people that were in the camp with him. It was adding these people that were there with him that added t
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Jan 16, 2012
I find the book to be more informative than sentimental. It's also a slow read being that it feels like it's coming from an observer rather than someone living in the camp.
I do appreciate it for what it is, though, since I didn't know much about the bartering system and how complex it really was. I also didn't know that there were coupons in existence or that others (not the jews) bartered for sex. I apologize if I misunderstood that part about the book discussing the new Polish girls More...
I do appreciate it for what it is, though, since I didn't know much about the bartering system and how complex it really was. I also didn't know that there were coupons in existence or that others (not the jews) bartered for sex. I apologize if I misunderstood that part about the book discussing the new Polish girls More...
Mar 19, 2011
Geoffrey
rated it:
Este pequeño libre merece sobradamente su inmensa fama, como testimonio a la vez objetiva y apasionada de una de las más terribles experiencias del s. XX: el intento del régimen nazi de exterminar todos los judios y de negar la humanidad de todos los que no eran de su supuesta raza superior. Levi, judio italiano de 24 años y recién doctorado en química cuando lo arrestaron y transportaron a Auschwitz, sí conservó su sentido de su propia humanidad, analizando como el científico que era las condic
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Nov 06, 2009
Ankur
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Rene Descartes’s influence on this book is undeniable. Descartes’s skepticist ideas served as his vehicle for arriving at the epistemological truth of reality, a foundation from which to construct the world. Aristotelian proofs, he felt, were flimsy given certain conditions; he wanted to arrive at the deepest possible point, which reduced to the I. I imagine that Levi set out to go one step further, to give the theory flesh, that is, to breath life, death, and history into Descartes’s logic.
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Dec 17, 2009
Jenni
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I've read all of his memoirs, and they're all really good, but this one was the most absorbing. It's not just the subject matter, it's how he tells it, his insights into human behavior are incredibly scientific and on the mark. Survival in this place was more dumb luck than anything else, but there were definitely some personality traits that could help -- mostly the ones we associate with evil.
May 03, 2011
JG (The Introverted Reader)
rated it:
Primo Levi was a young Jewish man living in Turin, Italy when he was arrested and sent to Auschwitz. Due to a combination of luck and calculation, he survived.
I truly, truly hate to give any Holocaust memoir less than five stars. They are all important and they should all be read.
That said.
Somehow I never got drawn into this book. It took me two weeks to read a book that is 190 pages long. Crazy, right? I can't put my finger on what my problem was. Bear with More...
I truly, truly hate to give any Holocaust memoir less than five stars. They are all important and they should all be read.
That said.
Somehow I never got drawn into this book. It took me two weeks to read a book that is 190 pages long. Crazy, right? I can't put my finger on what my problem was. Bear with More...
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Feb 26, 2011
Kim
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"It was my good fortune to be deported to Auschwitz only in 1944, that is, after the German Government had decided, owing to the growing scarity of labor, to lengthen the average lifespan of the prisoners destined for elimination; it conceded noticeable improvements in the camp routine and temporarily suspended killings at the whim of individuals."
This is how Primo Levi -- Italian Jew and chemist -- begins his autobiographical account of life in Auschwitz. He spent one year More...
This is how Primo Levi -- Italian Jew and chemist -- begins his autobiographical account of life in Auschwitz. He spent one year More...
Dec 30, 2008
Maggie
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This wonderfully written and very cerebral memoir is often essentially told from two points of view — the victim and the persecutor. Levi does an excellent job of making us both see and feel both sides.
In the other Holocaust memoirs I’ve read each has related the daily struggle for food as part of their survival, but none has made it so apparent as this book. Levi devotes many, many pages to explain why food was the prisoner's consuming thought. After reading it I think I truly und More...
In the other Holocaust memoirs I’ve read each has related the daily struggle for food as part of their survival, but none has made it so apparent as this book. Levi devotes many, many pages to explain why food was the prisoner's consuming thought. After reading it I think I truly und More...
Jun 03, 2009
Chelsea
rated it:
I read this in my European History class in college, and it was very striking because it's an account of what life was like in Auschwitz from someone who actually survived. It's truly horrifying to see what people can do to fellow human beings, but also somewhat inspiring to see how strong we are as individuals and what human nature can overcome. The truly sad part is that even though Levi "survived" his ordeal in the concentration camp, his spirit couldn't rebound from all he had expe
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Sep 21, 2011
Kelsey
rated it:
First off, I must point out that I think it is very difficult to rate someone's personal and emotional account of an event in their life, and even more so when it was a tragedy like the holocaust. That being said, I of course rated the novel five stars, because it is not only a completely true account but it was also written brilliantly. I had the chance before I read this book to read "Man's Search for Meaning", which is another book about the experiences of a survivor of a concentr
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Jul 07, 2009
Sam
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I don't know where to start with this book. It was incredible, Primo just tells his story from his capture through his time at Auschwitz and his eventual freedom in a simple matter of fact prose with no apologies for things either himself or others done and without judging the guards and the so called 'better' prisoners for the way they were.
Primo begins with his capture and journey to the camp in in the first chapter you are hit with the loss of over 500 people upon arrival at th More...
Primo begins with his capture and journey to the camp in in the first chapter you are hit with the loss of over 500 people upon arrival at th More...
Jan 27, 2011
Jocelyn
rated it:
I wish the American publisher had kept the original Italian title, If This Is a Man. In seventeen elegant essays, Levi shows how he and his fellow prisoners do and do not retain some sense of their humanity after being uprooted from their families and their communities; after being robbed of their livelihoods, their possessions, their clothing, their hair, and their names; after being jam-packed into a camp run largely by sadists who spoke a foreign language, where they were essentially enslaved
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May 29, 2009
Adrian
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This book is one of the without-which-nothings of How to Make Love to Adrian Colesberry. I don't read much while I write, but I read this between manuscript versions and it so re-inspired me. The historical reality of this story is the tragic one we all know. But Levi (who I just learned committed suicide a couple of years ago, which is kind of depressing) takes his story of survival and makes it into the most potent analogy for life and humanity I have ever read. It is hilarious and touching an
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Nov 29, 2011
Adriana
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I deeply believe that no one can finish this book and leave unscathed. Primo Levi's one year experience in Auschwitz is one of those tales of survival that puts in perspective everything in your life; every notion of discomfort and pain, and every thought on humanity.
On "If This is a Man" Levi describes the process that took away from him every preconcieved notion of what it meant to be a human in the XX century, and made him a faceless, hopeless slave that saw death at the More...
On "If This is a Man" Levi describes the process that took away from him every preconcieved notion of what it meant to be a human in the XX century, and made him a faceless, hopeless slave that saw death at the More...
