Primo Levi and the Identity of a Survivor / / Nancy Harrowitz.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter University of Toronto Press Complete eBook-Package 2016
• VerfasserIn: Harrowitz, Nancy,
• Place / Publishing House: Toronto : : University of Toronto Press, , [2018]; ©2016
• Year of Publication: 2018
• Language: English
• Series: Toronto Italian Studies
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (192 p.)

Primo Levi (1919–1987) was an Italian chemist, writer, and Holocaust survivor who used a combination of testimony, essays, and creative writing to explore crucial themes related to the Shoah. His voice is among the most important to emerge from this dark chapter in human history. In Primo Levi and the Identity of a Survivor, Nancy Harrowitz examines the complex role that Levi’s Jewish identity played in his choices of how to portray his survival, as well as in his exposition of topics such as bystander complicity. Her analysis uncovers a survivor’s shame that deeply influenced the personas he created to recount his experiences. Exploring a range of Levi’s works, including Survival at Auschwitz and lesser-known works of fiction and poetry, she illustrates key issues within his development as a writer. At the heart of Levi’s discourse, Harrowitz argues, lies a complex interplay of narrative modes that reveals his brilliance as a theorist of testimony.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Primo Levi And The Identity Of A Survivor -- Chapter One.Introduction -- Chapter Two.The Complications Of Jewish Identity -- Chapter Three.Primo Levi’S Writerly Identity: From Science To Storytelling -- Chapter Four.Against Autobiography -- Chapter Five.Shame’S Identity -- Chapter Six.Conclusion: Cautionary Tales: Early Poetry -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index