Description
Book SynopsisIn A Centaur in Auschwitz, Massimo Giuliani sheds new light on Primo Levi''s rational, demythologizing approach to suffering and survival. Whether working in narrative or poetic form, Levi grappled with the ambiguities and complexities of innocence and guilt, triumph and loss. Giuliani presents a powerful new means to understand Levi''s thought: employing the neologism of salvaction (conveying ''salvation'' through one''s own ''action''), Giuliani has developed a ''star of salvaction''a diagram in the shape of a star of David, in which each of the six points leads to a strategy Levi learned for seeking meaning, and thereby salvation, in the misery of Auschwitz. This unique book, with its concise overview of Levi''s expression and development as a writer, reveals Primo Levi for what he was: scientist, intellectual, Jew, and dedicated seeker of the roots of human dignity.
Trade ReviewThis is a small gem of a book. Giuliani renders a complex portrait of Levi’s thought and demonstrates how we can live in a world after Auschwitz. -- Stanislao Pugliese, Hofstra University
What this profound little work however makes abundantly clear is that the literary testament and example of witnessing [Primo Levi] left behind should continue to interest and edify mankind for many generations to come. * H-Judaic *
Recommended. * CHOICE *
A sensitive and deeply humane account of Levi in all his complexity. -- David Kaufmann, George Mason University
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Primo Levi in America Chapter 2 An Intellectual Autobiography: The Periodic Table as the Gateway to Understanding Primo Levi Chapter 3 Reactions: Primo Levi's Chemistry and His Fascist Education Chapter 4 "I Am a Centaur": Primo Levi's Self-Portrait Chapter 5 Number 174517: Understanding and the Conflict of Virtue Chapter 6 "More by Chance than by Virtue": The Role of Luck in Levi's Weltanschauung Chapter 7 The Star of Salvaction: The Meaning of "Being Saved" Chapter 8 Levi's Cultural Judaism: A Religion of Conscience and Freedom Chapter 9 "Consider that this has been": Primo Levi as a Poet Chapter 10 In the Ocean of Literature: The Naturalistic-Encyclopedic Style of Levi's Narrative Chapter 11 Outside of the Circle Chapter 12 Bibliography
