Harrowing story of Auschwitz life and then liberation (If This Is a Man / The Truce - Primo Levi)

Member Name: madSEM

Product:	If This Is a Man / The Truce - Primo Levi
Date:	07/10/09 (30 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Survivor testimony so authentic and told with clinical honesty

Disadvantages: The horror and sadness of events can become hard to take

If This A Man is the story of Primo Levi, an Italian Jew who became incarcerated in Auschwitz. Levi provides possibly the calmest and most level headed account of Auschwitz and the Holocaust of any survivor testimony. His account is not fuelled with emotion and over exaggeration more he has sat down and meticulously told his story through pure fact.

The lack of emotion may stun some readers who find it hard to understand how Levi can relate the horrors he discloses without showing a hint of anger towards his Nazi perpetrators. However Levi himself has said that this novel is set out to assemble fact and he attempts to remain as impartial as he possibly can bearing in mind his involvement in events.

Levi was one of few survivors from Auschwitz therefore he has said that this book was something he had to do a necessity, to tell the world what happened and relay the horrific truth to everyone.

I couldn't do the 'plot' so to speak a justice in this review: in short what you get is a stark look at what the day to day life of an Auschwitz prisoner would be like. A truly eye opening experience for anyone.

The Truce which follows If This Is A Man is the story of Levi and his exhausted comrades liberation from Auschwitz which is not as straight forward or as fantastic as you would imagine. Many barriers lie in Levi's path to prevent him getting back to his native Italy.

Summary: Compulsory reading if your interested in the Holocaust or Auschwitz.