1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910822805303321

Autore

Harrowitz Nancy A (Nancy Anne), <1952->

Titolo

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

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Toronto : , : University of Toronto Press, , [2018]

©2016

ISBN

1-4875-1229-5

1-4875-1228-7

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (190 pages)

Collana

Toronto Italian Studies

Classificazione

IV 31881

Disciplina

853.914

Soggetti

Autobiography

Holocaust survivors in literature

Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945), in literature

Jews - Identity

Judenvernichtung

LITERARY CRITICISM / European / Italian

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Introduction --The complications of Jewish identity -- Primo Levi's writerly identity: from science to storytelling -- Against autobiography -- Shame's identity -- Conclusion: cautionary tales: early poetry.

Sommario/riassunto

"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."--

In Primo Levi and the Identity of a Survivor, Nancy Harrowitz examines the complex role that Levi's cultural identity played in his choices of how to portray his survival, as well as his exposition of topics such as bystander complicity.