A chemist by training, Levy's inspiration for these 21 stories was the Periodic Table,
an element being the fulcrum of each. There is chemistry here, quite a lot, but so much more, as he traces the different periods of his life and those who he encountered from childhood in Fascist Italy to the Holocaust, Auschwitz and survival. Finally there is Carbon, which endlessly renews itself - surely a metaphor for Levi's own humanity and belief in life.
(Jenny Baker - bwl 79 Winter 2016 ) |
