It took decades for the world to recognise the important genius of Primo Levi‘s Holocaust memoir, If This is a Man. Written in 1947, it wasn’t translated into English until 1959. Over the next 25 years, its place was eventually cemented in the pantheon of important Holocaust accounts. Thus recognised, it was only natural that the Folio Society would publish an edition; and that they did in 2000.
Presented in a plain paper-covered slipcase, the book itself is bound in blue cloth and blocked with a wrap-around design of a somewhat abstract barbed-wire motif and the silhouette of an emaciated internee. The spine is boldly blocked in Helvetica with the author’s name and title. Everything is printed on 234 pages of of Lessebo paper held together in a sewn binding with blue and white end bands. This paper is bright white, smooth, and has decent if not exceptional weight and opacity. The book’s end papers are powder blue. Rounding out the design, the text is set in Minion with Helvetica chapter titles. Each page has a running head with the book’s and chapter’s title.
The book has been illustrated with etchings by Jane Joseph. There’ something primeval about these etchings, photographically reproduced to reveal all of the texture and imperfections of the plates. The images themselves also have a frantic quality that, were they not modern illustrations, could easily have reflected a hastily made drawing from within the camp. They are printed full page, but with generous white borders.
In his own terms, Levi casts himself in the role of witness rather than judge. That means he writes only of things he saw or was aware of during his internment at Monowitz, and do so in a detached, objective fashion. One might expect the impact of the book to be diminished for want of emotionally charged invective. On the contrary, Levi’s dry account of the every day privations and indignities of camp life is rendered all the more powerful by its relentless empiricism. It’s no exaggeration to say this is one of those rare books that can keep me awake at night. In fact, I’d go so far as to say it is the most affecting book I have ever read. It feels important and, as we approach the time when no soul survives who can tell us of their Holocaust experience, I think this importance will only increase.
Besides Levi’s text, we have an introduction by Frederic Raphael that deserves commendation for the skill with which it places If This is a Man within the wider context of Italian Holocaust memoirs. The book ends with an afterword by Levi in which the author answers readers’ frequently asked questions. It also serves to illustrate the magnanimous reflexivity that informed Levi’s writing and thinking.
In 1963 Levi wrote a sequel, The Truce, in which he described the nine-month journey from Monowitz back to his native Italy. It was published by the Folio Society in 2002, in series with If This is a Man. At the time of writing, the books appear to be widely available on the secondary market at low prices. My copy cost less than £10. For now, I would warmly comment If This is a Man to anyone wishing to enrich their understanding of one of recent history’s most outrageous and moving tragedies. ■
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Miscellaneous
Levi’s two Holocaust memoirs were reviewed in Slightly Foxed, issue 43.
Here’s a photograph of Primo Levi, and a link to his Wikipedia page:
The Ubiquitous Book blog 
