If Not Now, When?, The Periodic Table and The Magic Paint by Primo Levi
I’ve been on a Primo Levi roll for a couple of weeks, particularly his short stories. They’re tremendous.
If Not Now, When? I think this is his only full-length novel, and it is quite odd. You could almost read it as a straight-up thriller – good-hearted partisans marching around, sabotaging things, and having picaresque adventures. Then something terrible and brutal happens and it’s passed over in Levi’s terse, dispassionate style – so there’s a real depth of horror which somehow doesn’t touch the narrative. I also can’t say I expected the “free love” aspect, which is a bit disconcerting given the context.
The Periodic Table is terrific. The stories of Levi’s life told though intimate knowledge of the chemical elements. I haven’t read this for 20 years, and could still remember individual passages – Cerium and Vanadium are unforgettable in particular. I was struck by what degree chemistry, science and materiality in general was viewed as a weapon against fascism (obsessed with spirit, will etc).
The Magic Paint is more fictional short stories. Light-handed, strange and funny – modern gladiators fight cars in an arena, an office-worker’s poem grows legs and crawls away.