Description

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“In Levi’s writing, nothing is superfluous and everything is essential.” —Saul Bellow

A Penguin Classic

In the final days of World War II, a courageous band of Jewish partisans makes its way from Russia to Italy, moving toward the ultimate goal of Palestine. Based on a true story, If Not Now, When? chronicles their adventures as they wage a personal war of revenge against the Nazis: blowing up trains, rescuing the last victims of concentration camps, scoring victories in the face of unspeakable devastation. Primo Levi captures the landscape and the people of Eastern Europe in vivid detail, depicting as well the terrible bleakness of war-ridden Europe. But finally, what he gives us is a tribute to the strength and ingenuity of the human spirit.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,800 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

About the Author

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Primo Levi (1919–1987), an Italian Jew, did not come to the wide attention of the English-reading audience until the last years of his life. A survivor of the Holocaust and imprisonment in Auschwitz, Levi is considered to be one of the century’s most compelling voices. His books include Survival in Auschwitz, The Reawakening, The Periodic Table, and Moments of Reprieve.

William Weaver (translator; 1923–2013) was the influential translator of such Italian writers as Italo Calvino, Umberto Eco, and Elsa Morante. He authored numerous books on opera and a biography of Eleanora Duse.

Praise For…

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“In Levi’s writing, nothing is superfluous and everything is essential.” 
—Saul Bellow
 
“One of the most important and gifted writers of our time.” 
—Italo Calvino