Wednesday 14 November 2012

The Drowned and the Saved by Primo Levi

An intensely serious and penetrating book, that I certainly felt I had to respect and venerate, in a certain way, by only reading when I knew I could concentrate and give it the attention it deserves.

It addresses, with amazing humanity and insight, the astonishing evil that was the Holocaust and the mentality of those that made it happen. But Levi is a Jew and a survivor of the death camps, so he commands our attention when he speaks in such measured and powerful words.

We must all wonder how such incredibly evil things could have happened. This book goes much further in answering that question than any detailed account of the historical events as it examines the psychology of those who perpetrated these evils and those who suffered at their hands.

A tense, sobering book that ought really to be required reading for every European.

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