In this exuberant novel, one of Italy's greatest living writers celebrates the art of storytelling and the spirit of work through weaving the mesmerizing t ales of an itinerant construction worker, Libertini Faussone, and a writer-chemist, the true and fictional Primo Levi.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Wise, moving, shame about the title:
I finished this book and read it all the way through again less than a month later. There are lots of things to like about it. Mainly, though, I like it because it conveys a sense of joy in work, in writing, in the less spectacular aspects of life that can be as much a source of happiness as can the great gifts that come along once or twice in a lifetime. And the stories are told in such an engaging way you don't really realize Levi is showing you a way to make life bearable. The sad thing is that Primo... more info
Gracefully narrated stories of a tradesman's jobs and values:
Meet Faussone, an able tradesmen who sets up cranes around the world and enjoys his work. Most of the several short stories in the book centre on him recounting some interesting job he's been involved in.
Rather than remain invisible and let 'Faussone' do all the talking, the listener/narrator is also allowed to take on a role - the stories are clearly placed in a setting of Faussone talking to the semi-autobiographical persona of Levi. We learn a little of why he's putting down... more info
INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH DELIGHT:
Excellent series of vignettes/stories generally related within the novel by a crane/derrick rigger to the author, a chemist. For those with no inclination to industrial engineering and chemistry, this book makes the two subjects seem interesting, and uniquely identifies them with the human condition. Quite beautiful.
Witty, Poingnant, Haunting Barely Begin to Describe Levi:
There are some people who you can never hear enough of. Levi is certainly one of those. He combines one of the greates talents as a writer in this century with a wisdom uncommon for any age.
This book is not an adventure story in the typical sence of the word, but reading it is an adventure, and I for one am a better man for having opened its covers.
I don't think that Levi has ever written a book that I would only read once. This book, I look forward to revisting many times over. The maximum length of... more info
