The Mirror Maker

With the publication of The Periodic Table on 1984, Primo Levi became one of America’s most beloved writers. This new collection of his stories and essays reveals the full imaginative range of this great Italian writer. Most of the stories are science fiction and fantasy, combining Levi’s love for science with his keen perception of human nature. The essays, originally written for the Italian newspaper La Stampa, cover a broad range of his interests, from art and literature to politics and current affairs. Levi’s quick wit and humanity shine through in these gemlike pieces.

“There are writers, a few of them, who stir an immediate personal response. For me, the Italian-Jewish memoirist and novelist Primo Levi is such a writer . . . He is a writer of integrity, seriousness, and charm.” —Irving Howe

“Levi’s fascination with life guarantees touches of optimism in both the essays and the stories . . . Here, his range is flawlessly represented by Raymond Resenthal’s translation.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Bristling with finesse and intelligence. The reader . . . will instantly recognize the qualities for which this cultivated, intensely humane Italian writer has been widely praised.” —San Francisco Chronicle