A Man of Few Words

The Bricklayer of Auschwitz Who Saved Primo Levi

Carlo Greppi, Howard Curtis

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Hardback

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Italian

The Westbourne Press
23 January 2025

History; The Holocaust

'Nobody knows how much I owe that man,' Primo Levi said of the bricklayer who saved his life at Auschwitz. 'I could never repay him.' Levi was referring to Lorenzo Perrone, who for six months risked his own life to smuggle food, letters and clothing to Levi, providing him with the sustenance he needed to survive.

In A Man of Few Words, Carlo Greppi pieces together the life of Perrone, a near destitute labourer with little formal education. Despite their stark differences, Levi and Perrone's friendship survived the Holocaust and continued until Perrone's tragic death. As Perrone withdrew from the world, Levi tried persistently to preserve the memory of this man of few words who had saved his life, but who left few traces of his own behind.

This is a universal story about an individual who kept hope alive in one of the darkest times and places known to man

'Greppi's biography of this elusive figure is intriguing...

Greppi suggests that Perrone's untutored altruism answers the deepest question of Levi's oeuvre: what it means to be human. Because Perrone's solidarity had neither motive nor reason. It was simply instinctive. And there's something beautifully poetic in the fact that such instinct was revealed through a man who was so simple and so troubled.'

The Observer

'Greppi's biography, from start to finish a marvel of sympathetic insight, is a valuable addition to Levi's writings on the human infamy that was Auschwitz.'

Times Literary Supplement

'This is a great book: scrupulously researched and superbly written.'

Ian Thomson

'A thoroughly moving read. Out of utter degradation, this inspiring story emerges to remind us that the spark of human decency can never be crushed.'

Julia Boyd

'A story for all stories: Greppi has rescued it from oblivion...

Inch by inch, Lorenzo Perrone has taken a little bit of evil out of the world'

Rolling Stone

'Sheds light on an unsung hero...a fluent retelling'

The Jewish Chronicle

'Levi's greatest piece of luck in Auschwitz was meeting Lorenzo, who kept him alive when he was hanging on to life by a thread.'

Literary Review

By: Carlo Greppi
Translated by: Howard Curtis
Imprint: The Westbourne Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 135mm, Spine: 30mm
Weight: 480g
ISBN: 9781908906618
ISBN 10: 1908906618
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 23 January 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Carlo Greppi (1982) is a historian at the University of Turin and author of numerous essays on the history of the twentieth century. For Laterza, he is the editor of the series ‘Fact Checking: History Under the Test of Facts’. His latest book is Il Buon Tedesco (2021, Fiuggi History Award 2021; Giacomo Matteotti Award 2022) which sold 10,000+ copies. Howard Curtis (1949) is a British translator of French, Italian and Spanish fiction. He has translated works by the likes of Gianrico Carofiglio, Lluís Quintana-Murci, Beppe Fenoglio and Georges Simenon. His translations have won the John Florio Prize, Premio Campiello Europa, the Marsh Award for Children’s Literature in Translation, and been shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize and Best Translated Book Award among many others.

Reviews for A Man of Few Words: The Bricklayer of Auschwitz Who Saved Primo Levi

'Lucid, carefully researched pages ... Greppi's biography, from start to finish a marvel of sympathetic insight, is a valuable addition to Levi's writings on the human infamy that was Auschwitz.' -- Time Literary Supplement 'This is a great book: scrupulously researched and superbly written.' -- Ian Thomson, author of Primo Levi: A Life 'Read it twice, this splendid book: the first time to get to know Lorenzo and his story; the second time to get to know yourself and your memory.' -- Francesco Filippi, author of Mussolini Also Did a Lot of Good 'A thoroughly moving read. Out of utter degradation, this inspiring story emerges to remind us that the spark of human decency can never be crushed.' -- Julia Boyd 'Much to admire ... an intriguing study.' -- The Observer