Jewish Writer Wins Top Italian Literary Prize

Primo Levi, one of the few Italian Jewish concentration camp survivors, well-known for his novels and his personal account of Nazi horrors in the documentary work, “If This Be a Man, “won one of Italy’s most distinguished literary awards last Thursday, the Premio Strega, for his novel, “La Chiave a Stella.” The work deals with the broad theme of man versus technology and zooms in on the mechanized existence of a factory worker. The title refers to a tool used in the factory production line. This is Levi’s first novel on a non Jewish theme. Levi, who still bears his concentration camp number tattoed on his arm, is, unlike other Italian Jewish writers, very much committed to his Jewish heritage.