The Evolution of a Writer
Often a writer will choose entries for a collection of shorter writings based around a particular theme or subject of interest. That is not the case here as the stories and essays are, separately, placed in chronological order of publication and without regard for any unifying theme. This format does create a thematic trek for itself, however, which is the opportunity to explore the evolution of a writer’s talents and abilities and interests through the natural procession of reading the writings in the order in which they were composed.
The Shadow of Auschwitz
One aspect of the following the thematic aspect of authorial evolution in this particular case is analyzing the ways and means and extent to which the author’s experiences as a young prisoner at the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz informs his writing. Of notable interest, for example, is the fact that the most infamous of all the Nazi death camps appears by name just once in the “Stories” section whereas it is either reference or the subject of a number of entries in the “Essays” section. That the traumatic experience of surviving such a close call with the most recognized death merchants of the 20th century became part of Levi’s literary DNA is inescapably obvious, making the disconnect at work here all the more interesting as an element for further study.
Science
The opening entry in this collection is a short story about first contact between an alien species and human beings. It is notable for lacking everything that is usually found in such stories, but also for the fact that “The Interview” does actually focus on scientific inquiry on the part of the alien. The second question—after asking how many humans populate the planet—is “how do you digest?” One of the human’s answers confirms the aliens’ hypothesis that humans “wash in order not to die.” Over the course of both the stories and essays, scientific inquiry is a prevalent theme that runs across quite gamut: physics, zoology, viral bacteriology, polymerization, and, of course, the laws of reflection in the short story which gives the collection its title.
