If Not Now, When?

I have wanted to read a book by Primo Levi for some time now. One of my teachers at my University frequently spoke about him and his works during a class I took last year. Ever since then I have been curious to see what his books are like. Then, by chance (as if the Book Gods were smiling down on me) I managed to find If Not Now, When?. It didn't take me long to see why my teacher was so impressed with Levi...

Primo Levi was a Holocaust survivor who wrote books about WWII and what it was like to be Jewish at that time. One of his most famous books is If This Is A Man which is about his time in Auschwitz. He is known for being one of the leading writers of the Holocaust because he is able to lay bare the terrible tragedy that occurred and talk about it in such an honest way.

If Not Now, When? follows a group of Jewish resistance fighters as they attempt to sabotage the German army during WWII. Along the way they overcome many struggles such as persecution, hunger, cold, relationships, and loss of faith. I have to say that I really loved this book. I think Levi does a really good job of allowing the reader to feel part of the group. We learn about their hopes and dreams, we laugh with them, we cry with them, we fear for them when things start to get hairy, and above all, we want them to succeed. Because of this, the events and the characters within the novel stayed with me long after I had finished reading it.

Another intriguing thing about this novel is that it is both humorous and devastating at the same time. Here's a prime example of this:
There's a part in the book where a character (called Leonid) dies but the reader, like the rest of the characters, doesn't have time to dwell on it because other, and more serious, action is occurring. Then a few pages later, after the action has ceased, another character, Mendel, makes it known that everyone in the camp has forgotten about Leonid's death. This instantly made me feel both sad and guilty because I too had forgotten about poor Leonid. But then on the next page the characters at the camp start discussing and joking about circumcision and I found myself laughing. I think it's very clever the way that Levi can make you bitterly sad and contemplative one minute, because the story itself is so poignant, and then make you laugh the next. This is an aspect of the book which I found to be the most unique and the most interesting.

I think that most people associate WWII novels with being depressing and miserable. There are times in If Not Now, When? where you do feel depressed and miserable. Yet, at the same time, the novel is filled with hope. There is joy and laughter amongst the tragedy and despair, and that's what makes it such an interesting and informative read.