Brief, compelling sketches of people the author encountered while a prisoner in Auschwitz. This is a follow up to his earlier books If This Is a Man / The Truce, which I now have to read.

tonal whiplash (probably intentional) occurs so often that the literary effect is eventually number to non-existence, but this is still a good book! i would recommend using it like a supplement to Survival in Auschwitz, as Levi will periodically make explicit reference to his other major works throughout this episodic venture

I think that reading Primo Levi’s accounts of Auschwitz is one of the most profoundly affecting and meaningful additions to my perception of the world and of humanity. Anyway, this is no exception. It’s vignettes of many people he finds himself remembering.

This writing is part of this author's memories of his time as a prisoner at Auschwitz. As a later work it might be taken as paralipomesa, but it is more the unfolding of events in many ways that allowed him to continue writing, research, permission gained, the passing on of the subjects. This is a heavy work, but is a powerful commentary worth reading because it allows us the lens on society and ourselves for perhaps three things. First, how even struggle at the edge of life has its moments of contemplation, surprise, and reprieve. Second, how the circumstances of our lives that push us forward can lead to complicity, and how even when we struggle against this we must give ourselves a kind gaze. Third, how without even then, we must struggle for what is right with ourselves, and with others when we can. It is a deeply contemplative form of storytelling verging on poetry in memorabilia. It enriches the present.

Third Auschwitz book to read, it is not so gloomy.
A very good book to read to have a larger view of this era and Area.

This was probably an odd reading choice for the festive season but I'd wanted to read something by Primo Levi for ages. In some ways, I now wish I'd started with one of his earlier works. However, I still got something from Moments of Reprieve. The constituent parts of the book are quite slight but, collectively, they are a powerful testimony to of man's potential to be inhumane to man; made even more chilling by Levi's focus in this book on moments of relative calm - or reprieve - in between the periods of terror and barbarism in Auschwitz. A wholly appropriate read in the run-up to Holocaust Memorial Day and also the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and death camp. Lest we forget.

Great writing. Shared many inspiring stories of individuals incarcerated in Auschwitz. Amazing how much ingenuity and spirit was shown by people

Collection of stories written after 1975, not really captivating, I must say. Only the first section, with especially The Homecoming of Lorenzo, and The King of the Jews, are nicely done. But perhaps that is because they are related to Levi's camp experiences. The other stories include rather fantastical visionary tales, and random stories. Conclusion: Levi is at his best when he directly tells about his camp experiences.

Did blijft toch één van mijn favoriete auteurs, stelt nooit teleur en kan zelfs de meest doordeweekse zaken tot kunst en schoonheid verheffen met zijn prachtige vertelstijl

I read Moments of Reprieve for a Jewish Studies course on the holocaust. The first half of this book depicted firsthand accounts of the author witnessing acts of kindness or strength of character despite overwhelming odds. The second half lost some focus, giving secondhand accounts.

Unlike his other books regarding the holocaust and camp internment, this is a book of Levi's ability to find some modicum of humor amid the horror. Looking back 40 years after writing In Survival in Auschwitz, the author found there were memories that surfaced that brought hope and exhibited the survival to find some meaning, perhaps a ray of sunshine peeking through the insanity.

Each chapter is dedicated to a particular person or incident. Many of these characters did not survive, and some Levi did not know what happened to them.

He tells of Ezra, an Ortodox Jew who despite the fact he was dying of starvation insisted on fasting on Yam Kippur.

A chemist before his encampment, during his stay at Auschwitz, he was given a job of making and measuring chemical compounds. Sick with scarlet fever, his life was saved.

He tells the story of small acts of courage and revenge. For example, some people forced to care for the laundry of the guards, picked lice off the bodies of the dead and carefully sewed them in the folds of the collars of the uniforms.

An amazing book.