by Primo Levi
First published 2007
Primo Levi's "A Tranquil Star" is a captivating collection that unveils the extraordinary within the ordinary. From an office worker who pens the most beautiful poem, to researchers who develop a mystical paint, these stories brim with curious twists of fate. Yet beneath the surface, Levi explores themes of mass violence, the limits of language, and the infinite mysteries of the universe. In the title story, a simple act of stargazing becomes a profound meditation on the human experience. Levi's precise prose and vivid imagination transport readers to realms both familiar and fantastical, where nothing is as it seems.
Genres: short-stories, literary-fiction, 20th-century
Vibes: intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: magical-realism, unreliable-narrator
Period: 20th-Century
Hardcover · London: Penguin Classics, 2007