Primo Levi was one of the most astonishing voices to emerge from the twentieth century. This landmark selection of his short stories opens up a world of wonder, love, cruelty and curious twists of fate, where nothing is as it seems. In The Fugitive an office worker composes the most beautiful poem ever with unforeseen consequences, while Magic Paint sees a group of researchers develop a paint that mysteriously protects them from misfortune. Gladiators and The Knall are chilling explorations of mass violence, and in The Tranquil Star a simple story of stargazing becomes a meditation on language, imagination and infinity.
