A Man of Few Words by Carlo Greppi

Translated by Howard Curtis

Review by Karen Langley, 6 Mar 2025

Italian author and chemist Primo Levi is possibly one of the best-known commentators on the Holocaust; he began writing about his experiences not long after his return from the Nazi camps, and continued to do so until his death in 1987. His life, therefore, has been well documented; by himself, and also by the authors of several biographies of the man. But one important figure in Levi’s life has remained relatively obscure until now, and that’s the person who Levi credits with saving him and keeping him alive in Auschwitz – Lorenzo Perrone, an Italian civilian bricklayer who was working at the camp as a forced labourer. However, author Carlo Greppi set out to uncover as much as could be found out about Perrone, and he reveals all in his fascinating new book: A Man of Few Words.

Greppi is an award-winning historian, and it soon becomes clear that he will need all of his skills to research Perrone’s history. The latter was born in Fossano, in the Piedmont area of Italy (from where Levi also hailed), and his early life was hard. Perrone only completed three years of primary school before going out to work, and after a period in the army he became a migrant worker, moving between Italy and France to work as a bricklayer. However, once Italy joined WW2 in 1940 it became harder to cross the border for work; and in 1944, as a chief mason employed by the Boetti Company, he was transferred to Auschwitz.

As a civilian worker, his situation was slightly better than the prisoners, in that he received larger food rations, reasonable lodgings and was able to send and receive letters. By some twist of fate, Levi was assigned to be Perrone’s bricklaying assistant, and because of the latter’s Piedmontese accent, the two created a connection. 

From then on, Perrone smuggled extra rations to Levi and a fellow prisoner, as well as an extra piece of clothing to help him stay warm. On top of this, he was also able to send and receive messages from Levi’s family. These risky actions kept Levi alive, and apparently Perrone helped others in the camp too. Perrone escaped from the camp in December 1944, as the Soviet Army began to draw near; and Levi himself survived until the liberation of Auschwitz, eventually returning to Italy by a circuitous route. 

And here their trajectories diverged. Despite having suffered incredible privations in the camp, Levi was desperate to tell his story, to be believed in a world which was still struggling to accept what had happened to Jewish people under the Nazi regime. Perrone, however, who really was a man of very few words, seemed unable to cope with what he had seen and turned to drink. His health failed, and he died in 1952. Levi did his best to help Perrone, finding work for him, visiting him and trying to motivate him; but in many ways Levi believed his friend had committed a kind of suicide. In the end, this was the fate of many Holocaust survivors.

However, Perrone’s importance cannot be overstated; by saving Levi, he ensured one of the most powerful voices on the subject of the Holocaust would be able to tell his story, and our perceptions of that monumental event are formed by the memories of those who survived it. Levi’s testimony is some of the best known and although he didn’t like to be described as bearing witness, he does this; by recording what happened to him, in unsensational prose, he makes the reality of those events all that stronger. We owe his work to Perrone’s humane actions, and this book is testament to their friendship and to the best parts of human nature. When all around you are being reduced to the basest level, and unspeakable horrors are taking place, a kind action is more powerful than ever.

Levi himself credited Perrone with his survival from the very start, and continued to write about his friend for the rest of his life. As well as the material help Perrone provided, it was importantly the fact that his actions demonstrated that it was still possible to be human whilst in the most horrendous circumstances which bolstered Levi; one of his books is titled If This Is A Man and Perrone provided evidence that it was possible to stay one, despite the circumstances.

Greppi has produced a gripping and unforgettable book, and as he makes clear, it was not easy to find out the facts of Perrone’s life. He came from a time and a region where there were very few records to consult; people who remembered him were mostly dead, as were the majority of his family; and therefore the historian had to do an incredible amount of detective work. The results are impressive: Greppi draws on pioneering research done by Levi’s biographers Ian Thomson and Carole Angier, and both of these authors were obviously keen to support Greppi in his efforts. He consults what historical sources are available, and rather wonderfully, during the process of writing this book, more surviving material was discovered which adds to the story.

It’s obviously not been an easy journey, however, and Greppi takes you along with him in the process of writing the book, sharing the ups and downs as he tries to noodle out more facts; that’s another fascinating element to A Man of Few Words, and it becomes clear that the history which survives can be quite random. As Greppi speculates, there may have be many more Lorenzo Perrones that we simply don’t know about.

A Man of Few Words is a fascinating read and a wonderfully written piece of history; it brings to life a man who made a significant impact, not only on those whom he helped survive, but also on our understanding of the Holocaust. Whatever stroke of luck it was which brought Perrone and Levi together ensured that the latter would survive to be a prime witness of the events he lived through in Auschwitz, recording his life there and spending the rest of his years trying to guarantee that those events would not be forgotten. This is an important book about an important, yet quiet, man; an excellent piece of scholarship, and one which should remind us that even the smallest actions can have huge consequences. 

Karen Langley blogs at kaggsysbookishramblings and is a bit terrified that we’re starting to repeat the mistakes of history… (www.kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com)

Carlo Greppi, A Man of Few Words (Westbourne Books, 2025). 978-1908906618. 256pp, hardback.

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