Voted the best Science Book Ever, Primo Levi’s The Periodic Table is a book that is sure to change reader’s ideas about science writing. Contrary to most science writing books, it is not a just an explanation of a new scientific concept instead it is written in the form of an autobiography. He links his biography with the periodic table; a tabular arrangement of the chemical elements. Each chapter is a named after a different chemical element, the first being “Argon”, the second being “Hydrogen”, and so one so forth. The structure and style of his writing make the book unique and interesting.
Primo Levi
The style of writing that Primo Levi uses makes the book a lot more appealing. His characterisations of characters like his Grandmother, his friends and other characters in the book make them feel real and relatable. As he spends time making his characters relatable, when he links his anecdotes to the properties of the element that he is explaining the reader is able to better understand the thinking behind his links. He uses metaphors and other such conventions to characterise the characters, a convention of writing that is not commonly used in science writing while still being able to explain the scientific concepts. The characterisation greatly improves the book and is one reason why the book is one of the best science writing books of all time.
Metaphors are used throughout the text to conjure thought provoking images and ideas. They leave notions in the reader’s minds that may change the way that they think. Often times they are not explained in the greatest detail, leaving room in the readers mind to interpret the metaphor in their own way. An example of such is: “Man is a centaur, a tangle of flesh and mind, divine inspiration and dust.” The metaphor relates man to a centaur, stating that inspiration and art is derived from our body and that in the end we will be just dust. The metaphor states the simple meaning but it is possible that every person could understand it is a different way. The metaphors instigate interest and curiosity in the reader, and make the few boring chapters in the book a bit more groovy.
The language conventions used in The Periodic Table, make the book an interesting change to the majority of other science writing books. It shows that it is possible for science writing to have many different styles that engage different readers. Overall is an intriguing book that I would recommend to anyone.
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