H for Henry! St Johns Avenue, New Town. February 2011. Primo Levi’s The Periodic Table is a collection of short stories connected by a narrative thread drawn together by the eponymous tabular display of the chemical elements that cursed the lives of many a science student! Levi – a chemist by trade – takes the kaleidoscope of chemistry to create a vision of the synthesis of life. Like most of his books, it is autobiographical in tone, with all 21 stories inspired by a chemical element. To Levi each element had an associative value and he explores its properties and their capacity to drive certain thoughts and trigger specific memories. As a (decidedly) layperson on the chemical front, he does a beautiful job. As with all of Primo Levi’s books, I encourage all of you to get out there and read them. NOW! Another book I’ve finished is Daniel Kehlmann's Fame . All about identity, this is an Austrian page turner filled with overlapping narratives and literary devices. Think League of G...