Ian Thomson

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Ian Thomson


Born
London, England, The United Kingdom
Website


Ian Thomson is an English author and journalist, best known for his meticulously researched biography Primo Levi: A Life and his controversial and acclaimed reportage The Dead Yard: Tales of Modern Jamaica. Born in London in 1961 and raised partly in New York City, he studied English at Pembroke College, Cambridge, before embarking on a career as a writer, translator, and teacher.
Thomson’s writing spans biography, travel, history, and literary journalism. His first major work, Bonjour Blanc: A Journey Through Haiti, was praised for its vivid and gripping portrayal of the country’s complex history and culture. His biography of Primo Levi, which took a decade to complete, has been widely regarded as the definitive account of the Italian Holo
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Ian Thomson isn't a Goodreads Author (yet), but they do have a blog, so here are some recent posts imported from their feed.

A restless adventurer with a passion for broken-down places

The travel writer Norman Lewis, the son of a Welsh psychic medium, died in Essex in 2003 at the age of 94. In his darkly comic autobiography, Jackdaw Cake, he relates how, in 1937, his mother built a spiritualist church in the north London suburb of Enfield as a sort of Taj Mahal memorial to …

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Published on February 01, 2025 03:40
Average rating: 4.06 · 12,017 ratings · 788 reviews · 73 distinct worksSimilar authors
The Dead Yard: A Story of M...

3.63 avg rating — 353 ratings — published 2009 — 15 editions
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Primo Levi: A Life

4.20 avg rating — 182 ratings — published 1999 — 21 editions
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Bonjour Blanc: A Journey Th...

4.06 avg rating — 62 ratings — published 1980 — 8 editions
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Dante's Divine Comedy (The ...

4.09 avg rating — 44 ratings5 editions
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Demons of the Dying Earth

3.83 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 2003
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The Swan Diptych

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4.40 avg rating — 5 ratings5 editions
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Una conversazione a Palermo...

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4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings
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Humphrey and the Squirrel

it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings
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How the Dean Angered the Swans

4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2013
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Urgent Business: Five Myths...

4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings
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“Primo Levi was three years old when, between 26–28 October 1922 an obscure political agitator, Benito Mussolini, staged a dramatic assault on Italy’s ailing Liberal government.”
Ian Thomson, Primo Levi: A Life

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics posts views last activity  
21st Century Lite...: 2014 RSL Ondaatje Prize (and earlier) 1 14 Jun 12, 2014 10:54AM  
The Book Club: Books and Authors in the Media 71 114 Jan 14, 2015 01:36PM  
The Seasonal Read...: This topic has been closed to new comments. Summer Challenge 2015: Completed Tasks (DO NOT DELETE POSTS) 3424 689 Sep 01, 2015 07:40PM  
Nonfiction Readin...: Caribbean islands 1 8 Dec 03, 2020 04:42PM  
Around the World ...: Haiti 19 799 May 14, 2024 05:24AM  
Around the World ...: Jamaica 37 1792 Jan 09, 2025 09:28PM  


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