The Wrench

The Wrench, published in the US under the title of The Monkey's Wrench, was one of Primo Levi's collections of stories (another being The Periodic Table).

First published as La Chiave a Stella by Einaudi in 1978, the book was written after Levi had retired from SIVA. It takes the form of an interview by a chemist of a rigger. They are both working in a remote work camp where there is little to do in the evenings except tell stories. The scene is loosely based upon Togliattigrad, the Fiat camp set up in Russia to build a car factory. The rigger is Libertino Faussone and the chemist is clearly autobiographical.