SOURCE: Freidin, Seymour. “An Italian on His First Visit to Germany.” New York Herald Tribune Book Review (11 March 1962): 6.

In the following review, Freidin is dismayed by Levi's negative portrayal of Germany and its citizens in The Linden Trees.

Germany has many scars that go more than skin deep. Gifted, highly sensitive Carlo Levi seems to have run his delicate fingers over them like an expert surgeon. He made his diagnosis before he set out from his homeland, Italy. It was based on what Mr. Levi calls pre-judgment. Some would call it prejudice. The talented Italian writer probably would not disagree if it were put to him that way. He admits he has prejudices especially when Germany and its Germans are up for analysis and assessment.

This slender book is more than just a travel narrative. It is the compulsive attempt of an artist to sift through the sights...