Abstract
If not now, when? – Levi’s first novel – belongs to the category of the classical νόστοι, of the ‘returns home’, such as The Truce. A textual analysis reveals undoubtedly an onomastic thread linking the author to the main character, Mendel – in which Levi himself admitted, in a newspaper interview, to identify. The interpretation provided by textual analysis at an onomastic level makes clear and goes in-depth into some topics that Levi’s autobiographism narrates through hints and innuendos.