Night

Elie Wiesel

As terrible as it feels to critique a book about the horrors of the Holocaust, I found this to be...more

As terrible as it feels to critique a book about the horrors of the Holocaust, I found this to be not as gripping as some others (the one that had the biggest effect on me was Primo Levi's "Survival In Auschwitz: the Nazi Assault on Humanity"). However, we must remember that this was one of the first books that made it onto shelves, back when it was difficult to get such books published. I have a huge amount of respect for it just for that (and, obviously, for the suffering that the author faced, and his courage in being able to tell his story). From a purely aesthetic standpoint though, I wasn't overly enamored with the book, probably because in school I was oversaturated with Holocaust stories and had heard the tales before. He didn't bring any new perspectives or ideas to the table for me. What it was for me was a good, solid, very true-to-life memoir that sometimes danced around the cruelty of man to man in the interest of conveying the bigger picture.    hide

I absolutely without a doubt LOVED this book. The emotion and personal effort poured into it was...more

I absolutely without a doubt LOVED this book. The emotion and personal effort poured into it was incredibly moving. I had the oppertunity to attend a private talk with him and about 50 other students, and the man is a genius. He didn't talk about his expierences for such a long time after it happened, and then he suddenly felt that this injustice was so horrible that he need tell people about it in order for it to never happen again. I saw this man actually cry as he talked about the current situation in Darfur, and had the entire room in tears with him. His struggle with his religion throughout this was one thing in particular that touched me, and I most definitely consider myself one of the extremely lucky to have witnessed such an event of having him speak! This book recieves the highest rating I have to give, which is an extremely big deal, considering I am harshly critical of books. Elie is loved for now and forever. By more than he knows.   hide

Fear like love could move us in unimaginable ways. It’s easy for us to forget those who...more

Fear like love could move us in unimaginable ways. It’s easy for us to forget those who suffered. It’s the easiest just to pretend not to know what happened, so we are uncontaminated and free. It’s hard to read about the past. It’s even harder to knit the past with our present beliefs. The hardest part is believing that we must read about the past to enrich and understand our present moment, and see what comes for us in the future. How many of us take the time to understand the past and cherish the precious present moment? It’s not about dwelling in the past, but more about acknowledging that it existed; to savor the events, and enjoy the little miracles in life, which many of us take for granted… when there was a time not too long ago that closing your eyes to sleep for two minutes with no food or water in the winter storm was considered a luxury.   hide

I had to read Night during my freshman year of high school. I wasn't really expecting much. I am...more

I had to read Night during my freshman year of high school. I wasn't really expecting much. I am not into reading about war or anything of the sort. It was amazing, Night is easily one of my favorite books, by far the best of those required. Since I was expecting much out of it, I was glad it was short... But by the end, I was like, what its over already?? You must read it, it was amazing. The way Elie Wiesel writes this book completely captivated me. Yes it is a true sad story, but it is a great book in so many ways. It helped me to reflect onto my life and I became a different person after reading and doing a project on it. Even if you aren't interested in that "type" of book, try it. I wasn't and it is one of my favorite books. The things written in there may be tough but there is more to it. I actually thanked my teacher for making me read it.    hide

I started reading this book thinking only of it's size. I would be able to finish it quickly,...more

I started reading this book thinking only of it's size. I would be able to finish it quickly, reading just one more book about the Holocaust. Still, I found it took me a few days because of the raw images it portrayed. Wiesel doesn't give you a story with many characters who through conversations you grow to love and understand. He just gives you people; everyday people and a small glimpse into moments they had that he was able to witness as well as his own moments. He remembers the instances of importance and meaning, and that's what he writes. It was difficult to read, at least for me, with his simple sentences and one-line paragraphs that by themselves broke my heart. There is not much to say that has not already been said, afterall he won the nobel prize. I ask that if you are to read this book, don't read it for the sake of another book to return to the shelves, don't go through the motions. Think about what he is saying. Imagine what happened. Be there as you discover what 'being there' really meant.   hide