Elie Wiesel grew up in Sighet, a small town in Transylvania with his parents and younger sister. It was 1944 when, after some time, and with fading hope that things would be alright, they were taken by cattle train, 100 per car, to Auschwitz and Elie’s life would never be the same again. He immediately lost his mother and sister to the crematorium and spent almost the duration of his and his father’s time in Auschwitz and Buchenwald, together, until his father finally died. Malnutrition, dehydration, despair, grief – it all contributed, but Elie was devastated that he hadn’t been able to save his father.

Elie’s wife Marion has translated this latest edition of Night - the original was published back in 1956 - telling all he could remember; the horrors and degradation, the sheer evil, the hunger and pain – all in the hope that nothing of this magnitude could ever be replayed. Recommended.

Winner of Nobel peace prize, Elie Wiesel writes about his experiences at Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps. The book was originally written in French but has been sensitively translated into English by his wife Marion. There is a preface to new translation by Wiesel and at the end is his Nobel prize acceptance speech. Within just 120 pages he has managed to share his trauma and conflict with his own beliefs in a manner that shakes the reader to his core. This slim book is a must read for all so that humanity does not face this indignity any more. The book also is a testimony to the truth and so in that sense is a terrifying documentation of period in history when humanity stooped so low!

From the first few sentences, to the final closings words, I did not move. Elie Wiesel had my complete attention, and total respect, for the immense courage it must have taken to relive the horrors he went through in writing this book. Harrowing and chilling but told with great compassion, his struggle for survival during the holocaust is almost too unbearable to contemplate. But this has to be read, and everyone should do so, it makes all the mundane things in life seem far more important. After the last page was done, I looked out the window of my apartment, up at the sky, down in the street, the noise of the city, the people walking by. The life, the freedom, the hugs, the kisses. What overriding joy.

The important thing here is not to confuse this with Twilight, which is a totally different thing.

Night is the most crucial of the books I've read about the Holocaust. It's spare and unflinching and deadly. Wiesel never pulls a punch or writes an extra word. I read it as part of a Holocaust segment (I know, I know), including The Diary of a Young Girl, Comedy in a Minor Key and This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen. The latter two are terrific books in their own right. Comedy is a smaller, different sort of story, and This Way for the Gas is more savage and audacious.

It's maybe a little fashionable to like these more, because they're more literary. Wiesel is more apt to just state what happened, clearly and simply. Here's a book about what happened during the Holocaust. That makes it, for me, the definitive work about the Holocaust. There are other great books too, but this is the first one.

Little bit of a bummer though.

Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed....Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never.


I picked up this book from the library just because it was short, and I wanted a short and easy read. I've never heard of it before, so I had no idea what I was getting myself into. And oh boy, this book was anything but an easy read. And yeah, it was short, but it didn't feel short at all. At the end, I felt like I have read at least 500 pages book.

Night is Elie Wiesel's biography about his experiences in concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald. And after finishing this book, I was completely speechless. If reading this book was this hard, I can't imagine how hard it was to live through it. Reading fiction books about WW2 is hard, but still you know that, even though they are based on true events, they are still fiction. But knowing that this book was a non-fiction historical book written by a man who survived all those things, was just... heartbreaking. And nothing I can ever say could express how stupid and useless I think the WW2 was, and how stupid the people are, and how no matter how many bad things happen, we will never learn anything from them. Just like the author said "... the world forgets quickly." History will repeat again, and again, and again, and there's not much to to about that.

Now that I've rumbled for 5-10 minutes, I'm going to finish this review (or whatever it is) here, saying that if you haven't read this book, please do. This is one of those books that every single person alive should read, at least once.

''The night had passed completely. The morning star shone in the sky. I too had become a different person. The student of Talmud, the child I was, had been consumed by the flames. All that was left was a shape that resembled me. My soul had been invaded—and devoured—by a black flame.''

Beautiful and devastating work. I applaud Elie Wiesel for having the courage to describe traumatic experiences in such an intimate and honest way, not shying away from the dark part of human nature that can come through in such inhumane circumstances. Description of the relationship with his father during the imprisonment has great psychological depth, and it felt like this was something deeply personal, that person would be able to say only to a confidant. The level of consciousness of Elie's processes in psyche and spirit at such a young age amazes me. He describes the anger, the loss of faith, the despair and estrangement painfully accurately.

''I no longer pleaded for anything. I was no longer able to lament. On the contrary, I felt very strong. I was the accuser, God the accused. My eyes had opened and I was alone, terribly alone in a world without God, without man. Without love or mercy. I was nothing but ashes now, but I felt myself to be stronger than this Almighty to whom my life had been bound for so long. In the midst of these men assembled for prayer, I felt like an observer, a stranger.''

It reminded me of the first part of Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, which is a great compliment to Wiesel, concerning the fact Frankl was a grown man, a doctor and a psychiatrist during the time of imprisonment. In comparison to Frankl's work, the writing has less emotional warmth and is more direct, which I think reflects greatly the mechanisms of defense through dissociation, often seen in trauma, especially at a young age.

''The absent no longer entered our thoughts. One spoke of them—who knows what happened to them?—but their fate was not on our minds. We were incapable of thinking. Our senses were numbed, everything was fading into a fog. We no longer clung to anything. The instincts of self-preservation, of self-defense, of pride, had all deserted us. In one terrifying moment of lucidity, I thought of us as damned souls wandering through the void, souls condemned to wander through space until the end of time, seeking redemption, seeking oblivion, without any hope of finding either.''

I've read that there is great work also from Primo Levi about the experience of concentration camps that I want to read in the future. I don't know why, but I find writing about the experiences of concentration camps hypnotic, when I start reading about it I can't stop, no matter the level of emotional distress it produces in me. It is both deeply tragic and encouraging - seeing people going through hell on earth and still prevailing, still maintaining and even growing spiritual and psychological strength. I still remember the deep impact Man's search for meaning had on me, truly life-changing. Night maybe does not have such evident silver lining as Man’s search for meaning, but I found it equally cathartic. Both Wiesel and Frankl are immense gifts for humanity, and it breaks my heart when to think about how many voices perished because of the horrors of the Holocaust. Their experience isn't just personal, they made it universal, transpersonal, and transcendental in their writing with healing potential, showing the path of light exists even in the darkest ages.

The first time I read Night by Eli Wiesel I was in an eighth grade religious school class. At that time it had recently become a law in my state to teach the Holocaust as part of the general curriculum, and, as a result, my classmates and I were the torchbearers to tell people to never forget and were inundated with quality Holocaust literature. Yet even though middle school students can comprehend Night, the subject matter at times is still way over their heads. The book itself although a prize winner blended into the religious school class and receded to the back of my memory bank.

These years later I have been enjoying a religious lifestyle for my adult life. Upon hearing that Nobel Laureate Eli Wiesel passed away recently I thought now was as good of a time as any to reread his award winning account of surviving the Holocaust. Although only 120 pages in length, Wiesel's memoir of life in the concentration camps is one of the most powerful pieces of literature that most people will ever read. Wiesel discusses his relationship with G-D and talks about his conflicting feelings in regards to taking care of his father while in Buna and Birkenau camps. It was not easy to digest.

Wiesel also writes in length about observing Rosh Hashanah while in the concentration camps. Why praise the Almighty for one's deliverance if one's existence is spent as a prisoner living on crusts of bread? It was easy to forget G-D or denounce His existence, even for the most religious Jews. These passages brought me close to tears.

On this eve of Rosh Hashanah I can thank the Blessed Creator that I enjoy a comfortable lifestyle. Even though the world is far from perfect, my family lives in a land of freedom and are free to worship as we choose. Eli Wiesel brought Holocaust awareness to many people and earned the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. His passing is indicative that few survivors are still with us and we should hear their stories while we still can. Night is a painful yet necessary read, and by reading it I can go into the new year thanking G-D for my right to live in relative peace and prosperity.

I'm not going to bother with a synopsis. Night was one of the most emotionally draining books I have ever read. I am probably one of the most emotional people out there. So mix an emotionally draining book with an extremely emotional person with a late night reading... oh boy. Elie Wiesel truly deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. I'm going to escape the depression this book has caused me by going to bed now...

An amazing and sad story. Dark, gritty, and personal account of the holocaust that gives the reader a chance to really feel the hunger, weariness, and sorrow. Maybe it is not a book for everyone because the content deals with the harsh realities of WWII.

*competitive buddy read with toilet!! (competitive buddy read is a "who can finish first" challenge)*

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no words, just:

❝Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, that turned my life into one long night seven times sealed.
Never shall I forget that smoke.
Never shall I forget the small faces of children whose bodies I saw transformed into smoke under a silent sky.
Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever.
Never shall I forget the nocturnal silence that deprived me for all eternity of the desire to live.
Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes.
Never shall I forget those things, even were I condemned to live as long as God Himself.
Never.❞

let that sink in.

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pre-read!!

Okay, this may be a required school summer reading book but it actually looks interesting! Plus, points because I've heard of it before.
If i like it, I might read the rest of the trilogy.
Please be good.

To bear witness to a crime so pervasive is to see the abyss...it stares back at you, through your soul, making you question if there is a bottom to the depth of the depravity of mankind. To be able to find light again is amazing - truly one of the most important books on loss and gain we all must weigh and balance - highest recommendation.

"If in my lifetime I was to write only one book, this would be the one." Elie Wiesel

"[Yossi and Tibi] quickly became my friends. Having once belonged to a Zionist youth organization, they knew countless Hebrew songs. And so we would sometimes hum melodies evoking the gentle waters of the Jordan River and the majestic sanctity of Jerusalem. We also spoke often about Palestine." (p. 68)

Auschwitz survivors and world leaders mark 80 years since Nazi death camp’s liberation, which took place on 27 January 1945. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/au...