I had high expectations for this novel. I thought it would be a captivating read that would draw me in and keep me engaged from start to finish. However, as I began to read, I quickly realized that this was not the case. The story seemed to lack depth and the characters were not particularly interesting. I found myself easily distracted and having to force myself to continue reading.

Despite my initial disappointment, I decided to give the novel a fair chance and continued to read for a while longer. But as I progressed through the pages, my lack of interest only grew. I simply could not find anything in the story that compelled me to keep going. The plot was predictable and the writing was rather平淡无奇.

Finally, after much hesitation, I ultimately abandoned the novel. It was a difficult decision to make, but I knew that there were other books out there that would be more enjoyable and fulfilling. I hope that in the future, I will have better luck with my reading choices and find novels that truly speak to me.

Gripping and really unforgettable. This description truly encapsulates the essence of an experience or a story that leaves a lasting impression.

When something is gripping, it has the power to hold our attention firmly, captivating us from the very beginning. It draws us in, making it impossible to look away or lose interest.

And when it is really unforgettable, it means that it lingers in our minds long after it has ended. We find ourselves thinking about it,回味 it, and perhaps even sharing it with others.

Such an experience could be a thrilling movie, a page-turning novel, a breathtaking performance, or a life-changing event. It has the ability to touch our emotions,激发 our imagination, and make us feel truly alive.

Whether it is the excitement of a roller coaster ride, the beauty of a sunset, or the connection with a loved one, these gripping and unforgettable moments are what make life worth living. They become a part of our memories, shaping who we are and adding depth and meaning to our lives.

So, the next time you encounter something that is gripping and really unforgettable, embrace it fully. Let it soak in and allow it to have a profound impact on you. Because these are the moments that we will cherish forever.

Elie Wiesel, the renowned Holocaust survivor and author, has once again crafted a powerful work. This book delves into the Holocaust memories of a father who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

The son takes it upon himself to follow up on these fading memories, embarking on a journey that is both poignant and revealing. Through his father's fragmented recollections, the son gains a deeper understanding of the horrors that his father endured during the Holocaust.

Wiesel's writing is as masterful as ever, painting a vivid picture of the past and the present. The book is not only a testament to the resilience of the human spirit but also a reminder of the importance of remembering the atrocities of the Holocaust. It is a must-read for anyone interested in history, family, and the power of memory.

I really liked it.

I firmly believe that he is an outstanding writer who has a truly remarkable story to convey.

Undoubtedly, the content is rather depressing, yet I have a special affection for such aspects in a book.

It was extremely gratifying to witness how people resisted the Nazis.

For some inexplicable reason, I have the impression that we don't encounter or read about such heroic acts as frequently as we ought to.

This book serves as a powerful reminder of the courage and tenacity of those who fought against evil during that dark period.

It makes us realize the importance of not forgetting history and learning from the past.

Overall, it is a thought-provoking and engaging read that leaves a lasting impression on the reader.

Elie Wiesel is once again proven to be a master in his art.

This solitary book, though perhaps a more challenging read compared to Wiesel's renowned trilogy, I found myself enjoying it to a much greater extent.

The novel delves into both the Holocaust experiences of the aging father, Mr. Rosenbaum, and his more recent struggle with losing those memories.

Both aspects are incredibly moving, whether witnessed through his own eyes or those of his son, who is striving to fulfill the arduous obligation of traveling to Elhanan's childhood village in Romania.

Although Mr. Wiesel is famous for his narrator transitions, I felt that the only possible flaw, if any, in "The Forgotten" was his immediate and relatively unannounced switches from one narrator to another.

Even so, I will continue to recommend this novel, along with each of Wiesel's works, as they are lyrically blunt portrayals of the human psyche.

They offer profound insights into the depths of human emotions and the impact of historical events on individuals.

Wiesel's writing has the power to move, educate, and inspire readers, making his works essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the human condition.

"The Forgotten" operates on at least two levels.

On the personal level, it involves the story of three generations of a Jewish family. The focus is primarily on father Elhanan Rosenbaum's attempt to remember and record the horrors of the Holocaust with the help of his journalist son Malkiel.

On the historical level, it is the story of the Holocaust for its millions of victims and far fewer survivors.

Malkiel keeps his promise to his father, whose memory has been affected by Alzheimer's. As someone who has cared for a family member with a disintegrating mind for over twelve years, I know that deep memories often remain and surface unexpectedly.

To keep faith and belief, to honor the past and understand its relationship to the present and future, and to know that the story must be told and find a keeper and storyteller to hold it fast - all these elements make for a fiercely engaging novel full of truth.

I am truly sorry that Wiesel has passed away, but I am also extremely grateful that he was able to find so many words in so many books to make the past come alive in the present.

Well, starting off 2025 with Nazis (Elie’s and apparently Elon’s….and others’…). It's quite a way to begin the year. My 10-year-old also got into the war genre, so we started reading about D-Day on the same day I began this book. Coincidentally, when I finished it on Sunday and was writing it up on Monday, it was the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

I thought I should read this book and get it off my pile, as it had been about three years. My wife found a four-pack of Elie’s books, maybe at a garage sale or library sale. This book was bundled with the Night/Day/Dawn trilogy, which I already owned and had read. So, I gave those three to my dad and saved this one, thinking it sounded really interesting. But every time I was ready to start a new book, there was always a tempting new release that I chose instead. And let's be honest, how often do you say, “Boy, I’m in the mood for a good Holocaust novel”?

This is a hard book to rate. It's deep, dealing with huge subject matters like God, the war, the Holocaust, memory, disease, relationships, and the capabilities of man for good or evil. The basic premise is that the main character's father is losing his memory, and as the main character goes on a trip to discover what he thinks his father wants him to uncover, the memories of the Germans/Hungarians in Romania are revealed. It sounds captivating. However, the structure and narrative seemed to be all over the place. It was hard to get a clear understanding of things, and then they would change again. There were repetitive parts, especially all the talk about memory, which is a huge theme in a book called “The Forgotten”. But the constant wording, tone, and the little sentence at the end of a paragraph, like “‘Please, don’t let it be forgotten, son.’ No, father, it must not be forgotten,” made me feel like the power of it was lost due to the heavy-handedness. I understand the importance of never forgetting and always remembering, and I'm not minimizing a Holocaust survivor's life work. But there was just something about the approach here. Then the narrative would jump and shift focus in a way that didn't seem to fit well and was hard to follow. Some sections were boring, while others were gripping. Then we'd leave that and go in a different direction.

There were scenes with the main character talking to his father about his disease, then a bit about his relationship with a woman, alluding to a fight/split but not understanding why. Then we'd see the main character in Europe walking with a translator who was suspected of working for the government, spying, or something. I felt like that whole thing was never really explained or portrayed well. Then there would be a flashback to 1941 and a super captivating 40-page section about the father as a teen going on a mission to discover if the rumors were true, joining the partisans, fighting, and coming home to discover what had happened in his absence. But after that, which was the most captivating section in my opinion, we were back to the present, then a flashback to the father meeting the mother in a displaced persons camp, then a job the main character had covering the Khmer Rouge, but only briefly, not portrayed or delved into much. There were also scenes with a drunken gravedigger who claimed to know everything, conversed with the dead rabbis, and called them all to a meeting at night. It was really weird. It was easy to get lost in the Jewish terminology, and this element of the supernatural was a strange inclusion.

The main character and father share names with the grandfather and great-grandfather, so I had to keep things straight with the time hopping and the focus of who we were following. The main narrative eventually focuses on one incident, a crime the father witnessed but chose not to intervene, a choice that haunts him, and we see that this is the true purpose of the son's trip. I can appreciate that type of focus and development, but again, the climactic scene didn't really seem that climactic. So he talks to her? Just to say what? Nothing changes, so just to say he remembers and we should remember. But we see her talking about how important it was for her to forget, and even when he's talking to her, it's not like he conveys the haunting and regret his father feels. He's just throwing horrible details at her. I just didn't think the scene was portrayed well at all. There's a chapter about the father joining another fighting unit in newly-created Israel, but I felt like that was under-developed. We never find out why the main character was being surveilled while on this mission, or the purpose behind him investigating gravestones and inscriptions.

It just seemed like there was so much potential here, but it's like four different stories are crammed together and each suffers as a result. I love when novels have rotating narrators, plotlines with their own independent trajectories that then converge, and shifts in tone and chronology that better emphasize the material. But I thought that all of those things here held the story back. It was hard to follow, hard to get into at times, with ebbs and flows, unanswered questions, and a desire for more in some areas and less in others. These are the feelings I'm left with.

I guess it sounds like I hated it, but I didn't. I just had high hopes, as I love Elie, have taught his speeches, read Night, and other works of his. I'm glad I read it. There were definitely interesting parts. The working premise seemed good, but I just didn't feel swept up and blown away like I was hoping for.

It is almost as if there is a crossover between Milan Kundera and Jonathan Safran-Foer. Thematically, there is an interest in exile and exiles. And there is a touch of that Jewish magical realism thrown in. (My apologies, I read it a long time ago.)

The truth was that Malkiel's father had never known any woman but his own wife. Was it a matter of fidelity? Not even that; it was only love. Which writer said that you could love two women but you could only be faithful to one? Malkiel's father might have known an occasional surge of love, but he had loved only one woman. His love for his wife was deep and unwavering, a love that had stood the test of time. It was a love that was not just based on physical attraction but on a deep emotional connection. He had been faithful to her through thick and thin, and his love for her had only grown stronger with each passing year.

A Lyrical Weaving of a Father's World War II Experience

A father's journey during World War II is a story that often remains untold. It is a tale of sacrifice, courage, and the impact it has on his life and those around him. This father's experience in the war led to a global decline in his well-being. The horrors he witnessed and the challenges he faced took a toll on his mental and physical health.

As time passed, his son grew up with a sense of mystery and a longing to know his father better. The son felt the need to recreate his father's past, to understand the man who had shaped his life in ways he couldn't fully comprehend. This desire to know his father became a driving force for the son.

The story is both haunting and relevant. It reminds us of the sacrifices made by those who served in the war and the lasting effects it can have on families. It also highlights the importance of passing down our stories and memories to future generations. Through this lyrical weaving of the father's experience, we are given a glimpse into a world that is often hidden from view, and we are left with a sense of wonder and a deeper appreciation for the human spirit.

I truly relished this book, and discovered it to be profoundly poetic and deep.

However, I do have one major query regarding the book. And a spoiler is ahead, so if you don't wish to read further, please stop here.

The part where Malkiel visits the rape victim of Iztik and makes her revisit the ordeal so that she can recall Elhanan standing by, attempting to plead with Iztik to leave her alone.

I am extremely perplexed as to why she said "Thank you." I would have anticipated that the scene would end with her saying that she forgives Elhanan for not doing more than he could at that moment.

I thought Elhanan was remorseful for not being able to do more to assist her, thus I have no clue as to why she would express gratitude.

That was the sole aspect that I had difficulty reconciling in my mind with what the author intended.

Nevertheless, this is a book brimming with thought-provoking ideas and one that will remain with me for a considerable period.

So I'll be honest,

I didn't finish the book. I just couldn't get into it. Maybe I'm too mom-brained. You know, being a mom takes up so much of my time and energy. I'm constantly thinking about my kids, their needs, their schedules. It's like my brain is on autopilot, always focused on them.

When I picked up this book, I was hoping it would be a great escape. But unfortunately, it just didn't happen. Maybe it was the writing style, or maybe it was the subject matter. I don't know. All I know is that I couldn't seem to get past the first few chapters.

I feel a little bad about not finishing it, but I also know that I have to be realistic about my time and my interests. There are so many other things that I need to do and want to do as a mom. Maybe one day, when my kids are a little older and I have a bit more free time, I'll give this book another try. But for now, I'm just going to move on and focus on the things that matter most to me.

It could be just another book about war and its devastating effects. However, it insists on revolving around memory and forgetfulness, the legacy and the creation of a new life, the weight of the people, and the weight of modern lightness, truth and lies.

And all of this, with an ending that is truly desolating, as few others are (due to the cruelty of the way it is written).

This book delves deep into the complex emotions and experiences that war brings. It makes the reader question what is remembered and what is forgotten, how the past shapes the present and future, and the importance of truth in a world filled with lies.

The desolating ending leaves a lasting impression, making the reader reflect on the harsh realities of war and the human condition. It is a powerful and thought-provoking work that will stay with you long after you have finished reading it.