From childhood to adulthood, one would expect a more profound and impactful novel from someone who has lived through the persecution and genocide that the Nazis inflicted on the Jews. However, what emerged was a simple and monotonous story, almost like a religious knowledge book, a writing that seems to be a promotional novel about Judaism with quotations from the Talmud. I didn't like it.

The description of the events lacks depth and fails to truly convey the horror and tragedy that the Jews endured during that dark period. It reads more like a dry recitation of facts rather than a vivid and engaging narrative that would draw the reader in and make them feel the emotions of the characters.

Perhaps the author intended to present a different perspective or focus on certain aspects of the Jewish faith and history, but in doing so, they sacrificed the overall quality and appeal of the novel. It is a missed opportunity to tell a powerful and important story in a more compelling way.

Uprooted seems to be a recurring theme in the books penned by Mr. Wiesel.

No one comprehends or describes better than he how such uprooting transforms a person.

From the very beginning, I was drawn into this story, and by the end, I was just as deeply touched as I had been when I read Night years ago.

His works, along with his life, serve as a profound inspiration.

They remind us of the human spirit's resilience in the face of adversity and the importance of bearing witness to history.

Mr. Wiesel's ability to convey the pain and suffering of uprooted individuals is both powerful and poignant.

It forces us to confront the harsh realities of the world and to strive for a more just and compassionate future.

His words have the power to move us, to make us think, and to inspire us to take action.

We should all be grateful for his contributions and continue to be inspired by his life and work.

I have been absent for a long time, as if I was between 3 and 4 months away.

Well, it is a very good narration. The friendships of the Jews who were brought from elsewhere and found each other in Paris and then went to America are very valuable, but as a novel, it is very fragmented. We cannot fully get to know the main character, and we cannot understand the book he wrote. It is full of romantic and arabesque thoughts about his relationships with women and how he destroyed their lives.

The relationship with Ilonka is the nicest part of the novel, a wonderful story until the end. And the woman in the hospital is also like that. But I don't know what those loves between them are... It detracts a lot from the main story.

However, it is a Jewish song, a really poignant narration about the hearts that will always be in exile.

My review published in the San Francisco Chronicle in 2005:

The Time of the Uprooted

By Elie Wiesel, translated by David Hapgood

KNOPF; 300 PAGES; $25

Elie Wiesel has long been a prominent public figure. His ideas and warnings, though of timeless importance, have sometimes seemed too familiar. It's been 20 years since his most famous public moment, when he implored President Reagan not to visit a German cemetery with SS officers' graves. Wiesel's place is always with the victims. He's a camp survivor and a symbol, especially after winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. But in his new novel, "The Time of the Uprooted," his anger takes some by surprise. The protagonist, Gamaliel, a tormented Holocaust survivor, has complex relationships and memories. Wiesel scatters these throughout the book, along with the stories of Gamaliel's friends. The book has its emotional moments, like the scene when Russian troops arrive in Budapest. However, there's a strange lapse near the end with the character of Rebbe Zusya. Despite this, the novel has a deceptive ordinariness and a hypnotic quality, pulling the reader in while also provoking thought. It's a brave and humbling work.

Steve Kettmann, a former Chronicle reporter, lives in Berlin.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi...

This article appeared on page F - 2 of the San Francisco Chronicle.

I truly desired to assign a higher rating to this. In fact, I dedicated far more time to reading it than I probably ought to have.

However, to my disappointment, neither the characters nor the story managed to captivate me as I had initially anticipated.

The characters seemed rather one-dimensional, lacking the depth and complexity that would have made them truly engaging.

Similarly, the story failed to build the necessary tension and excitement to keep me hooked from beginning to end.

Despite my initial enthusiasm, I found myself constantly struggling to maintain my interest as I plowed through the pages.

Perhaps with a bit more development and refinement, this could have been a much more enjoyable read. But as it stands, it simply did not meet my expectations.

Then I began to laugh in order to conquer my fear.

"I'm not scared of pain," I informed them.

"I only revere the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But you, you don't fear Him, and that will come at a high price for you, I'm telling you."

However, one thing is definite, and that is I never ceased laughing. Because I knew for whom I was enduring suffering.

Did they know why they were causing me to suffer? I said to myself that in this life, sometimes we have to decide between laughing and making others laugh. Well, I made my choice.

One ⭐ dropped: I felt ridiculed; and that is something I have never developed an understanding for. But 4 ⭐s hid their sparkle in the pain behind my eyes when Mendel left me the light in his "laughter".

Not his best. Probably rather indifferent, in a literary sense.

This statement seems to suggest that the work in question is not of the highest quality. It may lack the depth, creativity, or skill that one would expect from a truly outstanding piece of literature.

When we say something is "not his best," we are comparing it to other works by the same author that we consider to be superior. It could be that this particular work falls short in terms of plot, character development, language use, or overall impact.

The description "probably rather indifferent" implies a certain lack of enthusiasm or engagement on the part of the reader. The work may not have elicited strong emotions or made a lasting impression.

In a literary context, being indifferent can be a significant drawback. A great work of literature has the power to transport us to different worlds, make us empathize with the characters, and challenge our perspectives. If a work fails to do this, it may be forgettable and ultimately not very fulfilling.

However, it's important to note that everyone's literary tastes are different. What one person considers indifferent, another may find enjoyable or even profound. The assessment of a work's quality is subjective and can vary depending on individual preferences, cultural background, and personal experiences.

In conclusion, while the statement "Not his best. Probably rather indifferent, in a literary sense" may suggest that the work is not up to par, it's always worth exploring and forming our own opinions. We may discover hidden gems or find that a work that initially seemed indifferent grows on us with further reading and reflection.

I have a friend who is currently enrolled in an "Exiles in Literature" class, and this particular book is one of the required readings.

The protagonist, Gamaliel Friedman, flees Czechoslovakia to escape the terrifying onslaught of Nazis who are sweeping through the Jewish community. To enhance his odds of survival, his family entrusts him to a young and gracious cabaret singer named Ilonka, who cares for him as if he were her own. After numerous stops and starts across Europe, he finally settles in New York City, thousands of miles across the Atlantic. Here, he attempts to piece together the fragmented remnants of his life.

In New York, Gamaliel discovers a measure of comfort within a small group of exiles who themselves grapple with the sorts of difficulties that are characteristic of a "stateless" existence. When one of his closest friends in the group, Bolek, utilizes his rhetorical skills to secure him a job as a ghostwriter, Gamaliel embarks on a life that begins to resemble normality. However, although he views this as a financially rewarding career move, the very essence of it personifies his unrepresented existence.

This book delves into a wide array of issues regarding the post-war life of the refugee. Nevertheless, its most poignant analysis lies in the long-term consequences of being unclaimed and the self-loathing that it elicits. Relationships abound in Gamaliel's life, yet his emotional capabilities are stunted by his past. The details of his life are divulged in a taciturn manner, as if the reader were one of his lovers. Consequently, the plot oscillates back and forth in time, enabling interpretations to shift throughout the book. All of this is set against the backdrop of a book he is writing, which he regards as his magnum opus.

I award this book a high 3 stars for several reasons. One is the inclusion of the book mentioned above and the overly existential and dramatic nature of the protagonist. Additionally, I am aware that this criticism is influenced by my own privilege. Had I endured his experiences, perhaps I too would extract every mundane aspect of my day for some existential significance. In defense of the author, I believe it was Elie Wiesel's intention to present a product of unwantedness and the accompanying personality flaws.

The nested stories from the individual characters are deeply moving and shed light on the repercussions rather than just the events themselves. I will most definitely be reading Wiesel's autobiographical trilogy.

It is truly a rare occurrence that I don't manage to complete a book. However, this particular one had me completely stumped.

The timeline within it constantly jumps back and forth between a plethora of different past flashbacks and current day events. What's more, there is a rather haphazard and horrible attempt at a fictional novel randomly interjected.

I managed to plow through 200 out of the 300 pages, yet I still couldn't seem to reach the crux or the point of the story. It was as if I was lost in a maze with no clear path or destination in sight.

Despite my best efforts, I just couldn't bring myself to spend any more time trying to make sense of this convoluted mess. It was a frustrating experience, to say the least.

I can't say that I have truly read this entire piece.

I reached a certain point in the story where the children were being sent away by their parents in a desperate attempt to escape the clutches of the Nazis.

The thought of those innocent children being separated from their families and facing an unknown and terrifying future was just too much for me to bear.

I found myself unable to continue reading, my heart heavy with the weight of their situation.

It made me realize the horrors of war and the lengths that people will go to protect their loved ones.

Although I didn't finish the article, this one scene has left a lasting impression on me.

It serves as a reminder of the importance of peace and the need to do everything we can to prevent such atrocities from happening again.

I hope that by sharing this experience, others will also be moved to reflect on the impact of war and work towards a more peaceful world.

This is a truly captivating book. Its depth is extremely profound, and from the moment I just started it, I found myself completely unable to put it down. There is an air of despair that pervades the story.

The wandering Gamaliel, constantly in search of love, experiences the harsh reality of being rejected by his wife and her family. This is a very sobering tale, to say the least. His separation from his mother and the kind-heartedness of her friend Ilonka add another layer of complexity to the narrative.

The hopelessness engendered by the Nazis is palpable, yet the faith and endurance of the Jewish Nation shine through. Amidst all the turmoil and苦难, the faithfulness of the Lord remains a constant source of strength and hope.

This book is not only a story of one man's journey but also a reflection of the larger historical and social context. It invites readers to empathize with the characters and to gain a deeper understanding of the human spirit in the face of adversity.

Elie Wiesel has once again penned a moving book that delves into the lives of people striving to live well amidst an almost-permanent state of dislocation and tragedy. He serves as a reminder of a distressingly common human condition and our all-too-frequent tendency to overlook the realm of suffering and alienation, as well as those who inhabit it. In fact, it is possible that through our own actions and inactions, we are the ones placing others in that desolate land.

My initial complaint, which was strictly stylistic, emerged early on but gradually dissipated as the novel progressed. Near the beginning, a child character spoke some stilted dialogue. At first, it seemed like a bit of puppet-like artifice, a clumsy means for the author to express his poetic ideas. However, as Wiesel acquainted me with the world in which these people lived, I began to understand why he might have chosen this approach. It wasn't puppetry at all, but rather a demonstration of the idiosyncrasies that people might develop when they have been exiled from normalcy, peace, and acceptance.

Isn't my judgment of someone's strangeness ultimately a judgment of the fact that they have endured experiences that are foreign to me? Am I not making petty critiques of the best, albeit awkward, things they could construct from what remained to them after their harrowing experiences?

This book also makes a point about the power of silence. Not the malicious, willfully ignorant, or conspiratorial kind, but a different kind of silence that embodies power, ineffability, reverence, mourning, humbleness, and careful attention. Perhaps, in a strange way, one valid response to strangeness and suffering is not to compound the violence by "responding" further, but rather to offer this particular, deliberate form of silence.