Night by Elie Wiesel // A Heartbreaking Holocaust Story

Night (The Night Trilogy #1), by Elie Wiesel
Publication: January 16, 2006, by Hill and Wang
Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir
Pages: 115
Format: Paperback
Source: Gifted
Rating: 

Born in the town of Sighet, Transylvania, Elie Wiesel was a teenager when he and his family were taken from their home in 1944 to Auschwitz concentration camp, and then to Buchenwald. Night is the terrifying record of Elie Wiesel's memories of the death of his family, the death of his own innocence, and his despair as a deeply observant Jew confronting the absolute evil of man. This new translation by his wife and most frequent translator, Marion Wiesel, corrects important details and presents the most accurate rendering in English of Elie Wiesel's testimony to what happened in the camps and of his unforgettable message that this horror must never be allowed to happen again.

My Thoughts:

Night was a beautiful read. It was heartbreaking, of course, but Elie Wiesel's writing was beautiful. It made me emotional, depressed, and experience such a broad variety of emotions that I can't simply comprehend it. After visiting Auschwitz and seeing it in person, imagining the suffering that was held within its walls, reading this book was even more emotional. I shed some tears, and left my heart with this story. It's a special one, and what I love about reading Holocaust stories is that each is different. You can't possibly ever get tired of reading these kinds of books.

I read this book a while ago, so I cannot really summarize it (and it's too emotional to do so), but let's just say that it's a must-read. I honestly feel like like it's a book that everyone should be required to read.

Night was stunning and a special read that should be implemented in more schools (preferably high schools). I am so happy that Elie was honoured with so many prizes for his work, including a Nobel Peace Prize.