Night by Elie Wiesel, was this month's book choice for my book club. What can I say... the comment on the front cover is very appropriate.
"A slim volume of terrifying power." - the New York Times
Night is a true story about Elie, a boy who survived the holocaust.
I make it a habit of never watching or reading anything too serious.
(that's not true, I read the paper almost cover to cover everyday)
This was a huge step for me & I have truly been enlightened/frightened. Mr. Wiesel is an amazing man who has done the world a service by writing this book- which by-the-way won him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986.
I strongly believe the famous quote (which I hope not to ruin) that goes something like this-
Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.
That is why I checked this book out of the library and did my best to read at least most of it.
In the world we live in today it is easy to fantasize or avoid difficult issues & believe that evil people don't exist- but they do. Most definitely do.
I read most of the book skipping the parts I just couldn't handle, read the end & the very moving Noble Peace speech at the end. I do highly recommend it because I feel that now & then we need to be reminded of our responsibility as members of the human race & occupants of this earth. We all know events like the ones in this book occur even today in this world. We cannot ever forget how blessed we are to have freedom & that yes, freedom is not free.
*Have you ever read this book, will you?
4 comments:
Hi Patsy,
I have such a hard time with anything Holocaust related, the stories are just too much for me, I feel so sad to hear them. I read Night when Oprah chose it for her book club and watched when Elie took Oprah to the concentration camp. I bawled the whole time. I agree that it is worth reading and I have recommended it many times. I was grateful to read it and have the knowledge of what a priviledged life I live. -wende
wow-
I didn't know Oprah had him on the show, etc. I don't know if I could've watched it. Thanks for commenting!
I can't wait to see your new floors... hopefully we can come down in Nov!! Yippee!! Post some cool pics of the kids rolling on the new floor for us!!
Hugs,
Beth
I haven't read this book, but last year for our ward book club we read The Hiding Place and had a great discussion about the Holocaust and books addressing it. The girl leading the discussion pointed out that this book (Night) has a less than hopeful view of things because he didn't come away from the experience closer to God (or something along those lines), so I haven't been very keen on reading it.
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