Night by Elie Wiesel

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Night by Elie Wiesel

                This is a powerful story. It’s the story of a fifteen-year-old boy whose world was ripped away when he was forced to load a cattle car and taken to Auschwitz in 1944. His family was ripped apart. He only knows the fate of his father who he has been lucky enough to stay with. Nothing else is lucky. Food is minimal. Work is harsh. And yet he is alive. Alive and doubting the existence of the God he was reverently worshiping before everything changed. Now his faith has failed him as he watches atrocities befalling everyone around him, including himself.
                I’ve read plenty of nonfiction accounts of the Holocaust. Accounts of the people who somehow managed to survive and of others whose lives were taken because of hate. It never fails to break my heart. It never fails to hurt and this is no exception. Wiesel firsthand account of Auschwitz is chilling. Chilling in its simplicity and its recounting of facts. In the beginning there was a warning that went ignored. Then there was fear. Then the worst happened. Processing all of this as a child and somehow being able to speak of it after is a commendable, horrifying feat. It’s like never waking from a nightmare. This was very well told and haunting. I give this 4 out of 5 stars.

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