Night is a memoir of its author, Elie Wiesel. He was a Jewish teenager who survived the Nazi concentration camps during World War II. Night tells of his experiences during his stay in these various camps-the harsh conditions, the crematories, and the brutal treatment of Jews.
The book starts with the peaceful life of Elie and his family in Hungary. Very soon, the Germans move in and the persecution of Jews begins. First, his family and other Jews are forced into a big ghetto, then a smaller ghetto, and finally to the concentration camp of Birkenau. There Elie and his father are separated from the rest of their family. Their long road to surveil begins.
The rest of the book highlights Elie and his father’s efforts to stay alive and stick together through thick and thin. They are transported to at least 3 other camps, yet they don’t lose each other. Elie’s only hope of living is the fact that his father is always by his side.
There are many shocking scenes in this book and it is very poignant. Watching the events of these horrible camps through the eyes of a 15 year old boy is very interesting. The reader pities Elie when he loses faith in his God. The reader is horrified when Elie witnesses a young boy being hanged at the gallows. The reader feels angry at God when Elie sees babies being thrown into crematories. And, the reader feels joy when Elie is finally liberated by American troops. There are many good quotes and the last two sentences are the most impressive.
All these appalling occurrences are described by Wiesel in a very effective manner. He uses his own unique style to convey his terrors and slivers of hope. The chapters don’t have numbers and the sentence structure is very simple. It is a very short read with only about 100 pages. However, this book is still very chilling. I would recommend this book to everyone because it is a reminder of the Holocaust which occurred fairly recently. The main goal of Wiesel when writing this book was to make others aware of this event and to make sure something like this never happens to anyone ever again. I would also suggest The Diary of Anne Frank which gives the situation from a different perspective.
Author: After being liberated, Elie Wiesel moved to France where he became a journalist. Later he moved to Israel, and finally to the US. He currently lives in New York City and is a professor at Boston University. He has written many other books: Dawn, A Beggar in Jerusalem, The Fifth Son, and others.