Night (1955)

This book was the first Holocaust memoir that I read in full, but for all that it’s a slim volume it has always stayed with me as a powerful experience, remembrance, and testimony. Coming back to it years later, this time without the lens of academia insisting on a thought-provoking analysis to get a good grade, I’m still left wanting to write. What I want to write, I’m not sure, though, as the book opens up so many emotions that I’m left with a feeling of emptiness and regret. Not regret for having read the book, of course, but regret that humanity sat idle and did nothing while those around them suffered; regret that those in power turned away refugees who would have elsewise been saved; regret that even with its shining moments humanity has at its core a darkness that must be acknowledged. Even with the hindsight of 75 years it often seems that we have yet to learn from the mistakes of the past, as we continue to allow those who warp power for their own gain to lead and to allow cruelty to overrule compassion. And yet, we have persevered throughout, so while the book may not leave readers with a happy feeling in their gut (or much more than a cliffhanger, not knowing what truly happens to the narrator until the subsequent books) we know that there are still next steps to be taken by those who are able and can make them. ( )

I'd never read this -- amazing? Or maybe I'm just that old. I'm kind of glad I waited because this is a new translation from the original Yiddish, done by Elie Wiesel's wife Marion, "who knows my voice and how to transmit it better than anyone else."

"The witness has forced himself to testify." And this person has at long last witnessed his testimony. It seemed necessary. Metta.

I read the first edition of this translation, a slim paperback with tanned pages, which I found at Goodwill.

Around the year in 52 books challenge notes:
#22. A book with the major theme of survival ( )

Harrowing and necessary, perhaps the more so in the current political climate in the U.S. At the beginning of the timeline, the people really had no idea of the enormity of was coming even in the face of mounting fear, and sometimes I worry that the same is true of current U.S. citizens, that in 2 years, or 4, or ten, we'll find ourselves in a place we would never today have conceived possible. ( )

This isn't a fun read, but it's definitely a must-read.

Not only is this book heartbreaking because it's about the holocaust(in particular, Elie's experience), but I think the most heart-wrenching part of this book was the way the author described it: with small amount of shock and hardly any emotion. I just felt so bad for this poor boy. To be so used to this treatment that you finally acquiesce and describe it in flat language...I don't know, I guess it just makes me incredibly sad that he had to grow that "used to it". ( )

Night was written by Elie Wiesel, and won a Nobel Peace Prize for this book in 1986. (compound) This book is about Elie and his father's experiences and struggles with the Holocaust with concentration camps at Auschwitz. This book is very hard to get through, it is real and emotional. This book is filled with raw emotions and experiences with what they went through, what they saw, and what life was like. I would say the intended audience is 8th graders. I would allow my students to read it then answer questions about it at home, then do class discussions and activities in class together.

I would also consider reading this book aloud to your kids over the course of a period of time to check their comprehension skills.

This is an 8th grade tek that could match the activity!

(5) Comprehension skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts. The student uses metacognitive skills to both develop and deepen comprehension of increasingly complex texts. The student is expected to:

(A) establish purpose for reading assigned and self-selected texts;

(B) generate questions about text before, during, and after reading to deepen understanding and gain information;

(C) make and correct or confirm predictions using text features, characteristics of genre, and structures;

(D) create mental images to deepen understanding;

(E) make connections to personal experiences, ideas in other texts, and society;

(F) make inferences and use evidence to support understanding;

(G) evaluate details read to determine key ideas;

(H) synthesize information to create new understanding; and

(I) monitor comprehension and make adjustments such as re-reading, using background knowledge, asking questions, and annotating when understanding breaks down. ( )