by Nina Medeiros

Created on: March 31, 2009

Night: reviewed by Nina Medeiros

The Jews of Sighet recited Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dying, as they marched for the first time from the stench of the cattle wagons towards the looming chimneys of Auschwitz. Elie Wiesel, author of the memoir, Night, recalls, "I don't know whether, during the history of the Jewish people, men have ever before recited Kaddish for themselves." Separated by the wave of a baton from his mother and sister, and now marching towards the crematorium, Wiesel says, "For the first time, I felt anger rising within me. Why should I sanctify his name? The Almighty, the eternal and terrible Master of the Universe, chose to be silent. What was there to thank Him for?" (Wiesel, 33)

There are times when reading Night, by Elie Wiesel, that the reader will need to set it down and walk away. The pages are filled with such extraordinary and vivid prose that the story of the Jews of Sighet comes to life in a way that turns history back as if it happened yesterday. Wiesel's words reveal circumstances so difficult to endure that the most disciplined of readers will need to take a step back in order to be reassured that he or she is in a place where the Holocaust is just a memory and Wiesel just its voice.

It will come as no surprise to anyone who reads, Night, that Elie Wiesel was nominated for and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. Shortly after the war he studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and during this time, with encouragement, he began to write about his experiences in the camps. What began as recollection became a dedication to the mission of keeping people from ever forgetting the occurrence of these tragedies. To this date, the writing has included thirty-six works on the Holocaust, Judaism, and the moral responsibility of all people to fight hatred, racism and genocide. Wiesel has served as an ambassador for peace around the world, a leader in the world-wide Jewish community and a historian in creating the American memorial to victims of the Holocaust.

Arguably, Night, is one of the most significant works in existence documenting this time period, but it was not initially published to great acclaim. In fact, it was originally turned down for press (NYT). Perhaps the world was not ready for it. But Night was meant for us. Wiesel himself has said, "I feel that books, just like people, have a destiny. Some invite sorrow, others joy, some both." Night, is a classic; the landscape of literature barren without it. Imagine a world without

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