Elie Wiesel Books

This novel moves along slowly for the first three-quarters. But it picks up very quickly and becomes a very compelling read as Wiesel begins to introduce the character of Pedro, the novel's idealized hero who is present from the beginning but never escapes the memory of the protagonist, Raphael, to take the page as a living character. Pedro, who was known as Pinhas in Poland, earned his name in the Spanish Civil War, where he had gone to fight in the years before the Holocaust. After the war, he becomes a kind of secret agent for devastated Jewry, working with others to bring the survivors together and set them on their new life.
Painted in the tradition of the near messianic hero, familiar to readers of Mordecai Richler's "Solomon Gursky Was Here" and perhaps to a lesser degree Saul Bellow's "Humboltd's Gift," Pedro is instantly admirable and the reader shares Raphael's feeling for him. Wiesel uses Pedro as a character of unbridled potential who is never allowed to reach it, and is banished to the realm of Raphael's memory. In a novel about the Holocaust, that works to great effect because clearly there were many real "Pedros" who were either killed in the concentration camps or could not survive in the aftermath of the Holocaust.
This is a novel about memory and madness; the memory of those who died in the Holocaust and the madness of the hate that caused their deaths.
Along the way, we meet a character who stares at the sky trying to find the lost six million in the clouds and the stars, and there are some other excellent character portraits. But Wiesel also introduces a host of mad inmates of an insane asylum who think they are biblical figures. That last part is what the novel could have done without. These crazy want-to-be biblical figures are very unbelievable, especially compared to the more sane characters of Raphael, his wife Tiara and Pedro.
Instead, we get the sense that Wiesel is using these characters as a way to weave Midrash, or biblical legends, into a modern novel. Although it is an ambitious experiment, it falls flat for lack of believability.
Ultimately, the novel does well to explore the Holocaust as a kind of all-encompassing madness. It at times can be an engrossing read. And the pages that challenge God on how He could have allowed the Holocaust to happen are worth anyone's read. But it would have been a better book without much of the material set in the insane asylum.
The novel does finish well and leaves you with a glimpse of light beyond the Holocaust. And a good use of naming gives the reader the impression that even Pedro, nee Pinhas, could come back. According to some Jewish legends, Pinhas is in fact Elijah, the great prophet who never died.
When he followed up the novel "Night" with the sequel "Dawn," Wiesel explored how life can go on after the Holocaust without turning one's back on the horror of that worst period in human history. "Twilight" continues that theme but makes it more accessible to the average reader by setting the survivor in everyday life, instead of in the life and death struggles of nascent Israel.

This was a difficult book to rate. It is, to begin with, a fairly short novel; just over 200 pages. I felt one of the problems with this book was that the author moved us around too much in time, place and character. The brevity of the book made this confusing. We're one place then another before we got settled in with the former. The basic plot of the book is challenging but worth the effort to try and follow. A doctor (Raphael)who was a youthful survivor of the Holocaust is trying to come to understand his experiences. Through him we meet a wide array of characters of whom the most important is a man nicknamed Pedro. Raphael is in a search for Pedro and for meaning to the horrors that are beyond meaning. There is an irony in the duality of his search. On one level Raphael searches for a real savior that he has lost. On the other level, he searches for the savior that was never there. In the end he encounters both. We are left unfulfilled. Having gone this far with him, we expect more. We want a clear answer, a happy ending. We get neither and, in this ambiguity, we get a sense of Holocaust reality; there is no meaning, there is no happy ending. Night represents evil, day represents good. In the twilight lies the madness.

Twilight seeks to explore the relationship between God and his creation in the context of a mental assylum whereby the accusation of God's insanity in the wake of the Holocaust is juxta-opposed against God's care. The book is filled with wonderful characters in the assylum who 'double' in their insanity as characters from Hebrew Scripture - Adam, Joseph, Cain, Abraham, the Messiah and God. The book is somewhat complicated in that the deepest questions concerning the nature of God and humanity are explored while historic 'flash backs' break up the intensity to tell the real struggle of the main character and his family under the Nazi regime. The book is written with an intense passion and stimulates emotions and arguments and insights concerning God's relationship to humanity in the light of the holocaust from all angles. God is seen as omni-present but veiled, simultaneously imminant and transcendent. Many times the question WHY? is thrown at God and options of God's insanity, cruelty, indifference and usury are expressed. Finally, the accusation of God's insanity in relation to the hohlocaust is defended through the patient who beleives himself to be God - 'When exactly was I suppose to stop it? Go on, tell me'

The novel evokes sympathy for God as a concluding note and in the face of anger and accusation because of the holocaust we are left with an unveiled God in tears and pain through the accusation 'you could have stopped it - you should have stopped it'.

This is a short novel the weaves a masterful tapestry of emotions, history, theology, accusation and theodicy. It's setting in a clinic is unique, the patients are loveable, understandable. Wiesel leads the reader to be on everyone's side, in everyone's shoes. A stunning novel - well worth coming to terms with and reading over and over again.

This was my 1st Wiesel work and I did not find it to be "perplexing" or "weird". Actually, I found it to be a quite sane story depicting one of the 20th centuries' most perplexing events.

For readers who have thought previously about the various shades of madness and those who find themselves afflicted (Robert Persig's 'Lila' as an example) and for readers who have spent any time reflecting on the inexcapable impact of the Holocaust on survivors and their next generation...then 'Twilight' is a mystical and brutally real novel depicting the terror of just one family out of the countless thousands.

Elie Wiesel is a man apparently haunted by his past. A survivor of the concentration camps and the Holocaust, Wiesel has turned his experiences into some of the most profound modern literature. "Twilight" is no exception to that rule, a novel that searches for the truth of humanity lost during the Holocaust.

"Twilight" tells the story of Raphael Lipkin, a lost and lonely man. He finds himself drawn to a sanitorium in upstate New York, which specializes in the madness of patients who believe themselves to be characters from the Bible. He is there to hopefully his friend Pedro, the man who saved him during the Holocaust and then disappeared from his life. As he studies these patients, who range from Abraham and Cain to Jesus and God himself, Raphael is torn between madness and sanity. He questions all that he knows to be true and all that he has experienced in his life.

Wiesel is a master storyteller, weaving complicated stories into a wonderous picture. "Twilight" fluctuates between the present time, to Raphael's memories, to his family's persecution during the Holocaust. The reader is shown the true horrors that Jews experienced, and how families are torn apart. Raphael never recovers from his experiences, and this becomes apparent in his questioning. His search doesn't necessarily bring answers; these are tough questions that might not be answerable. How can one see through the madness of the Holocaust when it is an event that the entire world still struggles to understand? Wiesel's purpose isn't to make one understand these tragedies or to give simple answers to questions of faith; rather, he wants the reader to think and question, and be content to know that not everything is for us to know.

I was disappointed with this work. It is more about Elie Weisel then about chassidic stories. Many of the stories are familiar to me, and in all cases they appear distorted and many times the point of the story is missing. To summarize, as one of the stories said, He didn't hear what was said, and didn't write what he heard.

Hassidism, its tales, legends, and masters, has always been a source of mystery and confusion. "Souls on Fire" is a journey through Hassidism. Traveling from the source and further development of this unique Jewish religious manifestation is a joy when led by the mind and sould of Elie Wiesel. His personal and emotional input, the tales and legends included throughout the book, and his non-academic but rather humane approach (a typical Hassid) is the most sincere attempt in trying to understand and "speak of the unspeakable," sparkling light into a religious fervor born out of anguish and despair. The purpose is not to agree or understand, but rather to believe.

It's amazing how everything Wiesel touches turns to gold, and here, he's done it again.

The Chassidic masters Wiesel portrays were passionate about Judaism in a way any modern reader can relate to. Wiesel deftly brings that message home time and time again, evoking not only the syrupy nostalgia of most volumes of "Rebbe stories", but also a very immediate committment to Jewish life.

A masterpiece, this would also make an excellent gift for anyone interested in Jewish spirituality.

Interesting material about a national Polish hero, although too much detail made the book somewhat tedious.

The book was almost too well researched, giving every minor detail of Korczak's life as well as those of his companions. It was, however, worth learning about a national hero from Poland.

The book is only like 120 small pages -- read it! Having cliff notes to something like this is stupid -- a) because it is so short to begin with and b) from a practical point of view, anything that you are going to be asked to write based on this book is going to be rather emotional, or at least intense, as the subject is, and getting the facts and dates without FEELING it is not going to help you write a decent essay anyway. You would be lucky to get a D on an essay on this book written on the basis of these notes!

OK, 72 pages of cliff notes for a 144 page book? That is absurd! Night is a classic work, filled with vivid metaphor and intensely emotional characters. You could get a third of the way through it in the time it would take to BUY the cliff notes.

Glad I didn't have to read the book. I hate having to think. I mean, on the topic of "night", imagine looking at the stars and having to imagine all those shapes for yourself? But then you can just get a book of the constellations and all the dots are connected. That's good. But who cares anyway? I'd rather stay inside. And the same with books. But then you have to pass your courses. So this was worth the money.
And I could read it on my computer. It'll be even more convenient when I can get it on my Blackberry. I mean, big fat monitors are as passe as email. But I don't want to be a whiner.

Forget this Cliff Notes crap! Just read Night. It's a great book and it won't even take you long to read. I wish I could give this Cliff Note book zero stars.

Just read the book. Its a wonderful book and you can read it over a weekend. You don't need cliff notes.

The fear and terror that Elie Wiesel endured during his teenage years can not be rationally explained. The novel Witness for Life by Ellen Norman Stern portrays the dramatic and emotional impact that the Holocaust had on Elie Wiesel's life.
The systematic extermination of Elie's family became a ghastly memory and a critical part of shaping his future identity. Elie's comfortable home life in his early years deeply influenced his life. Eliezer Wiesel was born in Sighet, Transylvania to Shlomo and Sarah Wiesel on September 30, 1928. Elie, from a very young age, wanted to learn the intricacies of the Jewish religion. He would study Judaism eleven months each year. He would do his secular studies in an intensive one-month program. His love of learning would come back to him later in his life.
When Elie was fifteen, all the Jews of Sighet were gathered up and put on a train to Auschwitz. The last sight that Elie had of the town that he had loved so much during his childhood was Adolf Eichmann striding up and down the platform laughing. The horrible stench of burning human flesh surrounded the camp. He witnessed human bodies being tossed into giant ditches with fire burning at the bottom. Hoping that this was all a dream, Elie went to bed that night to the sounds of the Mourners Kaddish, a prayer for the dead. Although he still believed in a god, he could no longer praise him. Elie's father died during the time that he was in Auschwitz.
Elie soon met the Nobel laureate Francois Mauriac. Francois was also a member of the French Resistance. He urged Elie to write about what he had witnessed. Elie emerged with an eight hundred page manuscript that no one would publish. The manuscript was entitled Night. Mauriac used his influence to have Night published after Eli condensed the book.
By reading this novel before reading a novel like Night I was able to better understand the life of Elie Wiesel. The author made it apparent that she interviewed Elie for this biography. She also used excepts from many of Elie's books. Although this is a well-written book, it was published in 1982. Elie has done many things since then, including the pinnacle of his career, winning the Nobel Peace Prize. I would suggest reading a more current biography.

Elie Wiesel's new children's book, King Solomon and His Magic Ring, is an unpleasantly surprising work. Wiesel, author of over forty works of fiction and non-fiction, stuns readers with an uninspiring, bland retelling of a famous legend. He attempts to catch our children's attention with a thin spidery plot that is difficult to grasp.

As a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Wiesel could have done much better for himself. Instead, he has written one more book that we are able to add to the growing pile of poorly written children's books lacking in stimuli. Surely, "Not only was Solomon the wisest of all rulers, he was also the mightiest." (12). Well, not only is that line cliché, it's also not something that would excite a young mind.

Speaking of exciting, the paintings featured in this piece are of very high quality and talent. However, they are not suitable for children. The art is too dark and depicts demons, giants, lions, and other things that might frighten younger readers. In addition to boring or perhaps scaring today's youth, Wiesel has also managed to impress upon them a couple of incorrect teachings, including one about women. "Solomon's worst mistake? His marriage to the daughter of the Pharaoh." (36) The daughter of the Pharaoh gives a poor example of women. The book describes her as an enthralling dancer who later tricks Solomon whilst he is under her spell. Not all women are evil temptresses out to control men through manipulative ways; the author should make that clear.

Now, what about this magic ring? "From the moment he slipped the ring on his finger, Solomon's authority extended over everything from spirits and animals to the wind." (14) That sounds a bit like mind control. Add that to the way Wiesel portrays King Solomon; a reader might think Wiesel was advocating ruling with an iron fist. Children's books are meant to be entertaining, yes, but not to cause the youngster to reach for incorrect ideals.

Our media claims `90's youth is desensitized to television murders and sex in the movies. However, since children are taught that books are the alleys towards truth, they tend to try to learn from them, rather than media. Let Wiesel not inadvertently poison the minds of tomorrow with works such as this.

This book is written in the format of a conversation between two friends, Francois Mitterand (former President of France) and Elie Wiezel (Nobel laureate). This format makes for easy reading, but tends to gloss over hard discussion of the interesting issues. On the upside, it rolls along very quickly, at the pace of conversation.

I had serious problems with this book. Both the dialogue and the concept of this book are incredibly arrogant. The supposed "conversation" has the air of a Doonesbury cartoon, with Gary Trudeau lampooning political figures-- except the authors do it to themselves. It is arrogant also because the authors presume that readers care about their opinions on everything outside of their specialty. Who cares about Mitterand's opinions on religion, Nature and childhood, except as they relate to his specialty (politics)? What makes his opinions on these subjects any more interesting than mine? He tends to oscillate between banality and a forced profundity. He tells readers that "courage isn't the absence of fear; it's being able to dominate your fear." True, undoubtedly; but common knowledge, commonly expressed. If this is the best he can do, this book should have been circular-filed by the publisher.

The format also contributes to this. The few times they stumble onto something profound, like the importance of names to a culture, they stumble right back off it. Wiezel is generally more profound in his musings-- of course, his reputation and living have been made by seeing deeper trends and implications in society. It is a shame, if only for this reason, that the book focusses on Mitterand. When discussing religion, Wiezel notes, "I can remember the first time I failed to put on the phylacteries. . . For me it was terrible, because I was so devout. But the world did not collapse under my feet. And yet, I had been convinced that if I committed such an act I would be struck down on the spot."

Both authors point out that they've never been psychoanalyzed. Perhaps this is the impetus behind the book. Mitterand was near death when this project was completed, and tells readers that he wishes to be understood. The authors know each other well, which makes for much more interesting reading because the interviewer knows what questions to ask. The downside is that some questions whose answers are already known to the interviewer but unknown to the reader may not be asked. Therefore, we need aperceptive and intelligent interviewer, which we luckily find in Wiezel.

The two obviously go over well-trod ground. This means that they don't explain their thoughts very well, knowing that the other understands it. This book could have used a good editor to say, "I don't understand this thought." At one point Mitterand says that "I'm interested in the kinds of questions religions pose . . . Fundamentally, I admit the existence of a principle, and of an explanation, but my mind falters at the forms of the explanation."

There were some interesting points in the book, but they were mostly incidental. For instance, for those who didn't already know, a strong pro-Israeli bent can be detected in Mitterand. Some of the "forward school" thinking about war that Mitterand displays in his dismissal of retreat in war characterized strategic thinking in France before WWI. The statement "peevishness, however, has never been a substitute for rage" could be straight out of Tushman's Guns of August.

The book does improve if you can get through the first chapter. The chapter on faith is better than the one on childhood, and the chapter on war is better still. The book is disingenuous, though, as Mitterand paints himself not as a human being, but as a saint forced to negotiate in this world. Sad, really, because he is an interesting, complex character, who stood in a unique position during a number of historical events. Ultimately, books can be found about all of the topics they cover that are much more interesting, in-depth, and profound.

After chapters on such topics as childhood and the meaning of faith, Mitterand says "I believe we should be strictly professional and talk only about what we know." This would have been a much better book if he had done so.