For such a slim novel, "Night" was a very heavy read. Once started,
it became hard to concentrate on much else. Thankfully, I was able
to finish it in just a few sittings over two days. Elie Wiesel's
memoir of this terrible event in history left me emotionally
wrought to the point I found it hard to respond to the everyday
events and laughter of my own family.
One cannot read this account without feeling the anguish, the fear,
the hurt and humiliation; the sheer terror that was Auschwitz and
Buchenwald. At only 109 pgs., it is easy to see why this book has
been taught in so many schools. Indeed, the copy I read is a twenty
two year old classroom castoff from the Jr. High school my eldest
once attended. Winner of the 1986 NOBEL PEACE PRIZE, I can't
imagine anyone, not even the most reluctant student remaining
silent and without a response to the intensity of this book.