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Book Review Of Night By Elie Wiesel

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An important nonfiction book that I think everyone should read is Night by Elie Wiesel. This book was published in 1960 by Hill and Wang. It has 116 pages and it is told by a man who survived the Holocaust. This was a very important moment in history that everyone needs knowledge on. Elie Wiesel was 15 when the Nazis came for the 15,000 Jews of his hometown of Sighet, Transylvania, in May 1944. Upon arrival at Auschwitz-Birkenau, his mother and sister were murdered within hours, while he was put to work as a slave laborer. Eight months later, the Germans evacuated the camp and forced the survivors on a death march that ended at Buchenwald. Wiesel was one of the few still alive when the Americans arrived in April 1945. Now this is a hard book to read. The writing is clear, but it is difficult nonetheless. Who wants to read about torture and genocide, about people being ripped from their homes, losing their faith and turning on their own families? It is depressing, to say the least. However, this book is not about making the reader sad, it is about remembering. Wiesel wrote his memoir so that we would remember what happened and remember what humans are capable of. Wiesel tells the complete truth about his experience, and the reader is left with hard questions. Although it’s a painful story, he gives you real insight into the tragic horrors that took place. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead is another good read. It was published by Random House in in 2009 and has 224 pages.

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