The book has since been translated into 30 different languages, and is often thought of as a keystone of holocaust literature. The most famous version that we know today by the title “Night” was published in French as “La Nuit.” Little known to many is that Night is actually the first of a trilogy, followed by Dawn and Day, which is said to convey both a Jewish folkloric practice of beginning day at nightfall, and also conveys Wiesel’s own transition in life post holocaust. He then revised it to a 245 page edition entitled “And the World Remained Silent” which was published in Argentina. He completed an 862-page manuscript in Yiddish by the end of 1954 about all of his experiences during the holocaust. After being liberated at the age of 16 from Buchenwald by the United States Army, Wiesel moved to Paris. It is thus not just a book about the holocaust, but indeed the very nature of the human condition, imploring the reader to ask where civility and barbarism intersect, and we conceptually draw the line between humans and beasts. Wiesel’s writing conveys the nightmare of darkness, indeed, a never-ending “night” from which the book derives its name, that the reader comes to understand as a metaphor for the holocaust itself. More than just about the horrific conditions that prisoners had to endure in the camp, Night is also an unnerving insight into the breakdown of humanity and followers’ loss of faith in God himself. It is just maybe not the first book I would have them read on the Holocaust.Author Elie Wiesel wrote Night (1960) about his experience that he and his family endured in the concentration camps during World War II between 19, primarily taking place the notorious camps of Auschwitz and Buchenwald. It is something all children need to understand eventually. It's a valuable account of history and is a gut-wrenching look at what evil humans are capable of. It is definitely not something I would hand him and expect him to process on his own. For example, one boy kills his own father as he fights him for a piece of bread. It may be hard for a child to read this and understand the response to trauma. While mild language for the scenes, my child is going to have a LOT of questions while reading this book. Idek jumped, turned and saw me, while the girl tried to cover up her breasts." He moved one hundred prisoners so he could copulate with this girl!. Now I understood why Idek refused to leave us in the camp. ".of Idek and a young Polish girl, half naked, on a straw mat. There also is a part where the main character comes upon a guard having sex with a woman, and because he witnessed this, he was lashed with a whip. (In fact, this affection was not entirely altruistic there existed here a veritable traffic of children among homosexuals, I learned later.)" Immediately after our arrival, he had bread brought for them, some soup and margarine. Here is one example: "Like the head of the camp, he liked children. There are several mentions of guards preying on younger boys. I normally trust the parent reviews on this site, so I wanted to be sure to note they are incorrect on there being nothing sexual in this book. It already is an upsetting topic, but it does not soften the blows, so be prepared if you have a sensitive child/teen. This one was assigned for my son's junior high homeschool curriculum, and I am struggling with the choice based on the themes, references and difficult to process evil that is described.
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