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jess_mango's review
4.0
Elie Wiesel is best known for his Night trilogy, in which he tells of his experience as a Jewish young man in nazi camps during WWII. Night is one of my all time top reads. It is very powerful.
Wiesel's The Tale of a Niggun is a narrative poem about the WWII experience of Jews in the ghettos of Europe. On the eve of the Purim holiday the leaders of a Jewish ghetto are trying to grapple with the demands of the Nazis that 10 Jewish be handed over to by hung in order to avenge the death of the 10 sons of Haman, the villain from the Purim story. The rabbi in this poem calls on spirits of past rabbis to help guide him in this difficult decision. This is a story of morality, faith, religion, loyalty, and preservation. Lovely, emotional, and powerful.
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy.
Wiesel's The Tale of a Niggun is a narrative poem about the WWII experience of Jews in the ghettos of Europe. On the eve of the Purim holiday the leaders of a Jewish ghetto are trying to grapple with the demands of the Nazis that 10 Jewish be handed over to by hung in order to avenge the death of the 10 sons of Haman, the villain from the Purim story. The rabbi in this poem calls on spirits of past rabbis to help guide him in this difficult decision. This is a story of morality, faith, religion, loyalty, and preservation. Lovely, emotional, and powerful.
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy.
chaz21's review
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
freemajo's review
5.0
all I know is
that there is night
around me
and in me;
and I am sinking,
drawn by its silence,
which is God’s, too.
The Tale of a Niggun is a narrative poem written by Elie Wiesel and published in a collection of essays in 1978. It is written in free verse and accompanied by illustrations best viewed in print. Wiesel’s son, Elisha Wiesel, discovered that the heartbreaking poem of a rabbi deciding the fate of a ghetto’s Jews was loosely based on true events during World War II in two Polish ghettos.
What should we do
or say?
ask the leaders
of the ghetto
somewhere in the East
under forbidden
and cursed skies;
what can we do
so as not to be doomed?
It is beautifully written and expressive. Wiesel’s verse humanizes the moral dilemma of the rabbi. Does he give up ten Jews to save the rest, or does he refuse to participate in this cruel experiment and thus doom the community to suffer extermination? It is The Trolley Problem in real life; would you switch the track to kill one person and thus save five? Or would you refuse to be complicit and witness a tragic loss of more lives?
The rabbi turns to religious scholars of the past and asks for their guidance, but ultimately he is the one who must choose. The Tale of a Niggun does conclude the story with a definitive answer instead of leaving it open-ended, but it allows you the space to ponder what you would do in his shoes.
Recommended for fans of Wiesel’s most famous work, Night, and those not scared by a little free verse.
I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
that there is night
around me
and in me;
and I am sinking,
drawn by its silence,
which is God’s, too.
The Tale of a Niggun is a narrative poem written by Elie Wiesel and published in a collection of essays in 1978. It is written in free verse and accompanied by illustrations best viewed in print. Wiesel’s son, Elisha Wiesel, discovered that the heartbreaking poem of a rabbi deciding the fate of a ghetto’s Jews was loosely based on true events during World War II in two Polish ghettos.
What should we do
or say?
ask the leaders
of the ghetto
somewhere in the East
under forbidden
and cursed skies;
what can we do
so as not to be doomed?
It is beautifully written and expressive. Wiesel’s verse humanizes the moral dilemma of the rabbi. Does he give up ten Jews to save the rest, or does he refuse to participate in this cruel experiment and thus doom the community to suffer extermination? It is The Trolley Problem in real life; would you switch the track to kill one person and thus save five? Or would you refuse to be complicit and witness a tragic loss of more lives?
The rabbi turns to religious scholars of the past and asks for their guidance, but ultimately he is the one who must choose. The Tale of a Niggun does conclude the story with a definitive answer instead of leaving it open-ended, but it allows you the space to ponder what you would do in his shoes.
Recommended for fans of Wiesel’s most famous work, Night, and those not scared by a little free verse.
I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
woolfinbooks's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
I want to be joyous
exuberant
I want to sing in ecstasy
and dance,
and dance with my being.
and about my happinesss
of being Jewish,
of being God's creature
participating in His work
and occupying His thought,
I want to open the gates of joy
and make it flood
the world below
and the world above
A Jew is never alone
you ought to know that.
Even when he dies,
he does not die alone.
Self-sacrifice is not the answer
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide
This about set during the Holocaustdasnet's review
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
perfectpaperbacks's review
4.0
This book was so beautiful
It was told through verse and I devoured it in one go. Such powerful language and imagery.
Would definitely recommend
It was told through verse and I devoured it in one go. Such powerful language and imagery.
Would definitely recommend
bjr2022's review
4.0
Thanks to Angela for recommending this one. I listened to the audiobook of this predawn this morning as I had my coffee. I was not raised Jewish, but I'm ethnically an Ashkenazi Jew, and I felt it in my bone marrow as I listened. A really good feeling of being part of something huge and powerful and ancient.
lepumpkinn's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0