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lw0000's review against another edition
3.0
important written by a holocaust survivor. poor prose if you didnt know it was written by a holocaust survivor. so, it's important to reflect upon, but as a piece of fiction, outside of a few paragraphs of gold philosophizing, it's not worthwhile. also... i'm so curious why nobody in this time period believed anyone else. trusting others' experiences as true will always be safer than not.
whatdebsreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
lexxluthor's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
ckrupiej's review against another edition
4.0
Preface
"Many years ago, long after publishing this short narrative, I read somewhere (I think it was a book by Michael Elkins) about the tragedy of children and adolescents who had emerged from hiding in forest and underground shelters at the time of the Liberation, who soon fell ill from exhaustion or malnutrition.
Transported to various hospitals, they baffled doctors with their refusal to be fed, choosing instead to let themselves slip into death.
This was their simple and heartrending way of launching their own accusation at a so-called civilized society that had allowed people to stand idly and betray the very humanity of mankind by remaining indifferent.
The suicides of these children, like the murders of their parents, will never be forgiven."
Day
"I knew that our suffering changes us. But I didn't know that it could also destroy others."
"I tried to put on a smile but, being to cold, I could only manage a grin. That's why I don't like winter: smiles become abstract."
"Yes, God needs man. Condemned to eternal solitude, he made man only to use him as a toy, to amuse himself."
"Suffering brings out the lowest, the most cowardly in man. There is a phase of suffering you reach beyond which you become a brute: beyond it you sell your soul - and worse, the souls of your friends - for a piece of bread, for some warmth, for a moment of oblivion, of sleep."
"Man is not defined by what denies him, but by that which affirms him. This is found within, not across from him or next to him."
"We have the same enemy and it has only one name: Death. Before it we are all equal. In its eyes no life has more weight than another."
"Suffering is given to the living, not the dead," he said looking right through me. "It is man's duty to make it cease, not to increase it. One hour of suffering less is already a victory over fate."
"Many years ago, long after publishing this short narrative, I read somewhere (I think it was a book by Michael Elkins) about the tragedy of children and adolescents who had emerged from hiding in forest and underground shelters at the time of the Liberation, who soon fell ill from exhaustion or malnutrition.
Transported to various hospitals, they baffled doctors with their refusal to be fed, choosing instead to let themselves slip into death.
This was their simple and heartrending way of launching their own accusation at a so-called civilized society that had allowed people to stand idly and betray the very humanity of mankind by remaining indifferent.
The suicides of these children, like the murders of their parents, will never be forgiven."
Day
"I knew that our suffering changes us. But I didn't know that it could also destroy others."
"I tried to put on a smile but, being to cold, I could only manage a grin. That's why I don't like winter: smiles become abstract."
"Yes, God needs man. Condemned to eternal solitude, he made man only to use him as a toy, to amuse himself."
"Suffering brings out the lowest, the most cowardly in man. There is a phase of suffering you reach beyond which you become a brute: beyond it you sell your soul - and worse, the souls of your friends - for a piece of bread, for some warmth, for a moment of oblivion, of sleep."
"Man is not defined by what denies him, but by that which affirms him. This is found within, not across from him or next to him."
"We have the same enemy and it has only one name: Death. Before it we are all equal. In its eyes no life has more weight than another."
"Suffering is given to the living, not the dead," he said looking right through me. "It is man's duty to make it cease, not to increase it. One hour of suffering less is already a victory over fate."
jo_the_bookworm's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
mat_hilda's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
bethuhknee's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide and War
shelly23's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
smittenforfiction's review against another edition
5.0
Day is about Eliezer who is a journalist and Holocaust survivor. He is hospitalized after being hit by a taxi and spends time thinking about his life and the Holocaust. He is at times close to welcoming death.
› “In fact, the question has haunted me for a long time: Does life have meaning after Auschwitz? In a universe cursed because it is guilty, is hope still possible? For a young survivor whose knowledge of life and death surpasses that of his elders, wouldn’t suicide be as great a temptation as love or faith?”
› I loved this entire trilogy. It's not uplifting and it's not meant to be. These stories are powerful and the writing is beautiful. These novels are physically small, yet carry so much weight when held.
› I don't understand how anyone could give this one or two stars and leave comments that it "wasn't entertaining" or "I couldn't empathize" or that it was a "disappointment".
Edited to add this quote: "I was thinking: to go far away, where the roads leading to simplicity are known not merely to a select group, but to all; where love, laughter, songs, and prayers carry with them neither anger nor shame; where I can think about myself without anguish, without contempt; where the wine, Kathleen, is pure and not mixed with the spit of corpses; where the dead live in cemeteries and not in the hearts and memories of men."
› I highly recommend these books and think everyone should read them. Not for entertainment. Not for an uplifting story. But to learn these stories from a Holocaust survivor and walk away grateful that Wiesel wrote these books.
My Rating ★★★★★
› “In fact, the question has haunted me for a long time: Does life have meaning after Auschwitz? In a universe cursed because it is guilty, is hope still possible? For a young survivor whose knowledge of life and death surpasses that of his elders, wouldn’t suicide be as great a temptation as love or faith?”
› I loved this entire trilogy. It's not uplifting and it's not meant to be. These stories are powerful and the writing is beautiful. These novels are physically small, yet carry so much weight when held.
› I don't understand how anyone could give this one or two stars and leave comments that it "wasn't entertaining" or "I couldn't empathize" or that it was a "disappointment".
Edited to add this quote: "I was thinking: to go far away, where the roads leading to simplicity are known not merely to a select group, but to all; where love, laughter, songs, and prayers carry with them neither anger nor shame; where I can think about myself without anguish, without contempt; where the wine, Kathleen, is pure and not mixed with the spit of corpses; where the dead live in cemeteries and not in the hearts and memories of men."
› I highly recommend these books and think everyone should read them. Not for entertainment. Not for an uplifting story. But to learn these stories from a Holocaust survivor and walk away grateful that Wiesel wrote these books.
My Rating ★★★★★
See the best books I read in 2021 https://smittenforfiction.wordpress.com/2022/03/08/best-books-2021/