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4.38 AVERAGE
4.38 AVERAGE
I was moved, not quite to tears, by this very simple and straightforward account of the holocaust. How awful that something like that actually happened.
challenging
dark
informative
fast-paced
I’m not sure where I came across this small book but pitted as a ‘honest and frank’ account of the holocaust which won the Nobel Peace Prize it was on my list for a while.
It wasn’t until I had finished it and saw the one star reviews that I learnt about the controversy surrounding it. I’m not sure what I feel about it - the author is supposedly a fraud and stole the story, and can’t say I’ve researched anything further but my thoughts on the book are slightly tainted by this.
My initial reaction to this short story was the honesty being fascinating. That they had the mentality that: it wasn’t affecting us so we turned an eye until it did, and then it was too late. That they tried to make the best of certain situations until again it was too late and the horrors were upon them. It’s reflected in modern issues we see and it’s a frightening prospect of the future.
I wasn’t aware that prisoners were moved between camps as much as this account claims - especially as this was towards the end of the war and I assumed they were just exterminated. So if there was anything to take away it would be to perhaps research this further.
I found the overall account quite detached at times and that it lacked emotion but there were moments of profound observation of humanity. His resilience to stay with his father and then the fact he was barely 16 during his experience is also moving. The author’s exploration of his loss and battles of faith at times is also very poignant.
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Death of parent
Moderate: Violence
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
dark
emotional
sad
tense
Made me teary eyed about twice or thrice during the whole time I listened to this. The audiobook included the author's acceptance speech for his Nobel Peace Prize.
challenging
sad
fast-paced
Sometimes when I think about WWII and specifically the Nazis and the holocaust it all seems made up. Not in a "holocaust denier" way, but it all just seems so pointless and blatantly evil that it seems unrealistic. Like, it sounds like the setup for a video game. Rarely in life is something so black and white as the Nazi's villainy. I mean, they literally had skulls on their uniforms.
Also I still don't understand the supposed reasoning behind the holocaust. If he had some master plan for the race or whatever, why bother with the whole process of the camps? Why shuffle them around and feed them and build big camps? Why wouldn't he just kill them if that was the ultimate goal? The whole time I was reading Night I just kept thinking "What was the point of all this?". I guess the fact that I don't understand is a good thing, and I don't mean to be insensitive, I just kept being struck with the senselessness of it all.
Also I still don't understand the supposed reasoning behind the holocaust. If he had some master plan for the race or whatever, why bother with the whole process of the camps? Why shuffle them around and feed them and build big camps? Why wouldn't he just kill them if that was the ultimate goal? The whole time I was reading Night I just kept thinking "What was the point of all this?". I guess the fact that I don't understand is a good thing, and I don't mean to be insensitive, I just kept being struck with the senselessness of it all.
dark
tense
fast-paced