Night - Elie Wiesel

There are a host of movies like, "Life is beautiful", "Schindler's List", "The Diary of Anne Frank" or "The Pianist" that relives the holocaust and glorifies the survivors for their heroism and endurance amidst the largest recorded genocides in recent history. But "Night", by Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace prize winner and holocaust survivor, is one of the first pieces of literature I've read about the holocaust. A 115-page, intense, saddening and powerful recount by a teen survivor, "Night" is perhaps the most honest account about life in a concentration camp and the psyche of its inmate.

The book is a gripper (depressing for some, eye-opening for others) from cover to cover, including a preface explaining Wiesel's motivation to write the book and his Nobel Prize acceptance speech. Wiesel admits that, "Books no longer have the power they once did", but tries to bring forth Anti-Semitism and related issues to the front, with an account of his survival as a 15 year old Jew in WWII Germany. The pain, indifference and utter disregard for human rights are narrated with great detail, leaving a permanent mark on the reader's mind. The most impressive part of the book is the honesty with which Wiesel admits how primal instincts of men had taken over his mind when under duress. Relationships, camaraderie and ethics cease to exist in such situations. How cruel but true!!!!!

"A slim volume of terrifying power" - The New York Times

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