What the Thunder Said...

Mindy Withrow, a professional writer, has some excellent thoughts penned on her blog regarding Elie Wiesel's Night. Here is an instance of one key theme she identified.

Moishe the Beadle appears in only the first chapter, but he seems to pre-figure Wiesel’s life’s work. Having escaped one of the earliest massacres, Moishe returns to Sighet to warn his countrymen: “Listen to me! That’s all I ask of you . . . You cannot understand. I was saved miraculously. I succeeded in coming back. Where did I get my strength?” But the Jews believe him mad and ignore his warnings. Later, Wiesel will also miraculously survive the camps and dedicate the rest of his life to preserving the historicity of the holocaust in the world’s memory.

Though the book does not chronicle Wiesel's physical death, we are given a torturously accurate description of how his family, his will, his dreams, his history, and ultimately, his faith, are forcefully stolen from him. His account is a death as well, but a much different one than that of his family, if no less horrific. What the Thunder Said... has weighed in on this phenomenal book before.

Go check out Mindy's blog and definitely go read Wiesel's book.

Wiesel titles recently acquired - though still on the reading pile - include The Oath and... hmm. Can't seem to find the other one, and it currently escapes my mind. Hopefully it turns up. Perhaps these will have to be relegated to summer reading?

Labels: Art | Culture, books