Night

I received an e-mail recently from somebody who saw that I was reading Night by Elie Wiesel. The book is a moving memoir written by a man who survived the Holocaust during his teen years. The e-mailer wanted to know what I thought about the book. Here are my thoughts:

I almost don't feel like the book should be commented about other than to just show Elie the utmost respect for being willing to write it. To praise the book, or to criticize it, doesn't really feel right. Praising it seems to trivialize his horrific experience. Somehow it puts it on par with telling a baseball player that he did a "good job" by hitting the game winning home run. The two just don't equate. Criticizing it certainly doesn't seem right, for who are we to criticize one man's account of one of the most savage displays of mankind to ever take place?

I had many questions by the time I finished the book—mostly about things that Elie didn’t choose to address. But I totally respect his decision. The preface says that the original Yiddish manuscript included more details, but that he left them out in the latest translation because they were “too personal” and “too private.” But he did include one section of details in the preface that he left out in the newest version of the book. The section dealt with his sickly father’s death in the Buchenwald concentration camp. While his father was being beaten to death with a club in the bunk below him by an SS guard, here’s what was running through young Elie’s mind:

I was afraid.

Afraid of the blows.

That was why I remained deaf to his cries.

Instead of sacrificing my miserable life and rushing to his side, taking his hand, reassuring him, showing him that he was not abandoned, that I was near him, that I felt his sorrow, instead of all that, I remained flat on my back, asking God to make my father stop calling my name, to make him stop crying. So afraid was I to incur the wrath of the SS…

I shall never forgive myself.

Nor shall I ever forgive the world for having pushed me against the wall, for having turned me into a stranger, for having awakened in me the basest, most primitive instincts.

His last word had been my name. A summons. And I had not responded.

I don’t know if Elie ever got past the idea that he abandoned his father. He’s 78 years old now and he’s gone on to write 40 books—perhaps I should read some of them to find out. But I’m certain of one thing—his testimony is anything but an abandonment of those who died in those concentration camps. I’ll end this post with these profound words, taken from the preface of the book:

“For the survivor who chooses to testify, it is clear; his duty is to bear witness for the dead and for the living. He has no right to deprive future generations of a past that belongs to our collective memory. To forget would be not only dangerous but offensive; to forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.”

Building on Ruins

A couple of years ago, I wrote a post about about something Elie Wiesel said in the preface of his book, Night—his firsthand account about surviving Auschwitz and Buchenwald. It was one of the most difficult books I’ve ever read. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.

Yesterday, I read in the USA Today that Wiesel’s foundation has been swindled out of nearly all of its assets. You’d like to ask, How could a person do such a thing? But in light of what Wiesel endured in concentration camps, it hardly seems like a question that needs to be asked.

It’s just heartbreaking to hear about. But his response after his foundation was swindled brought a tear to my eye. Here’s what he said: “All my life has been about learning and teaching and building on ruins. That will not change.”

How different might our world look if more of us built on our own ruins?

Best Selling Books of the Last 15 Years

USA Today released their Best Selling Books of the Last 15 Years List recently. It's fun to go through the list to see which ones you've read. It might also bum you out to realize that you haven't read all that many of them. That's what happened to me. Here are the books I've read that appear on the list:

27. The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

38. Night by Elie Wiesel

53. The Testament by John Grisham

72. Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

79. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

88. The Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson

119. The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans

139. 1984 by George Orwell

140. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

148. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

So I've read just 10 of the 150 best selling books in the past 15 years. Some of the books I would never read. Some of them I have bought but haven't read yet. And many of them I would like to read someday.

I don't feel the need to read more of the books on this list simply because they are bestsellers. Instead, I'd like to read more of them to have conversations with other people about them. I love talking about books with people. A conversation about a book that both people have read creates an instant connection.

And knowing that someone else has both read and benefited from the same book as I have makes it seem as if that person has hung out with me for a while in the deeper places of life. And I love that.

55 Quirky Questions for Readers: Part 2

Walt Whitman (1819 - 1891)

21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?

I generally only recommend books to people I know pretty well. If a book moves me or makes me think, and if I think it'll do the same for someone I know, then I recommend it. 

22. Favorite genre?

Contemporary fiction. I'm fascinated with the way modern characters deal with dilemmas. And I'm fascinated by the way they process life.

23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?)

History.

24. Favorite biography?

Oswald Chambers: Abandoned to God (The Life Story of the Author of My Utmost for His Highest)

25. Have you ever read a self-help book?

Probably not, although the 4,000 Questions for Getting to Know Anyone and Everyone book by Barbara Ann Kipfer I'm using for the 4,000 Questions series is considered "self-help." 

26. Favorite cookbook?

What's a cookbook? 

27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or nonfiction)?

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller. 

28. Favorite reading snack?

I rarely snack while reading. Hate to get the pages (or Kindle) dirty. 

29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.

Can't think of any. 

30. How often do you agree with critics about a book?

I rarely read book reviews. 

31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?

I'm not a book review person. I rarely read or write them.

32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose?

French. 

33. Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?

Night by Elie Wiesel. Wasn't sure my stomach could handle the horrors he faced. 

34. Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?

The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Boenhoffer.

35. Favorite poet?

I don't have one. Although, if you made me pick one, I'd probably say Walt Whitman. 

36. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?

I rarely check books out of the library. Did so for a literature group I was part of a few years ago. We read a few plays, poems and various other forms of prose. Haven't used the library since.

37. How often have you returned book to the library unread?

Given how infrequently I use it, never. 

38. Favorite fictional character?

Tough one. Probably Father Tim from the Jan Karon's Mitford Series. But there are a bunch of others, including: Natalie Pasternak from Nancy Moser's Mustard Seed Series, Frank Bascombe from Richard Ford's trilogy and Ben Payne from Charles Martin's The Mountain Between Us is moving up my charts.

39. Favorite fictional villain?

I'm not a fan of villains, although they are necessary. Don't have a favorite. 

40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?

Novels. I rarely read non-fiction on vacation or on the road. It requires a different way of processing for me and I don't do it well on vacation. 

Part 3 coming tomorrow.