"Night" by Elie Wiesel

My 2015 book list has not gone as planned. I finished all the Harry Potter books and loved them just as much this time as all the times I've read them before. The movies are great, but nothing compares to the books. I didn't keep track of the dates that I finished each book, but I did finish all of them!

I almost finished Stephen Covey and am still working on Jesus the Christ and Sherlock Holmes, but I've read a few extras on the side. Just this week, I read Night by Elie Wiesel. I hadn't even heard of it, but a friend at work recommended it, so I reserved a copy from the library and read the whole thing within 36 hours.

My friend told me she liked Night even better than The Diary of Anne Frank, but I don't think I can say that. The story if of Elie's experience living through the Holocaust his time in several concentration camps and is as heart-wrenching and disturbing as any WWII memoir I've ever read. His honesty about his experience and the emotions he went through as a 16-year-old Jewish boy reminded me of the terror that the world experienced at the hands of Nazi Germany. I think it's valuable to be reminded of it from time to time so we remember how far humanity slipped and how fragile life truly is.

I think the only reason I prefer Anne Frank or The Hiding Place over this book is because Elie openly admits that the Holocaust destroyed his faith. As a person of deep faith myself, it made me sad to read that. I don't think anyone can blame a victim of such horrible events for losing some faith, but I personally believe that our loving Father in Heaven is always there, even when He seems far away. With that being said, this is a book I would still recommend reading. But some of the details are very raw and somewhat graphic, so keep that in mind before you start.