And yet… that’s a good phrase, I like it. I think I’ve always liked it but never used it much. After last night it’s likely “And yet…” will become one of those family phrases, like the ones I blogged about last month.
This entry about Elie Wiesel is difficult. I could talk about Oprah. I could talk about Night. I could talk about disinterest. I could talk about hate. I could talk about education. But where to start, how to start? It’s difficult, and yet, it isn’t.
When Oprah announced Night would be her next book club choice and would also be her High School Essay selection I changed Michelle’s reading schedule and I did the thing I always gripe about people doing – I bought the book. Because Oprah said to. And I hated doing it but I really was impressed with the selection, for the essay contest in particular. Even if homeschoolers were not eligible to enter, I felt like it was a good valid selection and important for Michelle to read – because of the book itself and because hundreds of thousands of high schoolers would be reading it. They would have this experience and I think it will be important that Michelle have some of the same types of experiences. So, I bought an Oprah book because Oprah said to do it. Blah.
Michelle started reading it. She got about halfway through it before TW and I had even made it to the German occupation of Sighet, on audio. Michelle’s birthday weekend in Atlanta arrived and we all started over at the beginning and listened to the first 3 hours on audio. iRiver malfunction left us wondering what happens next…. Michelle finished reading, I finished listening and TW has not yet finished (my fault for listening without her).
Oprah is right, everyone should read Night. Actually let me change that. I think everyone should listen to it on audio. The voice was not Elie Wiesel’s voice, but it could have been. I don’t generally feel that way about audio books, I enjoy them but I enjoy reading the actual words myself more. I think in this cause, the audio made the story stronger, maybe stronger isn’t the right word. It’s already a strong book, how could it not be? The voice reading the book, made it harder to detach.
Seeing Elie Wiesel last night at UF did so as well.
He didn’t talk about Night, the writing of it or his experience in the Holocaust in any real detail. But as he spoke about hatred, about politics, about religious history and religious differences it seemed impossible to put Night or the Holocaust away. When I looked at Elie Wiesel or listened to him (because the nonstop flashes from the cameras made it difficult to look at him) his history is there. It’s difficult to describe.
Things that stuck with me after last night’s talk… Disinterest is the opposite of just about everything… Fanaticism could be the biggest issue we face in this century… Education isn’t just in the classroom. Education is reading everything – books, magazines, internet. It’s talking to friends and coworkers and acquaintances and listening to them. It’s sharing of ideas and experiences. It’s watching television and movies and not just the news. Education is sensitizing yourself so you are better able to understand other people, other ideas, other feelings… Elie didn’t tell his publisher he was being interviewed by Oprah 10 years ago and his publisher was mad. He didn’t understand. This year, Oprah told people to read his book and it sold millions, he understands now…
Technorati Tags: Night, eliewiesel, holocaust, oprah, nonfiction
I have to say that the timing of Oprah’s selecting this book royally annoyed me. I’ve been meaning to read this book for years after reading a portion of it for a class but I could never remember the title or the author and only figured it out a day or two before her announcement. I had not yet added it to my library list and there’s about 300 people on the list ahead of me now. HMPH! (Actually I have found a loophole and I think I’m only number 14 on a different list…)
Hey, why don’t I send you Michelle’s copy? She’s probably not going to read it again, ya know? Here’s another option – want it on audio? ‘Cause I could get that to you pretty quickly and easily. Similar fashion as the cd you lost…
Ohhh that could be cool. 🙂 Thanks!
I read “Night” in the original French version. It is indeed an impressive book and it stayed with me for a long time. I’ve read quite a lot of books about the holocaust, especially after visiting Auschwitz where the wall high quotations from Primo Levi were stunning. what I find amazing, though is that most holocaust survivors only tell their story. Of course that is one thing, being a witness. What I don’t understand is the lack of anger. I found that in Jean Améry’s books and was thoroughly shaken by it. Other survivors also tried to make him shut up about it, as if it was a taboo, something they were not supposed to feel or express. It puzzles me. Something you also might like is “The Speed of Light”, a book that upset the Jewish community because it dares to compare the suffering of the Jews to that of other peoples.
I have had Speed of Light on my to be read list for a long time. Maybe I will move it up higher on the list.