If you have looked through my profile, you should’ve found that my all time favorite book is Night. Night is a story written by Elie Weisel, a Romanian Holocaust survivor who firsthandedly experienced a World War II concentration camp. Throughout his autobiography, you are able to see the world through his eyes as he struggled to survive in the toughest years of his life.

I’ve never been a history buff. In fact, I found the World Wars particularly uninteresting. But, despite my dislike, I was assigned this novella to read during a World War II course. Within minutes of reading, I couldn’t stop. Elie’s use of words and sentence length not only kept my interest but kept the story rolling fluently.

The first quarter of Night is spent explaining a teenager-Weisel’s extreme love for Jewish culture. Unfortunate for him, times were tough and nobody was around to teach him. That was until his mentor, Moishe the Beatle, began teaching him. However, only months later, Moishe found himself being deported. Upon his returning, he tells tales of his times: the Gestapo (the German secret police force) took control of his train, led everyone into the woods, and murdered the passengers. Nobody believes Moishe, who is taken for a lunatic.

In the spring of 1944, the Jews of Eliezer’s hometown are taken to small ghettos within Sighet, Romania. They are packed into cattle cars. Exhausted and near starvation after a couple nights and days, the passengers arrive at Birkenau, the beginning of their journey to Auschwitz.

In Birkenau, Eliezer and Father are separated from his mother and little sisters. At the selection, the remaining Jews are assessed to determine whether they should be killed immediately or put to work. Eliezer and Father pass the evaluation.

The Jewish arrivals are shaved and disinfected. Their captors then haul them from Birkenau to the main camp in Auschwitz. They arrive in Buna, a labor camp, where Eliezer is put to work in an electrical-fittings factory. He shows signs of severe malnourishment. Later, a foreman forces Eliezer to give him his gold tooth filling, which is pried out of his mouth with a rusty spoon when he refuses to give it up.

Because of the horror-like conditions in the camps and the danger of death, many of the prisoners themselves begin to move into hostility towards others, concerned with personal survival. Sons begin to abandon and abuse their fathers. Eliezer himself begins to lose his humanity and his faith, both in God and in the people around him.

After months in the concentration camp, Eliezer undergoes a surgical operation for a foot injury. During his recovery, the Nazis decide to ambush the camp since the Russians are coming to Buna. In the middle of a blizzard, the prisoners begin to march: they are forced to run for more than fifty miles to the Gleiwitz concentration camp. Many die of exposure to the harsh weather and exhaustion. At Gleiwitz, the prisoners are hauled into cattle cars once again. One hundred Jews board the car, but only twelve are found alive when the train reached Buchenwald. Meanwhile, Eliezer and his father help each other to survive through mutual support. However, Eliezer’s father dies of dysentery and physical abuse. Eliezer survives, although the empty shell of a man until April 11, 1945, the day that the American army liberates the camp.

This story is bound by chains of gold. The telling, the narration, and much more are of pure talent and emotions. If you ever have the time, find this book in a local library. It’s only 150-or-so pages, and I was able to finish it in 2 ½ hours! It’s horrifying, full of emotion, and overall exciting!