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Product Description
Book Description
"Not since Albert Camus has there been such an eloquent spokesman for man." --The New York Times Book Review
The publication of Day restores Elie Wiesel's original title to the novel initially published in English as The Accident and clearly establishes it as the powerful conclusion to the author's classic trilogy of Holocaust literature, which includes his memoir Night and novel Dawn. "In Night it is the 'I' who speaks," writes Wiesel. "In the other two, it is the 'I' who listens and questions."
In its opening paragraphs, a successful journalist and Holocaust survivor steps off a New York City curb and into the path of an oncoming taxi. Consequently, most of Wiesel's masterful portrayal of one man's exploration of the historical tragedy that befell him, his family, and his people transpires in the thoughts, daydreams, and memories of the novel's narrator. Torn between choosing life or death, Day again and again returns to the guiding questions that inform Wiesel's trilogy: the meaning and worth of surviving the annihilation of a race, the effects of the Holocaust upon the modern character of the Jewish people, and the loss of one's religious faith in the face of mass murder and human extermination.
The publication of Day restores Elie Wiesel's original title to the novel initially published in English as The Accident and clearly establishes it as the powerful conclusion to the author's classic trilogy of Holocaust literature, which includes his memoir Night and novel Dawn. "In Night it is the 'I' who speaks," writes Wiesel. "In the other two, it is the 'I' who listens and questions."
In its opening paragraphs, a successful journalist and Holocaust survivor steps off a New York City curb and into the path of an oncoming taxi. Consequently, most of Wiesel's masterful portrayal of one man's exploration of the historical tragedy that befell him, his family, and his people transpires in the thoughts, daydreams, and memories of the novel's narrator. Torn between choosing life or death, Day again and again returns to the guiding questions that inform Wiesel's trilogy: the meaning and worth of surviving the annihilation of a race, the effects of the Holocaust upon the modern character of the Jewish people, and the loss of one's religious faith in the face of mass murder and human extermination.
About the Author
Elie Wiesel is the author of more than fifty books, including Night, his harrowing account of his experiences in Nazi concentration camps. The book, first published in 1955, was selected for Oprah’s Book Club in 2006. Wiesel is Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University, and lives with his family in New York City. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Contrast to Night, Sep 13 2010
By Miami Bob "Resurgent Reading" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Day (Paperback)
This book was originally entitled "The Accident" because it involves its main character's 10-week ordeal of attempting to recover after being hit by a taxi cab in New York City. The protagonist, Eliezer, battles death and life for 10 weeks.Elie Wiesel describes the protagonist of this novel as the survivor who endured the world's worst war to be so emotionally scarred that he thinks "wouldn't suicide be as great a temptation as love or faith?" In the preface, he mentions how children of WW II were discovered in holes and other hiding places, and whose emancipation was not a moment of magnificence. Rather, their freedom from hiding ensued into a forced starvation and eventual death - as their minds or bodies cared not to live, although offered the opportunity for such.
Pessimism about life abounds. "Maybe God is dead, but man is alive . . . " his friend lectures him. But, he also understands that God must be alive as his grandmother sagely told him "God needs love, not understanding." And, so he tries to believe.
But, such beliefs are accompanied by torments. Like an LSD-plagued person of the 1970's, he is reminded too often of what he endured in the Holocaust to feel free and alive. When recovering, the doctor wants him to fight death - usually something which can be conjured by fear. This survivor, the doctor learns, is afraid of nothing. He has seen too much. A survivor has witnessed more than he wants others to know. Like a military veteran, Wiesel for years said nothing of the hardships - then he began to write about the same. Thank God.
And, while alive the protagonist must ask why fate has delivered him to life and survival while parents and millions received much less. He surmises that "fate offered him life and maybe happiness." But, the memories continue to haunt him. He glares out almost devoid of connection to present day mind. He does not feel happy. He wants to be lucid. But, "lucidity is fate's victory, not man's."
And, despite his haunting past, others had it worse. One is named Sarah - a girl who also survived the Holocaust, but unlike he, she was deprived all concepts of decency and her childhood with one action - sending her into prostitution of the German soldiers who liked 12-year old girls. As a boy of similar age, the protagonist assumingly starved and survived the horror. As a girl, Sarah starved and survived a most despicable horror. He calls her a saint - to which she retorts with disdain.
Although this novel does not deal directly with the Holocaust, it touches upon how the Holocaust affects lives years, even decades later.
As the healing progresses, he realizes that his life is full of pain. But, "suffering is given to the living, not the dead." Hence, suffering is not a bad thing, it is just something which comes with the gift of life.
Full of great metaphors, esteemed witticisms, and almost-prophetic sayings akin to Asia's Confucius, this book delivers much in its 128 pages.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
One Wrong Step, Jan 5 2011
By Eric Wilson "novelist" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Day (Paperback)
Wiesel's "Night" was a searing and honest account of enduring the concentration camps of World War II. It told of a young boy's will to survive, and the shame that came with that loss of innocence. "Dawn" was the next step, with a young man fighting for the survival of the Jews in Palestine, in the Holocaust's aftermath. It chronicled his ethical struggles in using violence to purchase freedom and life."Day" is the third step in this trilogy, and once again Wiesel writes with stark yet evocative sentences. This time, the young man is a little older and he is struggling with the acceptance of love with a wonderful woman. His struggle is accentuated by his time in a hospital bed, after taking a step onto a New York City street and being struck by a taxi. He thinks back through his sufferings, his relationships, his guilt, and his questions. This is the perfect time for us to see Wiesel's character come to grips with life, not glossing over the horrific things but moving beyond himself into a deeper care for others.
But that is not the case. Wiesel's character takes another wrong step, blaming God for every ill done by mankind, projecting man's weaknesses upon the God he had grown up learning about. What about the good he sees in others, though? What about the innocence and self-sacrifice? Should these, by the same measure, be credited to the Devil from the same Bible?
Wiesel's characters are rooted in the realities of the world, among the good and evil deeds done by people of all ages. He shows great care and compassion for his fellow human beings, and deservedly has won a Nobel Peace Prize for his writing. Sadly, though, I see no maturation in this chronology of storytelling. The characters are still wallowing in their shame, their past. Still blinded by despair. Still imprisoned by self-centeredness masquerading as survival instinct. Even when our main character makes a final selfless decision, it's only based on lies. I had hoped for something transcendent from one who has faced such suffering. Many other Holocaust survivors have come to terms with the world around them and given us examples of how to move beyond--people such as Corrie Ten Boom, in "The Hiding Place," and even Death, as a fictional character, in "The Book Thief. I only wish Wiesel could have better applied his great empathy and experience.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Deeply meditative, thought-provoking book, Feb 8 2012
By AdamC - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Day (Paperback)
I had decided to read "Day" as its own entity and firstly, it accomplishes the fact that it can stand as its own and not just a continuation of a series. "Day" tells the story of a Holocaust survivor who is struck by a car and is sent to the hospital. The book narrates from the hospital bed through reflection, memory, and in the present. What works for me in this novel is that it's immediately challenging. Wiesel doesn't shy from making readers uncomfortable, rather he utilizes the remaining emotions from his experience in the Holocaust to ask prodding questions about life, death, humanity, suffering, and so on.The overall message I took from "Day" was rather a question of whether or not someone can regain their humanity, their sense in the world, after going through such a tragedy. I think Wiesel is hopeful. I won't spoil the ending that lends to this idea but I believe he thinks life should be lived in the present. In other words, one can't live through the dead, nor through the past, because the dead are dead and the past is the past. Lamenting can help with the grieving, but life can move forward.
This isn't a plot-driven novel. If you're a reader who searches for that, than you may not appreciate "Day". And that's fine. I don't believe Wiesel is focused on pure entertainment. "Day" is a great book and provides excellent food-for-thought on the discussion of humanity.
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