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The Town Beyond the Wall
Story based on Wiesel's own life in which a young Holocaust survivor returns to his hometown, seeking to understand the mystery of those who stood by and watched.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1962
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905 people want to read
About the author
Elie Wiesel
274 books4,540 followersEliezer "Elie" Wiesel was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored 57 books, written mostly in French and English, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a Jewish prisoner in the Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps.
In his political activities Wiesel became a regular speaker on the subject of the Holocaust and remained a strong defender of human rights during his lifetime. He also advocated for many other causes like the state of Israel and against Hamas and victims of oppression including Soviet and Ethiopian Jews, the apartheid in South Africa, the Bosnian genocide, Sudan, the Kurds and the Armenian genocide, Argentina's Desaparecidos or Nicaragua's Miskito people.
He was a professor of the humanities at Boston University, which created the Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies in his honor. He was involved with Jewish causes and human rights causes and helped establish the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.
Wiesel was awarded various prestigious awards including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. He was a founding board member of the New York Human Rights Foundation and remained active in it throughout his life.
In his political activities Wiesel became a regular speaker on the subject of the Holocaust and remained a strong defender of human rights during his lifetime. He also advocated for many other causes like the state of Israel and against Hamas and victims of oppression including Soviet and Ethiopian Jews, the apartheid in South Africa, the Bosnian genocide, Sudan, the Kurds and the Armenian genocide, Argentina's Desaparecidos or Nicaragua's Miskito people.
He was a professor of the humanities at Boston University, which created the Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies in his honor. He was involved with Jewish causes and human rights causes and helped establish the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.
Wiesel was awarded various prestigious awards including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. He was a founding board member of the New York Human Rights Foundation and remained active in it throughout his life.
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December 3, 2022SPOILER-FREE REVIEW:
Background: Similarly to how I don't rate autobiographies, I just review them (see my review for Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass), I'm not going to rate Elie Wiesel's books, but I'll review any that I read. This is because I don't feel like I can put a number on a Holocaust survivor writing about the Holocaust, because even if to me its a story (and this book is fiction), I know that it was his whole reality for years and years, and that what he went through haunted him for decades. So, I personally don't feel right rating it like I would a normal book.
Description: Holocaust survivor, Michael, goes back to his original town and ends up getting arrested and imprisoned once again.
This book felt very similar to "Twilight", which I also read by Elie Wiesel, because his writing style is very consistent and there are many time-jumps all over the place. Also, there is a man named Pedro in this one, and I wonder if Wiesel realized that and wanted Pedro to be the same person in both or if it was an accident or what.
I have actually been to Auschwitz, so I was able to visualize more what he was talking about (I have seen the Standing Cells), and it just gave me a lot more reverence to know exactly what he was talking about.
Wrap Up: These books are so important to read.
Background: Similarly to how I don't rate autobiographies, I just review them (see my review for Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass), I'm not going to rate Elie Wiesel's books, but I'll review any that I read. This is because I don't feel like I can put a number on a Holocaust survivor writing about the Holocaust, because even if to me its a story (and this book is fiction), I know that it was his whole reality for years and years, and that what he went through haunted him for decades. So, I personally don't feel right rating it like I would a normal book.
Description: Holocaust survivor, Michael, goes back to his original town and ends up getting arrested and imprisoned once again.
This book felt very similar to "Twilight", which I also read by Elie Wiesel, because his writing style is very consistent and there are many time-jumps all over the place. Also, there is a man named Pedro in this one, and I wonder if Wiesel realized that and wanted Pedro to be the same person in both or if it was an accident or what.
I have actually been to Auschwitz, so I was able to visualize more what he was talking about (I have seen the Standing Cells), and it just gave me a lot more reverence to know exactly what he was talking about.
Wrap Up: These books are so important to read.
January 29, 2016
p. 148-149 "Do you understand that I need to understand? To understand the others- the Other- those who watched us depart for the unknown; those who observed us, without emotion, while we became objects- living sticks of wood- and carefully numbered victims?......This was the thing that I had wanted to understand ever since the war. Nothing else. How a human being can remain indifferent."
August 23, 2023
Fascinating approach and discovery of the human spirit.
January 20, 2019
"This, this was the thing I had wanted to understand ever since the war. Nothing else. How a human being can remain indifferent."
"Your duty was clear: you had to choose. To fight us or to help. In the first case I would have hated you; in the second, loved. You never left your window: I have only contempt for you."
"The only valuable protest, or attitude, is one rooted in the uncertain soil of humanity. Remaining human- in spite of all temptations and humiliations- is the only way to hold your own against the Other, whatever it may be."
"Try to help others. Many others. Obviously it isn't the number that matters. But then again, how can you help one man and not another? The silent walk side by side- that's what men must discover. I know: it's impossible and contradictory. But at least let no man reject the chance. In rejecting, a man rejects himself; he isolates us all, and himself too."
"I know, little one: it isn't easy to live always under a question mark. But who says that the essential question has an answer? The essence of the question is to be without answer. But to say, 'What is God? What is the world? What is my friend?' is to say that I have someone to talk to, someone to ask a direction of. The depth, the meaning , the very salt of man is his constant desire to ask the question ever deeper within himself, to feel ever more intimately the existence of an unknowable answer... It's in humanity itself that we find both our question and the strength to keep it within limits- or on the contrary to make it universal. To flee to a sort of Nirvana- whether through a considered indifference or through a sick apathy- is to oppose humanity in the most absurd, useless, and comfortable manner possible. A man is a man only when he is among men. It's harder to remain human than to try to leap beyond humanity. Accept that difficulty. Tell yourself that even God admits His weakness before the image he has created."
"They'll probably tell you that it's all only a play, that the actors are in disguise. So what? Jump onto the stage, mingle with the actors, and perform, you too. Don't stay at the window. Get out of the nest, but never try to reach the heights by flying away from thirsty children and mothers with milkless breasts. The real heights are like the real depths: you find them at your own level, in simple and honest conversation, in glances heavy with existence."
"Your duty was clear: you had to choose. To fight us or to help. In the first case I would have hated you; in the second, loved. You never left your window: I have only contempt for you."
"The only valuable protest, or attitude, is one rooted in the uncertain soil of humanity. Remaining human- in spite of all temptations and humiliations- is the only way to hold your own against the Other, whatever it may be."
"Try to help others. Many others. Obviously it isn't the number that matters. But then again, how can you help one man and not another? The silent walk side by side- that's what men must discover. I know: it's impossible and contradictory. But at least let no man reject the chance. In rejecting, a man rejects himself; he isolates us all, and himself too."
"I know, little one: it isn't easy to live always under a question mark. But who says that the essential question has an answer? The essence of the question is to be without answer. But to say, 'What is God? What is the world? What is my friend?' is to say that I have someone to talk to, someone to ask a direction of. The depth, the meaning , the very salt of man is his constant desire to ask the question ever deeper within himself, to feel ever more intimately the existence of an unknowable answer... It's in humanity itself that we find both our question and the strength to keep it within limits- or on the contrary to make it universal. To flee to a sort of Nirvana- whether through a considered indifference or through a sick apathy- is to oppose humanity in the most absurd, useless, and comfortable manner possible. A man is a man only when he is among men. It's harder to remain human than to try to leap beyond humanity. Accept that difficulty. Tell yourself that even God admits His weakness before the image he has created."
"They'll probably tell you that it's all only a play, that the actors are in disguise. So what? Jump onto the stage, mingle with the actors, and perform, you too. Don't stay at the window. Get out of the nest, but never try to reach the heights by flying away from thirsty children and mothers with milkless breasts. The real heights are like the real depths: you find them at your own level, in simple and honest conversation, in glances heavy with existence."
April 17, 2021
"Etter krigen var det først og fremst dette jeg ville forstå. Ikke annet. Hvordan kunne man forholde seg likegyldig. Bødlene forstår jeg; ofrene også, selv om det er vanskeligere. Men de andre, alle de andre, de som verken var for eller imot, de som fant seg godt til rette med passivt å vente, de som sa til seg selv: «Uværet drar forbi, og alt kommer i lage igjen,» de som hevdet at de stod over kampens tunnel, de som inntok tilskuerens holdning - de var en lukket verden for meg, dem forstod jeg absolutt ikke."
May 16, 2020
The town beyond the wall is a complex & challenging book to read. The story line is non traditional. The characters are deep & at time mysterious. A tremendous book dealing with meaning, purpose in life, fear, suffering, pain, death and the spirit. The book explores the relationship of man to man, man to woman and man with God. I highly recommend this soul searching book.
July 18, 2022
This was a very complex fictional story. Elie Wiesel was trying to come to terms with the indifference of gentiles in Hungary when the Nazis rounded up the Jews into ghettos and then for transportation to the death camps. I’m not sure I fully understood it, but I kept the paperback to read again. Beautifully written and poignant.
July 13, 2010
Having recently visited Sighet and Wiesel's birthplace, I wanted to first read one of his novels that professed to be semi-autobiographical about his hometown and childhood. I tried to focus on what might be autobiographical details dropped into the narrator's voice. Well, the last page made that whole experiment for naught, if I understand Wiesel at all. Not that Michael certainly speaks for Wiesel, but not as directly as I had assumed. Throughout this novel I was moved, saddened, enlightened, cheered, and impassioned. On the last page, I was nothing more than stunned. Literally, paralyzed for an immeasurable moment with this book open on my lap. Thank God that Wiesel has never kept silent, that he lives his own advice -- that a moment uncommunicated is not really lived, an idea not acted on deserves nothing but contempt. It is our job to start the conversation and mobilize the action. Grateful again for another illustration of hope in Eastern Europe...
March 6, 2017
It helps to know that this book is semi-autobiographical. It doesn't really begin to make sense until at least the midway point. It is deeply philosophical and depressing at times. But that is understandable knowing the author and his life's story. There are some key themes that resonate and apply today. It is a short book, but may take longer to read if you continually stop to contemplate and decipher the main character's (and author's) musings.
December 10, 2010
A really great book shows us how everything is great and worth to die for
September 13, 2020
Doa Pertama
Michael kembali ke masa lalunya saat ia sedang menjalani hukuman yang disebut berdoa. Orang Yahudi menamai siksaan tersebut dengan doa karena mereka berdoa dengan cara berdiri menatap dinding tanpa bersandar selama 8 jam. Pada saat itulah, Michael kembali bertemu dengan Pedro, dalam benaknya, hingga tertarik kembali ke masa lalunya di Szerencseváros. Sebuah awal perjalanan dalam mencari keberadaan Tuhan dan memaknai posisi dirinya yg masih dipertanyakan. Doa yg disukainya saat itu merupakan doa dari Pedro karena ia menganggap doa tersebut adalah doa dari orang yg gila, "Oh, Tuhan, berilah aku kekuatan untuk berdosa pada-Mu, untuk menentang kehendak-Mu! Berilah aku kekuatan untuk mengingkari-Mu, menolak-Mu, memenjarakan-Mu, melecehkan-Mu!"
Doa Kedua
Dalam doa kedua diceritakan mengenai perjuangan Michael saat berada di Paris. Perjuangan untuk mencari makna kehidupan juga untuk bertahan hidup sebagai seorang imigran. Saat di Paris dia dipertemukan kembali dengan Milika, teman masa kecilnya, cinta masa kanak-kanaknya. Kehampaan dan kegelapan dalam dirinya hilang saat itu juga. Namun tak bertahan lama. Saat ia tertarik kembali mengenanang Yankel, Sang Pangeran Kecilnya yg meninggal karena kecelakaan, kesedihan kembali pada diri Michael. Saat itu dia menyadari bahwa kematian mwrupakan cara manusia untuk memerdekakam diri, begitu juga kegilaan. Sebait doa dari Michael saat ia terpuruk, "Aku menentang-Nya, aku mengayun-ayumkan tinjuku, aku berteriak penuh kemarahan, tapi itu caraku untuk mengatakan pada-Nya bahwa Ia memang ada, bahwa Ia tidak pernah mengulangnya untuk kedua kali, bahwa pengingkaran diri adalah persembahan atas keagungan-Nya."
Doa Ketiga
Dalam bagian ini, penulis menceritakan bagaimana pertemuan Pedro dengan Michael bermula, hingga alasan Michael mendapatkan hukuman 'berdoa'. Michael yg sejak lama menginginkan kembali ke kota kelahirannya untuk sekadar memastikan adanya kehidupan di tempat tersebut, justru terpenjara dalam kamp konsentrasi. Pedro yg merupakan penyelundup terkemuka di Paris, membantu Michael untuk dapat berkunjung ke kota kelahirannya. Kamp konsentrasi tersebut berada di Szerencseváros, tempat untuk menghukum para tahanan agar hilang kewarasannya. Michael dicurigai ketika kembali ke kotanya yg telah diduduki oleh kaum komunis tersebut. Tempat itu berubah menjadi pemakaman untuk banyak mayat, masa kecil dan harapan Michael.
Doa Terakhir
Pada bagian ini, penulis bercerita mengenai bagaimana Michael dapat bertahan dalam kamp konsentrasi dengan Pedro yg selalu hidup dalam benaknya. Penulis juga menceritakan bagaimana Michael dapat bertemu kembali debgan ayahnya yg sudah tidak mengenalinya. Pertemuan dengan ibunya di rumahnya. Setelah perjalanan panjangnya, Michael dapat menyadari bahwa menjadi seoramg penonton dalam kehidupan berarti menyangkal kehidupan. Ia tidak akan pernah berdiam diri, akan selalu menyelamatkan jiwa siapa pun yg membutuhkan pertolongan. Karena ia menganggap bahwa diam yg berbentuk ketidakpedulian adalah sesuatu yg destruktif. Ucap Michael kepada Pedro, "... Aku sendirian. Untuk mempertahankan kewarasan aku harus memiliki teman. Kalau tidak, benakku akan lapuk dan membusuk, lalu bengkok seperti ular yang merayapi bumi dan akhirnya mati."
Michael kembali ke masa lalunya saat ia sedang menjalani hukuman yang disebut berdoa. Orang Yahudi menamai siksaan tersebut dengan doa karena mereka berdoa dengan cara berdiri menatap dinding tanpa bersandar selama 8 jam. Pada saat itulah, Michael kembali bertemu dengan Pedro, dalam benaknya, hingga tertarik kembali ke masa lalunya di Szerencseváros. Sebuah awal perjalanan dalam mencari keberadaan Tuhan dan memaknai posisi dirinya yg masih dipertanyakan. Doa yg disukainya saat itu merupakan doa dari Pedro karena ia menganggap doa tersebut adalah doa dari orang yg gila, "Oh, Tuhan, berilah aku kekuatan untuk berdosa pada-Mu, untuk menentang kehendak-Mu! Berilah aku kekuatan untuk mengingkari-Mu, menolak-Mu, memenjarakan-Mu, melecehkan-Mu!"
Doa Kedua
Dalam doa kedua diceritakan mengenai perjuangan Michael saat berada di Paris. Perjuangan untuk mencari makna kehidupan juga untuk bertahan hidup sebagai seorang imigran. Saat di Paris dia dipertemukan kembali dengan Milika, teman masa kecilnya, cinta masa kanak-kanaknya. Kehampaan dan kegelapan dalam dirinya hilang saat itu juga. Namun tak bertahan lama. Saat ia tertarik kembali mengenanang Yankel, Sang Pangeran Kecilnya yg meninggal karena kecelakaan, kesedihan kembali pada diri Michael. Saat itu dia menyadari bahwa kematian mwrupakan cara manusia untuk memerdekakam diri, begitu juga kegilaan. Sebait doa dari Michael saat ia terpuruk, "Aku menentang-Nya, aku mengayun-ayumkan tinjuku, aku berteriak penuh kemarahan, tapi itu caraku untuk mengatakan pada-Nya bahwa Ia memang ada, bahwa Ia tidak pernah mengulangnya untuk kedua kali, bahwa pengingkaran diri adalah persembahan atas keagungan-Nya."
Doa Ketiga
Dalam bagian ini, penulis menceritakan bagaimana pertemuan Pedro dengan Michael bermula, hingga alasan Michael mendapatkan hukuman 'berdoa'. Michael yg sejak lama menginginkan kembali ke kota kelahirannya untuk sekadar memastikan adanya kehidupan di tempat tersebut, justru terpenjara dalam kamp konsentrasi. Pedro yg merupakan penyelundup terkemuka di Paris, membantu Michael untuk dapat berkunjung ke kota kelahirannya. Kamp konsentrasi tersebut berada di Szerencseváros, tempat untuk menghukum para tahanan agar hilang kewarasannya. Michael dicurigai ketika kembali ke kotanya yg telah diduduki oleh kaum komunis tersebut. Tempat itu berubah menjadi pemakaman untuk banyak mayat, masa kecil dan harapan Michael.
Doa Terakhir
Pada bagian ini, penulis bercerita mengenai bagaimana Michael dapat bertahan dalam kamp konsentrasi dengan Pedro yg selalu hidup dalam benaknya. Penulis juga menceritakan bagaimana Michael dapat bertemu kembali debgan ayahnya yg sudah tidak mengenalinya. Pertemuan dengan ibunya di rumahnya. Setelah perjalanan panjangnya, Michael dapat menyadari bahwa menjadi seoramg penonton dalam kehidupan berarti menyangkal kehidupan. Ia tidak akan pernah berdiam diri, akan selalu menyelamatkan jiwa siapa pun yg membutuhkan pertolongan. Karena ia menganggap bahwa diam yg berbentuk ketidakpedulian adalah sesuatu yg destruktif. Ucap Michael kepada Pedro, "... Aku sendirian. Untuk mempertahankan kewarasan aku harus memiliki teman. Kalau tidak, benakku akan lapuk dan membusuk, lalu bengkok seperti ular yang merayapi bumi dan akhirnya mati."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 9, 2020
Anything written by Elie Wiesel is going to be a tough read and this is no exception. Undoubtedly partly autobiographical and thus eminently credible and compelling. The end, with Michael’s confrontation with the Other in the Window (man who watched from his window as Michael and his family and other Jews were rounded up in 1944 in the square of his Hungarian town for deportation to Auschwitz), is not to be forgotten. Michael survived Auschwitz (but not his family) and returned behind the iron curtain to try to understand how his townsfolk could have been so indifferent during the roundups.
February 17, 2024
Sometimes I associate Elie Wiesel so much with the Holocaust that I forget to think of him as a writer. But a writer he is, and a gifted one.
In The Town Beyond the Wall, he finds such a unique way to tell multiple stories simultaneously, from the past, from the present, and from the imagination. The story does ultimately surround the Holocaust, but it's not about the Holocaust. It's about Michael, a uniquely feeling, intelligent, curious, and heartbroken man who is always trying to figure out the mysteries of life.
It's a quick and worthy read.
In The Town Beyond the Wall, he finds such a unique way to tell multiple stories simultaneously, from the past, from the present, and from the imagination. The story does ultimately surround the Holocaust, but it's not about the Holocaust. It's about Michael, a uniquely feeling, intelligent, curious, and heartbroken man who is always trying to figure out the mysteries of life.
It's a quick and worthy read.
October 1, 2017
"Niente al mondo è più integro di un cuore spezzato." (p. 24)
“Il dialogo – o il duello, se preferisci – tra l’uomo e il suo Dio non porta al nulla. L’uomo ha sempre se non l’ultima parola almeno l’ultimo grido. Quest’istante segna la nascita dell’arte.” (p. 100)
“Le strade dell'anima, ingarbugliate, spesso conoscono solo la notte, una notte grande, nuda, senza paesaggio. E tuttavia io ti dico: se ne esce. Le opere più belle nascono da questa notte.” (p. 178)
“Il dialogo – o il duello, se preferisci – tra l’uomo e il suo Dio non porta al nulla. L’uomo ha sempre se non l’ultima parola almeno l’ultimo grido. Quest’istante segna la nascita dell’arte.” (p. 100)
“Le strade dell'anima, ingarbugliate, spesso conoscono solo la notte, una notte grande, nuda, senza paesaggio. E tuttavia io ti dico: se ne esce. Le opere più belle nascono da questa notte.” (p. 178)
January 30, 2024
I suppose the most charitable thing I can say about this book is that it was not written for me.
I found it utterly incomprehensible. There basically was no plot, it felt more like reading a private diary than anything else.
It was clearly written with powerful emotion, and perhaps the spiritual self-debates would mean more to a reader of Jewish faith. (or any faith)
I found it utterly incomprehensible. There basically was no plot, it felt more like reading a private diary than anything else.
It was clearly written with powerful emotion, and perhaps the spiritual self-debates would mean more to a reader of Jewish faith. (or any faith)
August 5, 2017
Knowledge of the author's life and work is a prerequisite for enjoying this book. Having read Night and many other of Dr. Wiesel's works, I found the philosophical insights compelling. I would recommend this story for anyone who is an established fan.
January 12, 2025
Definitely a challenging read, the timeline is by no means traditional. For an autobiography I really did enjoy this one.
Holocaust survivor makes his way back to his hometown, while making and losing acquaintances along the way. Later he ends up imprisoned once again.
Holocaust survivor makes his way back to his hometown, while making and losing acquaintances along the way. Later he ends up imprisoned once again.
January 28, 2018
terrifying at times and wonderfully written. Amazingly topical even today.
February 24, 2020
OK but I didn't think it was super-engaging. The ethical exhortation at the end seemed artificially pasted on to make the book seem like it had a happy/meaningful ending.
August 25, 2021
oh, wooooow. diksinya cukup berat dan hrs dibaca berulang2 buat nemu satu makna (menurut gw): penyesalan. plus baca ini penuh akan pengalaman spiritual michael, seorang yahudi, sebagai tokoh utama.
June 4, 2022
Amazing, one of my favorite books.
March 9, 2023
Un libro forte e importante come il post guerra.
November 25, 2024
“This, this was the thing I wanted to understand ever since the war. Nothing else. How a human being can remain indifferent.”
August 30, 2025
I had a harder time getting into this one.
October 10, 2007
I've now finished reading The Town Beyond the Wall and I'm not entirely sure I understand all that was going on. I feel as though I might be missing something. Some of the dialogue in this book didn't make sense to me. It was as though they were making jokes that I just didn't get. Since I'm really not completely sure what to say about this book, here are some of the points the I took from it:
Through Pedro, Michael learns to trust again and to invest in humanity/others. He pours himself into another human being and through this his soul begins to be healed from the atrocities of the holocaust. I guess this book could also be talking about the need to do difficult work in life in order to move forward - for instance, Michael finds the spectator across from the synagoge and lets him know the contempt he feels for him, watching others be dehumanized like a moviegoer watching a film on a screen. But here is something else I didn't get about this book; why is contempt worse than hatred? Any thoughts, friends of mine who have read this one?
Through Pedro, Michael learns to trust again and to invest in humanity/others. He pours himself into another human being and through this his soul begins to be healed from the atrocities of the holocaust. I guess this book could also be talking about the need to do difficult work in life in order to move forward - for instance, Michael finds the spectator across from the synagoge and lets him know the contempt he feels for him, watching others be dehumanized like a moviegoer watching a film on a screen. But here is something else I didn't get about this book; why is contempt worse than hatred? Any thoughts, friends of mine who have read this one?
November 25, 2012
Once again, in The Town Beyond the Wall, Elie Wiesel has brought us a novel in which he infuses pieces of himself within the pages, through the narrator, named Michael.
Michael is a Jew, and he is a survivor of the Holocaust. He is haunted by the past, by memories that he tries to hold on to, holding on literally for survival. He is in constant search for validation and the meaning of life. He questions and questions, not always finding answers.
The novel questions whether you can return to where your life began, to where you spent the first youthful formative years of your life, to where your life as you knew it ended, and not feel some form of pain or suffering. To do so would be to blot out those who came before you.
Wiesel implies that suffering is man’s worst nightmare, where cowardice and courage can’t blend together with a firm, peaceful or true resolution. It is either one or the other, but not both. He is masterful in his writing, and leaves us to ponder much. I have never read a book by Elie Wiesel that I didn’t like, and The Town Beyond the Wall is no different.
Michael is a Jew, and he is a survivor of the Holocaust. He is haunted by the past, by memories that he tries to hold on to, holding on literally for survival. He is in constant search for validation and the meaning of life. He questions and questions, not always finding answers.
The novel questions whether you can return to where your life began, to where you spent the first youthful formative years of your life, to where your life as you knew it ended, and not feel some form of pain or suffering. To do so would be to blot out those who came before you.
Wiesel implies that suffering is man’s worst nightmare, where cowardice and courage can’t blend together with a firm, peaceful or true resolution. It is either one or the other, but not both. He is masterful in his writing, and leaves us to ponder much. I have never read a book by Elie Wiesel that I didn’t like, and The Town Beyond the Wall is no different.
April 9, 2014
A very profound book; a young Holocaust survivor returns to his former home after the war behind the Iron Curtain in Hungry. He needs to confront 'the face in the window' who he remembers when he, his family and the Jews in his home town are rounded up by the Germans and sent to their deaths. The 'face' is the 3rd part of the triangle made up of the Germans, victims and the spectators, those who were totally indifferent to what happened. To me, the best part of the book didn't start until about page 153 when the young man (Michael) confronted the 'face in the window'. I would like to think that in similar circumstances, I would have had the courage to be more than a 'spectator'; but I really don't know and I find that very concerting. The story makes one wonder if there is a God, and if there is, how could He/She permit such things to happen? Where was God and what was He/She doing all this time? How could someone live through such horrors, lose their entire families, survive and continue to believe in God? Let's hope no one never again has to live through such evil.
January 13, 2010
This book was a little difficult to get through. Weisel paints a beautiful, although disturbing, image of Jewish ghettos during the Holocaust.
On the one hand, I want to applaud his intense writing style, but on the other, I am so disturbed by the accuracy and vividness such a gift provides in this novel.
On the one hand, I want to applaud his intense writing style, but on the other, I am so disturbed by the accuracy and vividness such a gift provides in this novel.
January 16, 2011
This was on the reading list for my first ever Philosophy course: Philosophy and Religion. An excellent book, it retells the story of a holocaust survivor remembering his town before and during the Nazi occupation. Wiesel constructs vivid pictures of his main character's hometown, and looks at the dehumanization of the 20th century dictatorships.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews