One Generation After

by Elie Wiesel

Twenty years after he and his family were deported from Sighet to Auschwitz, Elie Wiesel returned to his town in search of the watch—a bar mitzvah gift—he had buried in his backyard before they left.

Genres: Nonfiction, Holocaust, History, Jewish, Biography Memoir, Biography, Memoir

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Eliezer "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.

Reviews

[Audrey Beadle]

SPOILER-FREE REVIEW:
This review is going to sound EXACTLY like my other two of his books, so if you've read either of those, you can definitely skip my thoughts on this one.

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: This is a collection of anecdotes, parts of an autobiography, and just general thoughts specifically centered around WW2 and the Holocaust, of course.

Once again, Elie Wiesel just wrote as he felt, except I feel like it was better executed in this story, because he was fully aware of it and had different sections, causing this book to be a lot more linear and easy to understand.

I also really felt like he explained more in this book than he ever did in the other two that I read, and I liked learning more about Jewish culture.

Wrap Up: Of course, these books are insanely important, so I like that aspect of them, despite any issues I have with the story or writing or anything else.

[Robin]

Everyone knows Elie Wiesel for Night. I'm not sure everyone realizes how prolific he was.

I've had the privilege of reading many of his books in the last year or two and the more I read the more I believe he was a genius. An actual genius with understanding and depth that few possess. I don't know how his work manages to defy time, but with each book I read I realize it does. He manages to somehow look backward and forward at the same time, using history as prophecy.

The world around us doesn't change and it's an important lesson to learn from his writing, but how you react to it matters most, and that's an even more important lesson.

Read Elie Wiesel as much as you can.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written as a selection of thoughts and essays based in the 1960s (around the time of the 7 days war). Some of the topics I was not familiar with, others struck a note. I learned more about Jewish culture, something in which I am always interested. It is a good look at Jews who survived the Holocaust and how surviving affected their outlook at life and changed their culture.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

In addition to Night, this is one of the most important books I have ever read. Raw honesty and memories invites you into the life of a Holocaust survivor. As much as I know about the Holocaust, this book brought up new ideas to consider and try to work out for myself. And as Elie says often within the book, there is no answer to the Holocaust.

A recommended must read after reading Night.

[Michael Tildsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a certain melancholy in reading Wiesel's works that feels like, to me, a bitter pill that must be swallowed. This particular work is a collection of his writings arranged thematically. I enjoyed his insights, and I feel like I gain a new perspective into history when I read and try to come to terms with what he has to say.

[Radhika · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be fair, I went into this book not realizing it was in a non-story format. I loved Night and was expecting something more like that, so that's on me. But I found it to be a little too disjointed, stream of consciousness, and abstract at times for me.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very uneven. Yet some powerful, amazing moments.

[Jordy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the best book I’ve ever read. Such an important read for everyone.

[Bobbi Arduini · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of this collection of essays is just beautiful and definitely worth reading. The insight and profound truths were unsettling and thought-provoking. Unfortunately, when the book addresses the relationship between Israel and Palestine, the freshness of its language fell. Though I thought it interesting to read a perspective on the conflict from a Holocaust survivor in the late 1960s, and I feel more educated on the subject matter, I can't help but feel that the situation in the Middle Easy has escalated to the point where Wiesel's words on the conflict are disturbing.

[Sharon Zink · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why do I read Elie Wiesenthal? He said in this book that he writes to understand. Maybe he understands, but I certainly did not. He made statements that make no sense to me. He is a Holocaust survivor, and I was hoping for some stories of perseverence or some interviews with other survivors, but instead it was almost all tripe.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a collection of different writings. Wiesel includes diary entries, letters to imaginary figures, and anecdotes from his life. Some of the writing is more abstract and political than I expected, but the anecdotes are as extraordinary as his stories always are.

The high points of the book for me were the Hasidic tales, especially the story of a Hasidic celebration after the war in NYC.

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty much just sounded like Wiesel was pissed and yelling at all of us (the next generation) for not continuing to fight for the rights of Jews. I LOVED "Night" and thought I'd pick this up - not worth it.

[Krysten Gorrivan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Again, another deep and intense book written by Weisel. He feels so much and I got a little lost with this book, stopped halfway through when it got too political and angry.

[Diane Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the words of Elie Wiesel.

[Gaby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book hurt my heart and opened my mind. Beautiful, touching, and poignant in today's bizarre world with its strange morals.