Review for Dawn by Elie Wiesel!
Quick View Review
Overall Rating: *** (5/5)
Amazon Rating: *** (4.2/5)
One Sentence Review: This is a short novel, but it is life changing with a deep, intellectual meaning, asking questions about morality and justice, that is definitely worth the read.
Full Review
Elisha is a young Jewish man, a Holocaust survivor, and an Israeli freedom fighter in British-controlled Palestine; John Dawson is the captured English officer he will murder at dawn in retribution for the British execution of a fellow freedom fighter. The night-long wait for morning and death provides Dawn, Elie Wiesel's ever more timely novel, with its harrowingly taut, hour-by-hour narrative. Caught between the manifold horrors of the past and the troubling dilemmas of the present, Elisha wrestles with guilt, ghosts, and ultimately God as he waits for the appointed hour and his act of assassination. Dawn is an eloquent meditation on the compromises, justifications, and sacrifices that human beings make when they murder other human beings. (Summary from Amazon).
This is the type of book that comes out of nowhere and blows you away. I had no idea how intellectual and deep this short novel was going to be until I was finished, my mouth hanging open in shock and my eyes shining with tears. It’s moving, and emotional, asking the right questions that have contradicting answers, and forcing you to reflect upon themes such as justice, hate, fear, revenge, murder, and rebellion. The author’s words dance and flutter on the page, taking shape with intense vividness, echoing in your head like the chime of a bell. Each line stirs something inside of you that cannot be easily forgotten. Elisha is a complex character that shows us the night sky of Palestine and the journeys of Jewish Freedom Fighters during the Palestinian Conflict, with the British being the main enemy in this story. Overall, this story must be heard, because these questions are the type of questions we should be thinking about, like how do we avoid conflict and murdering? Is there justification in killing those who are trying to kill you? If you are hesitant, I strongly suggest to just go for it and read because it is super short and compact! The writing is fluid, and very easy to read, so don’t put it off the list if you are not sure.
Make sure to come back next Wednesday for a new review!
Happy reading!
Xoxo,
Zoe
