Elie Wiesel book summaries

“Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed.”

Eliezer reflects on his first night at Auschwitz, the moment his faith and innocence were shattered.

“I pray to the God within me that He will give me the strength to ask Him the right questions.”

Eliezer struggles with his faith during the Rosh Hashanah service in the camp.

“For the first time, I felt anger rising within me. Why should I sanctify His name? The Almighty, the eternal and terrible Master of the Universe, chose to be silent. What was there to thank Him for?”

Eliezer's crisis of faith during the Jewish New Year service at Buna.

“I was nothing but ashes now.”

Eliezer describes his emotional state after the hanging of the young pipel.

“My father's presence was the only thing that stopped me. He was running next to me, out of breath, out of strength, desperate.”

During the death march, Eliezer considers giving up but is kept going by his father's presence.

“From the depths of the mirror, a corpse gazed back at me. The look in his eyes, as they stared into mine, has never left me.”

The final lines of the book, after liberation, when Eliezer sees his reflection.