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110th out of 233 books
—
70 voters
The Gates of the Forest
by
Elie Wiesel
Gregor—a teenaged boy, the lone survivor of his family—is hiding from the Germans in the forest. He hides ina cave, where he meets a mysterious stranger who saves his life. He hides in the village, posing as a deaf-mute peasant boy. He hides among the partisans of the Jewish resistance. But where, he asks, is God hiding? And where can one find redemption in a world that Go...more
Paperback, 240 pages
Published
May 16th 1995
by Schocken
(first published 1964)
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This was an intensely dark and psychological book, one whose hauntingly real context makes for a very tortuous read. Set against the backdrop of the Shoah, this is the story of a young man who has narrowly escaped deportation. He flees to a cave in the forest and later to other parts of the back country. The reader is then witness to his slow and most certain loss of faculties and self. Much of the dialogue feels like a page torn out of _Waiting for Godot_; but the tragic element is that this lo...more
I want to rate this book higher because it so amazing but i did not look forward to reading it. It was often a chore. I put this on me more than the author. It is hard to access the multiple levels at which the story is written. Although it is a slender volume it took me longer to read than many heftier tomes. On the plus side it made me think all the way through. Not brain candy.
Not a tough read lengthwise, but a profoundly deep one. There is much that the reader can ponder after each chapter, relating to one's own life. The main character, Gregor, in his attempt at escape from a holocaust-driven decimation of his village, also escapes from the "self". His existence is one of duality with the spirit apparition Gavriel.
The duality theme is one of Wiesel's repeated points in several of his works, and shares that in common with other noted writers, such as Nabokov(i.e.-...more
The duality theme is one of Wiesel's repeated points in several of his works, and shares that in common with other noted writers, such as Nabokov(i.e.-...more
The book was confusing. Full of emotion. Pulls you in without understanding, and I think that's the point. Such sadness but it teaches the importance of laughter, love and happiness. The future is not open, but is shaped by the past. A few memorable parts of the book include the following; A chance meeting can change the whole world and bring all things into question. Nothing exists purely on its own, past and future can be conceived only as a function of the present, a present which constantly...more
Hard to get into, but good. This book is about faith and doubt. It is written in the form of the story of Gregor, a young Hungarian jew in hiding in the woods during the Holocaust. The story is less about his physical journey than the spiritual.
If I had the patience, I would re-read this because I think that there was some symbolism that evaded me this time.
If I had the patience, I would re-read this because I think that there was some symbolism that evaded me this time.
I've never read any of Wiesel's fiction, only Night, so I was quite delighted to learn how beautifully he writes fiction. Not only does he successfully convey the utter physical and emotional destruction that the Holocaust wreaked on its victims, he does so in a heartbreakingly lovely way. I had to bookmark several passages for their beauty alone.
A bit obscure, but a worthy read.
I can only say that it is very well written and Gregor's relationship with Gavriel is quite interesting. Elie Wiesel is, of course, quite poetic, to the point and understated, but sometimes what he writes can be difficult to follow. When I read this story, I really did it for the wordsmithing rather than anything else.
This book starts off heavy and a little slow, but the story actually starts moving faster once you get a quarter of the way through it. It's a short book, but I found myself wanting to mark almost every page for the beautiful lines they had - this is a book you can read again and again and still get something new out of it.
After reading a couple of Wiesel's other books, the themes are similar in this book, but it's so much more alive and interesting. What an amazing story of one man's survival. I want to read it again.
He won the Nobel Peace Prize, not the Literature Prize, although I think he should win the Literature Prize as well. That's why I put it in this category.
The most compelling and well written of all his books. He is truly one of the few holy men.
Of all his books, this one is my favorite. Probably falls in my top 5.
all time favorite Elie Wiesel book
more wiesel
May 19, 2013
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Eliezer Wiesel is a Romania-born American novelist, political activist, and Holocaust survivor of Hungarian Jewish descent. He is the author of over 40 books, the best known of which is Night, a memoir that describes his experiences during the Holocaust and his imprisonment in several concentration camps.
Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. The Norwegian Nobel Committee called him a "...more
More about Elie Wiesel...
Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. The Norwegian Nobel Committee called him a "...more
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“And what is a friend? More than a father, more than a brother: a traveling companion, with him, you can conquer the impossible, even if you must lose it later. Friendship marks a life even more deeply than love. Love risks degenerating into obsession, friendship is never anything but sharing. It is a friend that you communicate the awakening of a desire, the birth of a vision or a terror, the anguish of seeing the sun disappear or of finding that order and justice are no more. That's what you can talk about with a friend. Is the soul immortal, and if so why are we afraid to die? If God exists, how can we lay claim to freedom, since He is its beginning and its end? What is death, when you come down to it? The closing of a parenthesis, and nothing more? And what about life? In the mouth of a philosopher, these questions may have a false ring, but asked during adolescence or friendship, they have the power to change being: a look burns and ordinary gestures tend to transcend themselves. What is a friend? Someone who for the first time makes you aware of your loneliness and his, and helps you to escape so you in turn can help him. Thanks to him who you can hold your tongue without shame and talk freely without risk. That's it.”
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“A man can laugh while he suffers.”
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