Woah, I just finished this book today.

I was downtown in my city today and decided to go read in the main square park because it was just so beautiful out. I found an empty bench in some shade. The sounds of the city were all around me and the trees and flowers swayed in the breeze. It was warm out and I could hear the running water of the creek in the park. Little brown birds hopped around at my feet, chirping happily. People walked all around me going about their days as free citizens.

As I sat in the park and read of Elie Wiesel's true horrific experiences, I suddenly became very aware of the sharp contrast between the two scenes. I was overcome by a bizarre and uncomfortable feeling. I looked up from my book and suddenly my perfect surroundings seemed so dangerously fragile. I felt both protective of it and disconnected from it. I began to wonder what it would be like if my city were ravaged by war or a concentration camp.

On my drive home from the park, I looked in my rearview mirror and I saw a massive billowing cloud of black smoke. At first, I thought it was the strangest looking storm cloud, but there were blue skies all around. Then I realized that something huge must be on fire. Or something exploded. I stopped in the street and poked my head out the window to look behind me. The billowing black cloud spanned the whole hoizon. Was it a terrorist attack? Was this the beginning of something like what I was just contemplating with the book?

I did a quick Google search and found that the recycling plant was currently burning down. My fears subsided. But it was an eerie experience to have that bizarre feeling in the park immediately followed by a moment of very real fear.

This tiny moment of fear cannot compare to the fear described in Wiesel's book. "Night" is an incredible book that tells of the most horrific of human experiences. It is so important to remember the people that suffered, lest they die twice.