The Testament
Published on 14. October 2013
Book
Paperback/Softback
304 pages
978-0-285-64239-3 (ISBN)
Description
Paltiel Kossover, a "mute poet" and witness to history, travels from his Jewish childhood in pre-revolutionary Russia to Paris and Berlin in the 1930s as the Nazis take power, and Spain during its Civil War. On his journey he embraces communism only to return to Russia and be imprisoned. In his prison cell Paltiel writes his 'testament', a long letter to the son he will never see again, an account of his life as a man "who lived a Communist and died a Jew".
Encompassing Europe, and the history of the twentieth-century, Elie Wiesel pays tribute to the many writers killed by Stalin and in Paltiel he has created one of the great Everyman characters of contemporary literature.
Elie Wiesel was born in Romania in 1928. As a child during World War Two he was deported to Auschwitz, where his mother and sister died, and sent on to Buchenwald where his father died. At the end of World War Two he moved to France and, eventually, to the USA. He is the author of over 60 books, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 and has been awarded the Grand Cross in the French Legion of Honour.
Souvenir Press revives Elie Wiesel's lost classic as part of its acclaimed Independent Voices series.
Encompassing Europe, and the history of the twentieth-century, Elie Wiesel pays tribute to the many writers killed by Stalin and in Paltiel he has created one of the great Everyman characters of contemporary literature.
Elie Wiesel was born in Romania in 1928. As a child during World War Two he was deported to Auschwitz, where his mother and sister died, and sent on to Buchenwald where his father died. At the end of World War Two he moved to France and, eventually, to the USA. He is the author of over 60 books, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 and has been awarded the Grand Cross in the French Legion of Honour.
Souvenir Press revives Elie Wiesel's lost classic as part of its acclaimed Independent Voices series.
Reviews / Votes
An unusually rich, disturbing and satisfying book. -- The Times One of the great writers of our generation -- New York Times Book Review A witness for truth and justice -- The Nobel Committee Not since Albert Camus has there been such an eloquent spokesman for man. -- New York Review of BooksMore details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Profile Books Ltd
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 128 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
285 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-285-64239-3 (9780285642393)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Elie Wiesel
The Testament
E-Book
09/2013
1st Edition
Souvenir Press Ltd
from
€26.69
Available for download
Persons
Elie Wiesel was born in 1928 in the town of Sighet, now part of Romania. During World War II, he, with his family and other Jews from the area, were deported to the German concentration camps, where his parents and younger sister perished. Wiesel and his two older sisters survived. Liberated from Buchenwald in 1945 by advancing Allied troops, he was taken to Paris where he studied at the Sorbonne and worked as a journalist.
In 1958, he published his first book, La Nuit, a memoir of his experiences in the concentration camps. He has since authored nearly thirty books, some of which use these events as their basic material. In his many lectures, Wiesel has concerned himself with the situation of the Jews and other groups who have suffered persecution and death because of their religion, race or national origin. He has been outspoken on the plight of Soviet Jewry, on Ethiopian Jewry and on behalf of the State of Israel today.
Wiesel made his home in New York City, and became a United States citizen. He was a visiting scholar at Yale University, a Distinguished Professor of Judaic Studies at the City College of New York, and Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University where he taught 'Literature of Memory.' Chairman of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council from 1980 - 1986, Wiesel served on numerous boards of trustees and advisors. He died in 2016.
In 1958, he published his first book, La Nuit, a memoir of his experiences in the concentration camps. He has since authored nearly thirty books, some of which use these events as their basic material. In his many lectures, Wiesel has concerned himself with the situation of the Jews and other groups who have suffered persecution and death because of their religion, race or national origin. He has been outspoken on the plight of Soviet Jewry, on Ethiopian Jewry and on behalf of the State of Israel today.
Wiesel made his home in New York City, and became a United States citizen. He was a visiting scholar at Yale University, a Distinguished Professor of Judaic Studies at the City College of New York, and Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University where he taught 'Literature of Memory.' Chairman of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council from 1980 - 1986, Wiesel served on numerous boards of trustees and advisors. He died in 2016.