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Hostage Audiobook
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(2.99) - 325 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
From Elie Wiesel, Nobel laureate and author of Night, a charged, deeply moving novel about the legacy of the Holocaust in today’s troubled world and the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It’s 1975, and Shaltiel Feigenberg—professional storyteller, writer and beloved husband—has been taken hostage: abducted from his home in Brooklyn, blindfolded and tied to a chair in a dark basement. His captors, an Arab and an Italian, don’t explain why the innocent Shaltiel has been chosen, just that his life will be bartered for the freedom of three Palestinian prisoners. As his days of waiting commence, Shaltiel resorts to what he does best, telling stories—to himself and to the men who hold his fate in their hands. With beauty and sensitivity, Wiesel builds the world of Shaltiel’s memories, haunted by the Holocaust and a Europe in the midst of radical change. A Communist brother, a childhood spent hiding from the Nazis in a cellar, the kindness of liberating Russian soldiers, the unrest of the 1960s—these are the stories that unfold in Shaltiel’s captivity, as the outside world breathlessly follows his disappearance and the police move toward a final confrontation with his captors. Impassioned, provocative and insistently humane, Hostage is both a masterly thriller and a profoundly wise meditation on the power of memory to connect us to the past and our shared need for resolution.
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"I enjoyed it, but it certainly is not his best work. I thought the storyteller angle was interesting as well as his recounting the major events of his life. Additionally, his relationship with the captors was well done. And, the many different types of being of a hostage were good as well."
— Christina (4 out of 5 stars)
Hostage Listener Reviews
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" Stopped reading after about 50 pages...not interesting to me. "
— Rebecca, 2/11/2014 -
" Made me think and I really felt for the main character. "
— Katricia, 12/16/2013 -
" Wiesel is still one of the greatest storytellers of all time. The only problem I have with this novel is that he entangles some great and meaningful stories with too many self-exploring questions...just as I was getting into a particular story I was distracted with too much metaphysical thinking! If you want to think about life, though, I highly suggest this book! "
— Mandi, 12/11/2013 -
" I was disappointed in this one. It was rather disconnected and boring. "
— Pam, 12/11/2013 -
" A wonderful read that weaves beautiful storytelling with disturbing history. 'Hostage' leaves you with a ray of hope for humanity. It was a pleasure. "
— Gabrielle, 11/30/2013 -
" Not an easy read. I got a good idea of the thoughts that may haunt someone in this situation but not all that moving a story. "
— Victor, 11/21/2013 -
" Hostage displays the skills that garnered Elie Wiesel the Nobel prize. This powerful novel relates terrorism to the horrific acts of the Holocaust...An intense, engaging read. "
— Ginny, 11/21/2013 -
" An ambitious premise that isn't quite executed in such a way that the narrative flows throughout. The storyline about the young boy playing chess with a Nazi, while a real strength of the novel, seems derivative. "
— Raimo, 10/12/2013 -
" I couldn't get through it and quit halfway. Way too wordy. Not what I had hoped, loved his book Night. "
— Whitney, 9/8/2013 -
" It was okay.... Not great but not absolutely horrible. "
— Patricia, 8/26/2013 -
" I love Elie Wiesel's use of language. Parts of this one turned out to be a little too mystical for me and I found myself racing through it. I enjoyed his Night trilogy more than this one. "
— Julie, 6/5/2013 -
" This book was very unevenly written. The parts about the concentration camps was better than the present day. I liked it enough to finish but skimmed some parts. "
— Margaret, 4/22/2013 -
" Elie Wiesel is one of those authors who can write anything elegantly. Can't wait to start this book!!! "
— Cheri, 4/3/2013
About Elie Wiesel
Elie Wiesel (1928–2016) was the author of more than fifty books, both fiction and nonfiction, including his masterly memoir Night. He was awarded the United States Congressional Gold Medal, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the rank of Grand-Croix in the French Legion of Honor, an honorary knighthood of the British Empire, and, in 1986, the Nobel Peace Prize. Since 1976, he served as the the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University.
About Mark Bramhall
Mark Bramhall has won the prestigious Audie Award for best narration, more than thirty AudioFile Earphones Awards, and has repeatedly been named by AudioFile magazine and Publishers Weekly among their “Best Voices of the Year.” He is also an award-winning actor whose acting credits include off-Broadway, regional, and many Los Angeles venues as well as television, animation, and feature films. He has taught and directed at the American Academy of Dramatic Art.