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The Sonderberg Case Audiobook
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(3.03) - 258 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
From the Nobel laureate and author of the masterly Night, a deeply felt, beautifully written novel of morality, guilt, and innocence. Despite personal success, Yedidyah—a theater critic in New York City, husband to a stage actress, father to two sons—finds himself increasingly drawn to the past. As he reflects on his life and the decisions he’s made, he longingly reminisces about the relationships he once had with the men in his family (his father, his uncle, his grandfather) and the questions that remain unanswered. It’s a feeling that is further complicated when Yedidyah is assigned to cover the murder trial of a German expatriate named Werner Sonderberg. Sonderberg returned alone from a walk in the Adirondacks with an elderly uncle, whose lifeless body was soon retrieved from the woods. His plea is enigmatic: “Guilty . . . and not guilty.” These words strike a chord in Yedidyah, plunging him into feelings that bring him harrowingly close to madness. As Sonderberg’s trial moves along a path of dizzying yet revelatory twists and turns, Yedidyah begins to understand his own family’s hidden past and finally liberates himself from the shadow it has cast over his life. With his signature elegance and thoughtfulness, Elie Wiesel has given us an enthralling psychological mystery, both vividly dramatic and profoundly emotional.
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"Wiesel's books are often hard to read because of their subject matter. This is true even when he writes a novel. I recommend this to those who are interested in the holocaust and what happens to the children and grandchildren of survivors/those who did not survive. It is also a good mystery."
— Clare (4 out of 5 stars)
The Sonderberg Case Listener Reviews
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" I thought this book was very dull,it lacked the emotion that I thought it would have,judging by the synopsis. The characters were almost forgettable, between Yedidzah career path as a theater critic and him longing for the men that helped him, it was not anything to be excited. I understand what the author was trying to convey when there is a lifeless body found I was expecting something amazing but to no avail, it has grown stale. This was not what I expected,now I am going to have second thoughts before reading a book that "looks" good. "
— Michael, 2/19/2014 -
" Guilty and not guilty. How can someone be both guilty and not guilty? How does one live inside quotation marks? We don't live in the past but the past lives in us. A very thoughtful read on guilt, innocence, morality, and the Holocaust. Eli once again gives us something profound. "
— Elizabeth, 2/19/2014 -
" Hard to follow at first....ends abruptly, but somewhere in the middle you become entranced... "
— Tc, 2/6/2014 -
" I think this is the first Elie Wiesel book I've read. Thought provoking. Interesting premise. Full of literary and philosophical references to illustrious writers (none that I've read). So, I felt a little out of my comfort zone. I did like the way his thoughts were so BIG, Are all his books like this? Heavy with deep meaning and moral dilemnas? "
— Cathy, 1/28/2014 -
" At the heart of this novel is a trial, the Sonderberg case, but as things develop the "case" is more than just a trial. An investigation of guilt and innocence and what it means to be human. "
— Cooper, 1/25/2014 -
" His writing style really bothers me---all the questions. Plus, the plot is seems lacking--or beside the point. However, the strength was the theme of guilt inherited by German generations after WWII and the sense of thwarted purpose STILL felt by the elder Sonderberg. A deeper exploration of these conflicting emotions would have served the book better. "
— Pamela, 1/23/2014 -
" I was looking for a book to take to a long airplane trip to Europe. And miracle of miracles this through noise canceling headphones put me to sleep and we arrived in what seemed like no time! :) Not Wiesel's best work. "
— Marita, 1/20/2014 -
" It's not that this was a horrible book. In fact, there were parts I enjoyed. Overall, the book was all over the place, and I feel like the reader is left with too many questions. This book was a little to deep and a little to heavy at parts for my liking. "
— Lisa, 1/19/2014 -
" Very difficult to follow. The perspective keeps changing; it could be because of the translation from French. I could not really get into it. "
— Chery, 1/9/2014 -
" Very good novel about a Jewish journalist who was an infant during the Holocaust. "
— Sarah, 12/21/2013 -
" read his book "Night" and saw this on the shelf...even though I enjoyed the twisty plot, it was a wee bit hard to follow in the beginning...but what a finish!!..think I have found a new favorite author... "
— Sharon, 11/29/2013 -
" Definitely a powerful story, especially the end. First novel by this author I have read - I will definitely read more of his fiction. "
— Mary, 11/27/2013 -
" I had very high hopes when I started out but in the end, I found this book by Elie Wiesel to be too fragmented for my taste. It seemed that either things in the story needed to be cut out or expanded upon significantly. And the main character's wife......what was up with her? "
— Renee, 8/3/2013 -
" The story had a lot of philosophical musings and a little bit of a mystery. I would have preferred a lot of mystery and a little bit of philosophical musings. "
— Ilene, 4/10/2013 -
" Not as much as his some of his other work, although also better than some too. "
— Mckinley, 1/9/2013 -
" As a journalist and an avid theatre fan, a book whose main character was a theatre reviewer for a newspaper was ideal. The book was moving and compelling. "
— Briana, 11/22/2012 -
" Enjoyed. Of course obsessed with the holocaust. Trial of a young German who may have murdered his uncle. "
— Wandac, 10/2/2012 -
" Guilty, and not guilty. A phrase from the book that sums up this story as well as so many other things in life. Guilty and not guilty. "
— Dawn, 8/13/2012 -
" I was a bit confused by the story, in which the protagonist makes a discovery about his parents & his family history. The writing & reading were great. "
— Spider, 6/24/2012 -
" This was a riveting book for me. I read it in two sittings -- which is unusual for me. A novel about a man who was a "hidden child" during the holocaust and only late in life learns of his true identity through contact with a German man. Very compelling. I highly recommend it. "
— Penny, 3/25/2012 -
" Great prose as it is usual with Wiesel. Interesting plot and surprising and meaningful ending. "
— Shamsh, 3/11/2012 -
" this author continues to amaze! "
— Marie, 2/5/2012 -
" Elie Wiesel is renown for his books dealing with the Holocaust. At age 15 Elie was interned at Auchwitz in Poland. The Sonderberg Case asks how the German nation could kill 6 million Jews. The answer: pure hatred. "
— Debra, 1/27/2012 -
" This book was anticlimactic... "
— Sarah, 9/24/2010
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
Arthur Morey has won three AudioFile Magazine “Best Of” Awards, and his work has garnered numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards and placed him as a finalist for two Audie Awards. He has acted in a number of productions, both off Broadway in New York and off Loop in Chicago. He graduated from Harvard and did graduate work at the University of Chicago. He has won awards for his fiction and drama, worked as an editor with several book publishers, and taught literature and writing at Northwestern University. His plays and songs have been produced in New York, Chicago, and Milan, where he has also performed.