Book Review: Hostage by Elie Wiesel

For my first independent reading book, I chose Hostage by Elie Wiesel. My inquiry project is about the effects of hostage situations, so this book is very appropriate. I selected this title because it appeared to be focused around a lengthy hostage situation involving anti-semitism shortly after World War II. I was correct about one thing...it was about a lengthy hostage situation and all that. Shaltiel Feigenberg, a middle-aged Jewish story teller, was abducted by a revoltuionary Islamic organization. Shalti was targeted because of fantasy newspaper articles written by him that this organization has miscontrued to align with their agenda. The book, however, is of equal parts suspense and political plot events. While the Israeli and American governments were considering the abductor’s demands, Shalti and his two captors discuss international politics (not a friendly conversation, although). This component of the book I did not like. I was very intrigued with the abduction scenes, but I was equally bored with the political conversation in the middle of the book. I had to trudge through that particular section of text (like the 60-page long cave scene in the Hunger Games). I have not finished reading the book, so I cannot form my opinion of the book as a whole. However, it better have an eventful ending.