I first listened to this novel from a CD set; however, I had a difficult time understanding what happened when and who was talking. Then I read it from a borrowed paperback, and I liked it much, much better.

The story is a typical Elie Wiesel work, coming from his heart so distraught from having endured so much. Throughout the plot, until the end chapters, the main character Doriel Waldman looks back at his life as he relates them to his therapist, Dr. Thérèse Goldschmidt. The ending is happy, possibly to show that some relief, if not a cure, took place, but talking about the exact actions in the story would be giving out the plot.

The story, however, is extremely complex, dealing with all kinds of mental infirmities; for example, At one point, Doriel feels he has the dybbuk (a nasty mythological spirit) in him. The story is told with complete disregard to chronology, thus my problem with the spoken version of it.

As a character, Doriel is an eccentric in his sixties who thinks he is going mad. He is plagued with the past, the war, the Holocaust, and his personal family issues. He is constantly referring to philosophy and religion, playing word and mind games, and being control-crazy while holding back some of his memories as he talks to Thérèse, although he has an overabundance of memories that disturb him. At some places in the book, I felt for his immensely patient therapist, who--I guess--was using a Freudian psychoanalytic type of therapy.

As dark as the plot is, there are gems in the storytelling that can serve as wonderful quotes, such as: “You'll ask: Is a madman who knows he's mad really mad? Or "In a mad world, isn't the madman who is aware of his madness the only sane person?” and “In this ambiguous universe, full of pitfalls and boasts, strength lies in the act of creating one's own lucidity and mastering one's own truth. The person who loves, who creates or re-creates if only for a split second, has already won a victory over the absurdity of fate."

This novel shocks and impresses the reader emotionally, and both at the same time, while he or she sees Doriel’s and his therapist’s lives emerge and disentangle through an intricate narrative and an unexpected ending.

the story itself and the main characters

the complexity of construction, even though this may have been done to show the madness in the main character.

is Elie Wiesel.

it is typical Elie Wiesel and I loved every book and story he has written.

If you read the book, take your time with it. It is a book that needs digesting, and do not attempt to listen to it unless you read it first.

Interested in buying this? Support Writing.Com by making your purchase of A MAD DESIRE TO DANCE } ] by Wiesel, Elie (AUTHOR) Apr-13-2010 [ Paperback ]   from Amazon.Com!

Created Jun 22, 2017 at 5:27pm • Submit your own review...