Dawn by Elie Wiesel

Elisha has survived the Nazi death camps and, shortly after WWII, goes to Palistine where he becomes an Israeli freedom-fighter. He is commissioned to murder a captured British officer, an action that is intended to serve as vengeance for Britain’s execution of a Jewish prisoner. The novel is short – mostly a character study during which Elisha struggles with the inner turmoil of his assignment. It reminded me of the movie, Munich, in which the hero attempts to fight terrorism but ultimately becomes a terrorist himself. Favorite Quote: “ ‘We say that ours is a holy war,’ she went on, ‘that we’re struggling against something and for something, against the English and for an independent Palestine. That’s what we say. But these are words; as such they serve only to give meaning to our actions. And our actions, seen in their true and primitive light, have the odor and color of blood.’”