Book : Man’s Search For Meaning
Author: Viktor E. Frankl
No of pages: 154
Genre: Autobiography
My rating: 5/5
‘Man’s search for meaning’ is a slim book of a narrative by Dr Viktor Frankl about his experiences in Auschwitz, till the day he finally left it. Although considered as the worst of many such Nazi concentration camps, the author’s tone through out neither carries bitterness nor bias. In fact what impacted me was his single point focus on the best humane qualities displayed by the inmates.
It’s a poignant tale about man’s fortitude in the face of certain death and torture beyond imagination. The lyrical nature of the narration, including the beauty of Nature in a war torn, cold, and barren land blew me away.
In a ‘dog eat dog’ world, the inmates who were offered the choice of revealing the perpetrator of a perceived misdeed or going hungry, all declined their frugal meals, rather than reveal the name of the inmate being sought by their cruel jailers.
Most of the people in the camp came from well- to- do, if not affluent families. Yet, the circumstances were such that they were at the mercy of cruel louts, who were well-fed and well-clad as they drove the inmates to the most difficult of menial labour without suitable tools, nourishment or garments to ward off the elements.
The selfless acts of kindness that the author witnessed which he awards to a person’s search for meaning in his existence, makes one sit up and take stock of our own motivation. For, under our normal circumstances, can we not follow suit?
It’s a book I would recommend to all who are fond of history, non-fiction and those who believe in the essential goodness of human beings.
