March 18, 2019 | No Comments
The Tattooist of Auschwitz
by Heather Morris
Date Published: January 27, 2018
Published By: Bonnier Publishing Australia
Page Count: 277
Publisher’s Description:
In April 1942, Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, is forcibly transported to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. When his captors discover that he speaks several languages, he is put to work as a Tätowierer (the German word for tattooist), tasked with permanently marking his fellow prisoners.
Imprisoned for over two and a half years, Lale witnesses horrific atrocities and barbarism—but also incredible acts of bravery and compassion. Risking his own life, he uses his privileged position to exchange jewels and money from murdered Jews for food to keep his fellow prisoners alive.
One day in July 1942, Lale, prisoner 32407, comforts a trembling young woman waiting in line to have the number 34902 tattooed onto her arm. Her name is Gita, and in that first encounter, Lale vows to somehow survive the camp and marry her.
A vivid, harrowing, and ultimately hopeful re-creation of Lale Sokolov’s experiences as the man who tattooed the arms of thousands of prisoners with what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust, The Tattooist of Auschwitz is also a testament to the endurance of love and humanity under the darkest possible conditions.
My Star Rating:
My Review:
The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Powerful. This book hurt. It was painful and sickening, and it was powerful to glimpse the story of how deeply evil humans can be, and at the same time, how deeply resilient.
I know that some reviews for this book indicate how the story was good but the writing wasn’t great. I have to disagree. I found it to be descriptive, direct, and emotional. This is dark content. Its subject matter was hard to read. It made me angry and sad.
Also, the audiobook narration was beautifully done. Richard Armitage is a uniquely talented individual, and quite frankly, was the reason I even knew this book existed to begin with. I don’t think anyone could have done a better job bringing this story to life so vividly and masterfully.
The story follows Lale, who is sent to a Nazi camp in Auschwitz during WW2. He’s a strong man who does what he has to do to survive and helping others to do the same for three long years. And despite the violence, the murders, the starvation, and the hopelessness of the situation, he managed to find love in Gita, a woman brought to the camp several months after him.
The way the author unraveled the emotions of this story was really well done. How Lale would be made to work sometimes without a day of rest for weeks and how Gita would think he’d died. How she’d been summoned to see Lale by an SS (one of the soldiers) and she was terrified when she arrived to him because people summoned by the soldiers did not come back. How people feared for their lives and how cruel the Nazis were.
Very well done story. Very relevant content. Five stars.