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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
A couple of months ago I read an interview with Heather Morris talking about this and her first book, which she wrote it after spending many hours transcribing the memories of Lale Sokolov, Tattooist of Auschwitz. Unbelievably she said that some critics of the book thought it hadn’t been ‘horrific’ enough for one set in a concentration camp. This was understandably very offensive to Lale and his surviving family. She deliberately focussed on his relationship with Gita to take the spotlight off it being ‘yet another holocaust book’ & to find a different angle to raise awareness. Who are we, with our luxurious 21st century living conditions to say he didn’t endure enough hardship just because he was ‘lucky’ to be given a job (defacing his friends) whilst incarcerated which in turn gave him an extra crust of bread or two & spared him, but not his loved ones, beatings & the gas chambers? Who are we to say he didn’t suffer enough because he also managed to find human love in the most inhumane circumstance?
Cilka’s journey is also based on the memories of Lale together with memories from other survivors of the Siberian prison camps. Sixteen year old Cilka endured three years in Auschwitz- Berkenau only on ‘liberation’ to then be deemed a collaborator and sentenced to fifteen years hard labour in Vorkuta, one of the Russian ruled prison camps. I found this in itself heart rendering. Having done what she had to to survive Auschwitz (‘allowing’ herself to be raped by SS Officers) Cilka had a brief interlude believing herself to have been freed at last to find any surviving family (she had already loaded her own mother on to a death cart and watched her sister die of typhoid) before finding herself in an equally brutal regime in Siberia.
Heather Morris spares us no details here so will certainly silence her original critics. Cilka becomes a nurse in the prison hospital and through hard work & diligence & her totally unselfish nature, also earns a few privileges along the way (mainly ones she passes on to her friends) and we are privy to her innermost tortures of mind and soul. I was worried this book wouldn’t be as strong as Tattooist, in fact it’s stronger.
Cilka’s journey is also based on the memories of Lale together with memories from other survivors of the Siberian prison camps. Sixteen year old Cilka endured three years in Auschwitz- Berkenau only on ‘liberation’ to then be deemed a collaborator and sentenced to fifteen years hard labour in Vorkuta, one of the Russian ruled prison camps. I found this in itself heart rendering. Having done what she had to to survive Auschwitz (‘allowing’ herself to be raped by SS Officers) Cilka had a brief interlude believing herself to have been freed at last to find any surviving family (she had already loaded her own mother on to a death cart and watched her sister die of typhoid) before finding herself in an equally brutal regime in Siberia.
Heather Morris spares us no details here so will certainly silence her original critics. Cilka becomes a nurse in the prison hospital and through hard work & diligence & her totally unselfish nature, also earns a few privileges along the way (mainly ones she passes on to her friends) and we are privy to her innermost tortures of mind and soul. I was worried this book wouldn’t be as strong as Tattooist, in fact it’s stronger.
What a heart-warming and devastating story. I loved the Tatooist of Auschwitz and naturally couldn't wait to get my hands on this. I loved it however I felt it missed the essence of Lales story. This seemed more fictional to me. Such heartbreak. Beautifully written, the writer manages to capture so much feeling in her writing and the characters are well told.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thought I was inundated with World War II historical fiction, but this one really tour at my heart strings. Strong female character and based on factual knowledge of the person.
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a beautifully written story about a strong woman. I appreciated how informative it was about life in the gulags. However, the lack of depth created for any of these characters made it hard for me to connect to them. You can tell the lives of the characters are fictionalized as they heavily fall into tropes rather than presenting as multi-dimensional people.
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 stars rounded down. For a book about Auschwitz and the Russian gulags, this book is surprisingly unemotional. The author tells more than she shows, and the choice of present tense to tell the story is a definite detractor. I have read The Tattooist of Auschwitz, but not recently, and perhaps I would have liked this book more if I had read the two closer together.