Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

71 reviews

aliciachauhan_'s review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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

5.0

this book is so unbelievably beautiful and heart wrenching. it's not the typical type of book I usually read however I thought I'd give it a go and I'm so glad that I did. everyone should read this book as its so informative and it really resonates and reminds you how lucky we are to have freedom and to live. I cried endlessly towards the endings, the pictures broke me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Cursing, Excrement, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Death of parent, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Classism, Confinement, and Murder

caltaylor's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Hate crime, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Blood, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Torture, War, and Violence

pershie13's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The Tattooist of Auschwitz is a fast-paced, gripping story about a Jewish Slovak man named Lale's experience as a prisoner in Auschwitz during World War II. The book is based on a true story and share's Lale's experiences there, as well as a love story that lasts throughout his time at the camp. The resilience of all the people there is astounding, and Heather Morris does an excellent job of recounting the horrors of Auschwitz, as well as the strength of the people there. I've read many World War II historical fictions before, but this is the first one I've read that shows the war through the prisoners' perspective. As a result, the horrors of what these people went through was uncovered for me in a way it hadn't been before. The conditions and treatment of the people, as well as all the different groups wrongly imprisoned there, were all thoroughly researched and well represented by Morris, and I learned so much about the inner workings of the Nazi regime and exactly what they were trying to do. It is an important perspective that truly shows readers what happened and why it must never happen again. I think that Lale's story is so important for everyone to read in this regard because these experiences are his story, the story of countless survivors, and that of 6 million people who didn't make it out of these camps. As people who experienced Auschwitz and other concentration camps continue to age, Lale's story will remain written for all to read and truly understand one of the most horrible things inflicted on people in human history.

I absolutely loved the story and tore through this book in three days. I do wish that some of the events and characters would have been developed in greater detail. I found myself struggling to grasp at the concept of time or some of the characters' physical features or personalities because much of that was completely skipped over. I also do think that the book could have been a bit longer. For a book just over 250 pages long, I think this story was told well, but I think it could have been expanded a bit to further reinforce the message and importance of the events throughout the story. Since the book originally started as a screenplay, I think a lot of this would have been covered in a visual format, but it needed to be translated to the book to help me picture the setting a bit better. Overall, the story itself was excellent, but the writing style was not for me and didn't allow me to connect with the characters as much as I'd like. The notes at the end are excellent, so do not skip those! They help you learn more about Lale and Gita and give you a better grasp on the timeline of their experiences at Auschwitz.

This book was good, and I'm so glad Lale's story was able to be told. I think this is a worthwhile read, and it is a quick one to get through. I look forward to reading the sequel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Hate crime, Violence, Body horror, Antisemitism, Death, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Physical abuse, Rape, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Racism, Sexual violence, Torture, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Vomit, Sexual content, War, and Blood

khymihr's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence

Minor: Child death, Medical trauma, and Rape

hadley_w's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Everyone should read this at least once in their lives. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Mass/school shootings, Genocide, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Child death

goldyyy's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Body horror, Genocide, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Blood, Child death, Death, and Gun violence

abby_p's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Child death, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Rape, Genocide, Body horror, Gore, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Mass/school shootings, War, Slavery, Racial slurs, Antisemitism, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Torture, Racism, Police brutality, Murder, Medical trauma, Hate crime, Gun violence, and Grief

jen1804's review

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I both enjoyed and didn’t enjoy this book.
It’s incredibly interesting with insights into the life experienced at the concentration camps.
But I also found it almost too fast paced, as though important parts of history were mentioned and then quickly skipped over. Perhaps because the horrors are just that, too horrific to dwell on for longer than the few sentences we are given.
I loved that the book itself is basically a piece of history written from real life interviews with the main character.
Am important read that we should probably all acknowledge.
Satisfactory ending? Yes.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and War

maikendignes's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Physical abuse, Murder, and Gun violence

Moderate: Sexual assault, Grief, Rape, and Emotional abuse

mills_22's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

really beautiful story but i feel it lost it’s way a bit in the historical aspect? it became a little bit too centred on the love story and as beautiful as it was i felt it belittled the suffering and death of millions. it’s important to tell the story of survivors but it felt like the author had made it fit her preconceptions slightly. overall an important book to read as long as you are aware of its inaccuracies, very emotional and harrowing and heavy but also gives you an air of faith in humanity. i would recommend it as long as you have an awareness of what to expect. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Child death, Death, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Torture, and Violence