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vedpears's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Echoing other reviews of low rating, the characters have nearly zero personality and the book is written in such a way that it is rushed and lacking in the prose department. A novel should immerse you in the moments and happenings. This book didn't explain why this all came to be and glosses over what was happening at the facilities to instead make this a romance novel. A ROMANCE NOVEL. SET IN AUCHSWITZ. This felt more like a PowerPoint presentation on paper that missed the point.
I understand that this was a retelling of what she was told by the real-life Lale. I suspect the 80 year old didn't have the most reliable memory and his stories morphed over time to become more tolerable for himself to recall. The treasure troves of jewels and having enough chocolate to share on multiple occasions was very unbelievable and credibility was shaken from it.
That being said, it is a quick-paced read and I do feel bad for the people who had to live this. I was hopeful for a miraculous outcome for certain people because of what I know from outside this book. Unfortunately, the author did a poor job bringing depth to most characters presented and seemingly a poor job doing basic research beforehand.
I understand that this was a retelling of what she was told by the real-life Lale. I suspect the 80 year old didn't have the most reliable memory and his stories morphed over time to become more tolerable for himself to recall. The treasure troves of jewels and having enough chocolate to share on multiple occasions was very unbelievable and credibility was shaken from it.
That being said, it is a quick-paced read and I do feel bad for the people who had to live this. I was hopeful for a miraculous outcome for certain people because of what I know from outside this book. Unfortunately, the author did a poor job bringing depth to most characters presented and seemingly a poor job doing basic research beforehand.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Kidnapping, Death, Torture, Slavery, Murder, Hate crime, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Violence, Trafficking, Sexual assault, Antisemitism, Physical abuse, Deportation, Confinement, Medical trauma, Genocide, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Chronic illness, and Child death
This is not a fact-based story. It is a disrespectful twisting of events to make a romance.ravensandlace's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
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Holocaust books are always hard to review. I have read a lot of them in my day and I still struggle to rate and review them. I always feel bad if I rate them lower then 3 (three) stars because I feel I am disrespecting the history of what happened. But I also wouldn’t be doing my job as a reviewer if I rated a book high simply because of the topic. It’s not fair to the book. Luckily, I enjoyed this book quite a bit and the 4 (four) star rating is justified.
Lale was a good main character. I didn’t quite relate to him but I enjoyed his POV nonetheless. He was a bit too obsessed with women but I appreciated how much he respected women. He remained true to himself, even though he was in a very horrible situation. It was interesting to read about his job as a tattooer, as this book is based on someone who was a tattooer for Auschwitz. It’s not a usual Holocaust topic. Overall, I don't have any real complaints about him although I was a little concerned about him at the end.
The book was written in second person, which really brought the book to life. I felt like I was right there with Lale, even though I really didn't want to be there. I think that if the book had been written in any other way, it would have felt old and uninteresting. The author choosing to write the book this way was a great choice.
The problem I had with the book was the ending. It felt incredibly rushed. I wish the author had taken the time to respect the ending like the rest of the book. Everything had been happening at a relatively decent speed, if a little slow at times. Once the last 50 pages hit, it seemed like everything was happening at breakneck speed and I felt myself getting whiplash. The ending is what kept me from giving the book a full 5 (five) stars.
Overall, this was a good book. I, of course, highly recommend it as it's an interesting topic being the story of a tattooer. I can't wait to read the second book, which is about Cilka, a side character.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Excrement, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Torture, and Violence
This book is about the Holocaust. With that comes the trigger warnings normally associated with the Holocaust.
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