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nicoles_books_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
My first ever audio book and I loved it such a sad story told in such a beautiful way.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Antisemitism, Death, Genocide, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia
charliefosterx's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, and Violence
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
Find this review and others like it at https://aravenclawlibraryx.wordpress.com
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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