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A review by kailafitz
The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
4.0
As much as I loved this book, I didn't feel the way I wanted to during and after I had read it.
I wanted to feel distraught and upset and I wanted to ugly-cry so bad! But sadly, I didn't. To be frank, I found that the writing was lacking emotional depth from character development to the descriptions of the horrors that were carried out in the camp and the devastation of it all. I wanted to feel everything that the people were feeling. I wanted to know the darkness, the abyss of pain that was their new reality. I wanted to know what they thought and how they coped: every excruciating detail.
I loved this story, and because it lacked something huge for me, I am severely disappointed. It is the deep emotional connection that creates a lasting impression of a book on me, and this will not be as memorable as I had hoped for it to be.
“How can someone do this to another human being? He wonders if for the rest of his life, be it short or long, he will be defined by this moment, this irregular number: 32407.”
This was a beautiful story set in a horrific time. Though we have been told many stories through books and documentaries about World War II, the nature of the war never ceases to shock me over and over. When you really stop to think about it, it's just absolutely mind-boggling that it ever happened!
Anyone who reads this story will fall into it straight away. There are many characters that we get to know inside the Auschwitz concentration camp, the different relationships that existed between the prisoners and the SS soldiers. The story is based on a true story which adds to the intensity and sadness of the book. This is a tale of love amidst the story of struggle and survival.
“You know something, Tätowierer? I bet you’re the only Jew who ever walked into an oven and then walked back out of it”.
Shortly after entering Auschwitz, Lale's survival instincts kick in as he begins to carefully observe and watch the order of life in this evil place. He quickly makes friends with the right people and tragically manages to score himself the job of the tatooist - scarring the hundreds and thousands of people that enter the camps with a number that would dehumanise them. Though this keeps him out of immediate danger, there is a guilt forever carried in his heart at the protection he receives in exchange for helping out.
However, Lale uses his new privileges to help others who are struggling in the camp, risking his own life to do so.
“I know he is not perfect, but I also know he will always put me first.”
The love story between Gita and Lale within the walls of Auschwitz is a vulnerability to them both as they battle against all odds to survive the hell they live in. The hope and dream of making a life outside the gates spurs them on each day, even when uncertainty upholds.
“If you wake up in the morning, it is a good day.”
Having given my opinion at the start, you can take it to be my lasting impression of this book. But to be clear, Lale and Gita's story is definitely worth reading and it is to be cherished and respected amongst the countless of stories both told and untold during World War II.
I wanted to feel distraught and upset and I wanted to ugly-cry so bad! But sadly, I didn't. To be frank, I found that the writing was lacking emotional depth from character development to the descriptions of the horrors that were carried out in the camp and the devastation of it all. I wanted to feel everything that the people were feeling. I wanted to know the darkness, the abyss of pain that was their new reality. I wanted to know what they thought and how they coped: every excruciating detail.
I loved this story, and because it lacked something huge for me, I am severely disappointed. It is the deep emotional connection that creates a lasting impression of a book on me, and this will not be as memorable as I had hoped for it to be.
“How can someone do this to another human being? He wonders if for the rest of his life, be it short or long, he will be defined by this moment, this irregular number: 32407.”
This was a beautiful story set in a horrific time. Though we have been told many stories through books and documentaries about World War II, the nature of the war never ceases to shock me over and over. When you really stop to think about it, it's just absolutely mind-boggling that it ever happened!
Anyone who reads this story will fall into it straight away. There are many characters that we get to know inside the Auschwitz concentration camp, the different relationships that existed between the prisoners and the SS soldiers. The story is based on a true story which adds to the intensity and sadness of the book. This is a tale of love amidst the story of struggle and survival.
“You know something, Tätowierer? I bet you’re the only Jew who ever walked into an oven and then walked back out of it”.
Shortly after entering Auschwitz, Lale's survival instincts kick in as he begins to carefully observe and watch the order of life in this evil place. He quickly makes friends with the right people and tragically manages to score himself the job of the tatooist - scarring the hundreds and thousands of people that enter the camps with a number that would dehumanise them. Though this keeps him out of immediate danger, there is a guilt forever carried in his heart at the protection he receives in exchange for helping out.
However, Lale uses his new privileges to help others who are struggling in the camp, risking his own life to do so.
“I know he is not perfect, but I also know he will always put me first.”
The love story between Gita and Lale within the walls of Auschwitz is a vulnerability to them both as they battle against all odds to survive the hell they live in. The hope and dream of making a life outside the gates spurs them on each day, even when uncertainty upholds.
“If you wake up in the morning, it is a good day.”
Having given my opinion at the start, you can take it to be my lasting impression of this book. But to be clear, Lale and Gita's story is definitely worth reading and it is to be cherished and respected amongst the countless of stories both told and untold during World War II.