Profound & heartbreaking
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Blurb:
In April 1942, Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, is forcibly transported to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. When his captors discover that he speaks several languages, he is put to work as a Tätowierer (the German word for tattooist), tasked with permanently marking his fellow prisoners. Imprisoned for more than two and a half years, Lale witnesses horrific atrocities and barbarism—but also incredible acts of bravery and compassion. Risking his own life, he uses his privileged position to exchange jewels and money from murdered Jews for food to keep his fellow prisoners alive. One day in July 1942, Lale, prisoner 32407, comforts a trembling young woman waiting in line to have the number 34902 tattooed onto her arm. Her name is Gita, and in that first encounter, Lale vows to somehow survive the camp and marry her. A vivid, harrowing, and ultimately hopeful re-creation of Lale Sokolov's experiences as the man who tattooed the arms of thousands of prisoners with what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust, The Tattooist of Auschwitz is also a testament to the endurance of love and humanity under the darkest possible conditions
The Review
This is a story about Auschwitz, so what can I tell you that you won't already expect; that it is obviously totally and utterly harrowing. You wont be surprised to know that there are parts of this book that make for incredibly upsetting reading. On several occasions I was absolutely flattened by it and I found myself having to get up and walk away from it for some time out. I felt guilty for doing so, it's not as if the people that lived through these experiences ever got to take time out from it. But it's also not the sort of book you want to rush through just because it makes you uncomfortable. You need to take the time to come to terms with some of the atrocities that happen throughout.
I've read several books that deal with the Holocaust, most notably, Elie Wiesel's 'Night'. The strength of both these books is that the narrative follows the story of one person. Were it to try and encompass the magnitude of the suffering of all the prisoners in the concentration camps it might, perversely, lose some of its power. By focusing on Lale and the immediate relationships he has with those around him in the camps we truly begin to understand the suffering of each and every individual at that time.
Despite all the horror and desperation, this book, at its heart, is a love story. Based on the true story of Lale and Gita, who managed to find each other amidst all this cruelty and tragedy. Somehow, unbelievably, it fills you with a glimmer of hope, for the strength of the human spirit, for the dignity and resilience with which these people faced their fate.
This story had a profound and lasting impact on me. I am aware that academic historians have pointed out that there are several technical inaccuracies in the book and while this is obviously true, I don't believe any of these make it any the story less valuable. The author's understanding of the story was through the memories of an 87 year old man and I believe she tried to replicate these as faithfully as she could. This shouldn't, therefore, be treated as an academic piece of work, but nothing within it is sensationalised for the sake of the story.
I found this profound, moving and heartbreaking and it will stay with me for a long time.
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