#Book #Review: The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris #NetGalley **DEBUT NOVEL**

Publication date 11th January 2018

I received an advance copy of this e-book via NetGalley from the publisher Bonnier Zaffre

in exchange for an honest review

Book description:
The Tattooist of Auschwitz is based on the true story of Lale and Gita Sokolov, two Slovakian Jews who survived Auschwitz and eventually made their home in Australia. In that terrible place, Lale was given the job of tattooing the prisoners marked for survival - literally scratching numbers into his fellow victims' arms in indelible ink to create what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust. Lale used the infinitesimal freedom of movement that this position awarded him to exchange jewels and money taken from murdered Jews for food to keep others alive. If he had been caught, he would have been killed; many owed him their survival.

There have been many books about the Holocaust - and there will be many more. What makes this one so memorable is Lale Sokolov's incredible zest for life. He understood exactly what was in store for him and his fellow prisoners, and he was determined to survive - not just to survive but to leave the camp with his dignity and integrity intact, to live his life to the full. Terrible though this story is, it is also a story of hope and of courage. It is also - almost unbelievably - a love story. Waiting in line to be tattooed, terrified and shaking, was a young girl. For Lale - a dandy, a jack-the-lad, a bit of a chancer - it was love at first sight, and he determined not only to survive himself but to ensure that Gita did, too. His story - their story - will make you weep, but you will also find it uplifting. It shows the very best of humanity in the very worst of circumstances.

Like many survivors, Lale and Gita told few people their story after the war. They eventually made their way to Australia, where they raised a son and had a successful life. But when Gita died, Lale felt he could no longer carry the burden of their past alone. He chose to tell his story.

My thoughts: 

I have to admit this book is one of those which is difficult to review because the author has written it so beautifully I don't want to take anything away from that achievement.  Many books have been written about Auschwitz and the atrocities which happened there, yet this is a book which understands that enough has been said on the awful events and speaks predominantly of the acts of human kindness which happened there instead. 

The author has captured Lale's personality and his voice in the telling of his story of how he met and fell in love with Gita.  It is the ultimate tale of love conquering all - and there were so many times during Lale and Gita's imprisonment when either one of them could easily have given in to the hardships they encountered.  The risks that the prisoners took in order to help one another make for scary reading, and on more than one occasion I was worried that they would be discovered and become yet another statistic of the war machine.

The respectful relationship which the author and Lale clearly built up during the writing of this book shines through on every page. To say I enjoyed this book seems so wrong considering its content yet I am so glad Lale felt able to share his experiences with the world. As Lale himself stressed the world cannot allow such horrifying events to ever happen again.

From the author:

I am a Native of New Zealand now resident in Australia, working in a large public hospital in Melbourne. For several years I studied and wrote screenplays, one of which was optioned by an academy award winning Screenwriter in the U.S. In 2003, I was introduced to an elderly gentleman "who might just have a story worth telling". The day I met Lale Sokolov changed my life, as our friendship grew and he embarked on a journey of self scrutiny, entrusting the inner most details of his life during the Holocaust. I originally wrote Lale's story as a screenplay - which ranked high in international competitions - before reshaping it into my debut novel, The Tattooist of Auschwitz.