Author: Heather Morris
# of Pages: 272 (paperback)
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction
Rating: ★★★★☆
Synopsis: 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 over 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.
Review: I was wavering between giving this book 3 stars or 4 stars.
I read a couple of top Goodreads reviews before starting The Tattooist of Auschwitz and was surprised to find that the biggest criticism - no prose - was not just an opinion but a blatant issue. A love between two people's fate is so uncertain should be a harrowing tale, but the emotionless writing style failed to evoke any emotion in me.
That being said, I'm touched by how this is based off of a true story. There are many times were I felt like the way a certain character's action/dialog were portrayed seemed fake/unrealistic (i.e. Lale's inner thoughts), but the thought of how they are reflective of how real people felt save the book from being dropped to 3 stars.
There is third person POV switching, but in this case, I don't think it distracts from the story too much. It is a short and easy read (the writing style is quite simplistic, like it is meant for early readers). Despite the writing style, I was hooked on learning about Lale's and Gita's fate and couldn't put the book down. The Holocaust is filled with horrors, and although each terrible event might be lackluster in its description, I couldn't help but solemnly consider what it must have felt like to have such things happening around someone without having any means of stopping it.
Overall, an okay read. Since it is such a short read, I wouldn't consider it to be a waste of time reading. The story of Lale and Gita is amazing to hear about, even if the way it is described in this book is lackluster.
