The Tattooist of Auschwitz- Book review

The Tattooist of Auschwitz is a book that was on my TBR list for a very long time, but other books kept coming in and for some reason or the other, this book got pushed back. 

So, finally I read this book on my new kindled now I can say that my bias over paper back has taken a shift. Kindle is light, easy to carry around and doesn’t hurt much it falls on your face while you sleep and read.

So getting back to the book, this book is from my favourite genre – Historical Fiction. Such books touch a cord in my heart as they leaves it aching in the pain and fear for the characters. Some where I connect more to such stories as I am drifted in to the past, in an era thankfully I didn’t live in but would want to know about.

I fail to understand the holocaust and all the killing which by the way has still not stopped. Countries like Syria and now Palestine are still shedding their blood and tears over torn land.Why the divide and the killing in the name of land and religion or simply to show your power?

Somewhere to get my answers and to read the brave account of survivors, I sway towards book like this- The Tattooist of Auschwitz.

Blurb:

The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris is a fiction book based on the words told by an Auschwitz survivor, “Lale”, over a period of three years to the author. While the author has tried to keep the story as real as possible, the account of holocaust were far more unimaginable than what is mentioned in this book. 

The story is about a boy named Lale who is picked up and sent to a Concentration Camp in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Because he could speak many languages; he gets a job as a tattooist and had to tattoo numbers on every newcomer in the camp. These number were their identity. With this job came many perks. Better accommodation, sleeping condition and more ration than others. 

During his nearly 2.5 years at the camp, Lale managed to get gems and money which he exchanged for food and medicine to save the lives of people around him. 

One day while giving a tattoo, Lale sees Gita and he decided that one day he would walk alive from this camp and marry her. 

My Review:

This book is an account of the real-life hardship and barbarism that the people at the camp had to go through. Being pushed to the edge and yet surviving the atrocities. But the wider picture shows how amidst all the torture and brutality, the human spirt of survival was not lost. The story is about compassion, love, unity, dignity that Lale, Gita and all the other people at the camp showed. 

Only for his will to walk away scot free one day, Lale takes all the risk, helps others, and shines in the end and leads a life he and Gita had envisioned. 

I was drawn to the book and got gulped by the charcters specially Lale who with all his might and wit manages to survive in the camp. 

The best part about this book is that in the end, author has authenticated the tale of Lale and Gita by attaching some documents to prove that they were a part of the camp. She has shared a brief history about their family while they were in the camp. Heather Morris also visited Lale’s first house where he lived with his family and met the people around to know about him and understand him better. It’s always wonderful to put a face to a story and with some pictures shared of Lale and Gita, you would feel more connected to them after reading the book. 

The Holocaust is over, and we are left to wonder how these people even survived the barbarism, but I believe that till the time doesn’t test us, we will never know our true worth and what we can do. 

With this book, I pray that humanity rises over religion and land, and we all get an equal opportunity to live as a citizen of this earth. 

This book has a Fabolous 4.5 stars. I only reason to remove the .5 start is because I felt that the book could have been a bit more fast paced.

This blog is a part of Blogchatter’s halfmarathon.