A Review : Heather Morris - The Tattooist of Auschwitz

Why so many book reviews?! I’ve recently, today in fact, come back from just under two weeks away on my holiday. Holidays mean lots and lots of books. 5 books in fact!

I just HAD to write about this book. I’m sure you don’t need a blogger with an incy wincy platform like myself to tell you how good this book is but hey ho, I’m going to anyway.

Honesty first. It was in my “saved for later” pile om Amazon, until the following payday came around. Coincidentally I stumbled across it in a charity shop - also known as the place I spend all my free time and spare money…

I really, truly, do not have any bad words to say about this book aside from the first two pages making me queasy (but I did almost faint whilst having a nosebleed so it’s most probably a personal thing). On a serious note, Heather Morris doesn’t hold back, there’s no romanticising Auschwitz and I think that’s what makes it such an incredible book to read, although hard because of this too.

The novel is significantly well written despite the dark tragedy and harsh reality, alongside this the fact that is a fictional novel based on true events and the life of Lale Sokolov. It’s both heart-wrenching and inspirational.

Despite knowing what I thought was a fair amount about Auschwitz and the other concentration camps, this book opened my eyes further to what millions of innocent souls were put through during a horrific time in History.

Throughout this book my heart rate was increased numerous times due to the suspense. Topics such as concentration camps are far from easy to discuss let alone write about as a fiction novel. Heather Morris succeeded in displaying the harsh reality of the time along with Lale and Gita Sokolov’s astounding courage and survival.

Regardless of the novel conveying such harsh truths, I found that I was unable to leave the book alone for more than five minutes. I felt myself become involved in the lives of the characters in the book, which wasn’t always a good thing. At times, I could imagine myself in said surroundings and I think that just sums up the high quality of writing this book possesses.

What I also liked about this book, was at the end there’s a chapter on how Heather Morris came to build a relationship and earn Lale Sokolov’s trust. It helped me to understand Sokolov even further and therefore appreciate his braveness more than I already did.

How a novel with the content it has can be written so beautifully, I don't know, but Morris' sure managed to do it perfectly.

If you take the time to do some reading this Summer, please make sure this is on your list. I 100% recommend it.

Ciao for now x