There are only a finite number of stories that come out of Auschwitz and Birkenau, especially as one of them was designated as a killing camp, rather than just a work camp. And what makes the story so interesting is that, when placed in fiction, it allows us to consider the realities of the Holocaust through an individuals story- that of Lale and Gita.

This novel follows the true story of Lale, a Slovakian Jew who is taken to Birkenau during the mass round up of European Jews in the 1940s. During his time there, two things change for him. Firstly, he becomes the Tetovirer- the man responsible for tattooing the numbers onto prisoners at the camp. Secondly, he falls in love with a young woman named Gita and the pair attempt to conduct a relationship under the confines of a concentration camp.

There were a number of really good things about this book- mostly that it didn't try to belittle the reader or cover us in endless explicit horror, as many Holocaust films and literary texts have the habit of doing. It's very humanising to see those in the camp being portrayed as humans, rather than an anonymous mass. It also allows us to see the underbelly of the camps that are rarely touched upon by historians or history lessons in school. The writing is elegant and obviously remains incredibly true to the real story, rather than taking artistic license and making things appear more dramatic than they really are.

However, I felt like the book just ended too early. There wasn't a huge amount of time spent on Lale's time with the Russian soldiers and things appeared to be wrapped incredibly quickly for the sake of the fairytale, modern day romantic comedy ending. Personally, I also wanted to feel more of the razor sharp energy that these camps held- the constant feeling of death and fear. Somehow, that was missing with this work, but I feel like that maybe came from a need to stay close to Lale's story.

For dealing with such a difficult subject, I think this book was a really good attempt at telling one of the remaining stories of the camps.

A tough read, and not my usual type of book, but it makes compelling reading. Not something I would say i enjoyed, but it was strangely unputdownable.

REVIEW
I'd had this book on my list to read for a while and after reading another book set around the same time I decided I was ready to give this one a go. I was apprehensive as the book is based on a true story meaning the characters in this book aren't made up, they are real live people going through being in Auschwitz.

I have seen that there are two covers for this book and I have decided to describe that I should describe the coloured one which is the one for the edition I read and I have pictured that one above in this review. The covers main "colour" is an ash grey colour that becomes more meaningful as you read the book. There are faded blue stripes too, that represent the uniforms some prisoners were made to wear. At the top portion of the cover there are two clasping hands, the way arms are positioned numbers are visible on one which is also becomes even more relevant as you read the book. At the upper right of the cover is a circular "stamped" circular type design that says "Based on an incredible true story". At the very bottom section of the cover is the dark grey outline of Auschwitz in the dusky ashy atmosphere. I feel that this cover is a very strong one featuring lots of important elements from within the book. The only thing I would change on this cover is the position of the arms, as on the different cover I have seen the arms are in a slightly different position meaning the tattooed numbers are visible on both the female and male arms.

The genres I have seen listed for this book are "General Fiction", "Historical Fiction" which fit the book very well along with "Holocaust". I find it a shame that more is not being made of this book being based on a real story, maybe we should have a "based on a real story" genre.

Before I actually begin talking about the content of the book, I should explain how at the very beginning of the book there is a section about how Heather came to meet Lale. Heather was introduced to Lale as he "might have a story worth telling". Heather goes on to say the day she met Lale Sokolov was a day that changed both their lives. Their friendship grew as Lale trusted Heather with the innermost details of what he saw, did and witnessed others doing during the Holocaust.

The book begins with Lale sitting at his desk that is set up nearby the arriving transport trains at Auschwitz. Lale has a piece of paper in his hand with a number on it 34902. The woman in front of him already has a faded number on her arm. Lale starts working on her arm. He tries so hard to be gently that he doesn’t go deep enough with the needle and has to go over the number again with more force. The young woman doesn't flinch or cry out at the pain, Lale is fully aware he is inflicting. Those being tattooed have been told to say nothing and do nothing. As he wipes away some of the blood the man next to him whispers a warning to Lale urgently "hurry up". A man in a white coat approaches, looking the women over as he walks. He roughly grabs the young woman's face who Lale is in the process of tattooing and jerks her head about. The young woman looks as if she is going to say something. Lale quickly mouths “shhh” at the young woman and when the man in the white coat moves on Lale tells the young woman she is doing well. Once again Pepan urges Lale to be quicker at his job.

Then the book goes back to how Lale ended up at Auschwitz in the first place. Lale is well educated and well dressed in one of his suits hoping to impress whomever he will be working for. He is holding his suitcase which contains some clothes and a few possessions. Lale is standing shoulder to shoulder with the other men packed into a train carriage that is usually used for transporting cattle. These men are being taken "to work" for the German cause under the direction and orders of Adolf Hitler. None of the men really know where they are going or what they will be doing. They travel for two days though there are many stops none of them are to allow the men on that train food, drink or toilet & washing facilities. A young man called Aron approaches Lale and asks why he is so calm. Aron wants to organise the men to fight back against the Germans. Lale explains to Aron that men's fists, no matter how many are not a match for guns.

Finally, the train stops for the men to get off, they have arrived at Auschwitz. As Lale walks through the iron gates he glances at the words written in German above him "ARBEIT MACHT FREI" which translated reads "Work will make you free". Lale does have the advantage of speaking many different languages so at least he can understand the orders the Germans are shouting at him and his fellow travellers. Lale does his best to explain the orders to those around him to prevent them being shoved about and beaten until they understand what they are being told to do. Commandant Rudolf Hoess speaks to the men, telling them they are at Auschwitz now and they need to work hard, do as they are told and they may go free one day. But he also warns if they disobey there will be consequences!

During processing Lale has to provide his name, address, occupation and his parent's names. He is then given a slip of paper with a number on it, 32407. An SS Officer pulls off Lale's jacket, rips his sleeve and slams his arm on a table for the number to be tattooed. The actual tattooing takes only seconds. After processing the men are made to strip, shower, have their head shaved and to put on old Russian Army uniforms.

Lale and Aron meet back up having being given the same block number, 7. That night Lale needs to pee and as he approaches the designated area something holds him back when he hears soldiers approaching. The young soldiers just randomly shoot the three men that are in the process of using the "toilet facilities". Lale makes a vow to himself that he is going to survive this awful place. It is this determination and survival instinct along with his friendship with Aron that saves Lale's life when he is ill. Lale then meets Pepan the current tattooist and is taken under his wing and made his assistant.

So much happens in this book both to Lale and fellow prisoners he is friends with and to others around him. This book takes you through a whole range of emotions, anger and fury for the innocent people being sent to concentration camps, sorrow for the loss of the prisoners loved one. The fact that these people didn't know if they would ever see their families ever again. Disgust at how the Germans treat the prisoners. Then also pride in those people in the concentration camps that fought on and that survived everything and anything that the Germans could think of throwing their way.

I guess it's not a case of favourite "characters" as these are real people so the following part of my review is me mentioning these people and how I felt about them whilst reading the book. Of course, there is so much I could say about Lale, I admire his selflessness, the way he makes the decision to be the "one child to work for the Germans" so that his older brother who is married with children can stay at home with his family and that his parents will be left in peace to continue to live in their own home. I also admired his first small act of defiance setting fire to his clothes. Lale goes on to secretly defy the Germans when necessary. As the tattooist he has his own room, he has the privilege of eating slightly better food elsewhere from the bustle of the main food line, he also receives larger rations. Lale does not forget those friends he made back in Block 7 as he hides some of his bread and shares it with them. Lale makes friends easily, and later in the book he has a couple of the young women who work in Canada (which is where all the prisoner’s possessions go to be sorted through) smuggle him money, jewellery etc, to barter/pay to the outside building contractors he has made friends with. In exchange for the money, jewels etc, one of the builders and his son bring in whatever Lale and the prisoners need from chocolate, other food, and medicines. Lale uses the chocolate to bribe Kapos (those prisoners who work for the Germans by keeping eyes on all the prisoners in their block.) He treats Gita his girlfriend to chocolate. Lale to me, represents hope throughout the book. Gita is younger than Lale and has been held elsewhere. Lale is besotted with her from the moment he sees her and re-tattoo's her number. They snatch moments together on Sundays when no prisoners in the camp work except the tattooist if there are incoming prisoners. They quickly fall in love with each other. Lale shares his extra rations, and uses chocolate to bribe the kapo in Gita's block to get them some time alone. Gita tells Lale only her first name, she refuses to give him her surname or talk about what has happened to her.

I felt shock and horror on the behalf of Cilka. When she arrived at Auschwitz she was singled out by "The Commandant" and was allowed to keep her beautiful long hair. But there is a price to pay for everything in Auschwitz and Cilka's price is becoming the sexual plaything of "The Commandant". Cilka plays an important part in ensuring Lale lives at one point in the book, without her asking a favour in return for all what has been repeatedly taken from her. I was also angry whilst reading a certain part of the book where Cilka is labelled a collaborator and is actually punished! Surely her treatment at the hands of The Commandant was enough punishment for a lifetime.

The next person that kind of played a little on my mind after finishing the book was SS Baretski, it's strange as during the book you see many sides to him. The young fairly innocent boy, writing to his girlfriend and asking Lale's advice on gifts to send her. Then there's the cruel, sadistic side when he is punishing the prisoners. Or when he toys with Lale, sometimes being friendly and passing on a note to Gita. The banter he has with Lale the advice that Lale gives SS Baretski on how to treat his girlfriend and how Baretksi feeds back to Lale if his suggestions worked. It's almost as though in different circumstances they could have been friends. At times you think SS Baretski is also a victim of Adolf Hitler, as he doesn't really have a choice in being at Auschwitz either. Though of course he is living in a much better position, is well clothed and well fed too.

My immediate thoughts upon finishing this book was that it was an amazing, eye opening real-life tale of survival against the odds.

Heather Morris does a fantastic job with her writing style. As you read it is the voices of Lale and Gita that you hear telling you their story of how they got through the darkest days of their lives.
Gary Sokolov must be so proud of the brave yet kind Lale & Gita who strove to survive in the harshest of conditions yet still tried to help others around them.

The epilogue was incredible, I honestly loved the extra input about "After". After reading the horrors that happened to these people it was kind of soothing to the mind to know some people did survive despite the Germans best efforts to work them to death. It's difficult to say much about the epilogue without giving anything major away. To be honest I would have been left irritated and upset not knowing what happened to certain people. Though I would have liked to know how things turned out for Leon as he did have the horrendous Dr Mengele experiment on him.

This book gave me the same stunned, sorrowful emotional feelings at how on earth one human can treat another in the way the Germans did during the Holocaust as I had a similar reaction to reading the book Surviving the Angel of Death written by Holocaust survivor Eva Kor. These are amazing books, to read about what happened to these brave individuals and how they dealt with it all. I think it is so generous and courageous of them to take the time to re-live what they went through to tell everyone the truth about what happened during that horrific era known as the Holocaust. The suffering these people went through should never be forgotten. This is in my opinion another book that should be read in schools to teach about the Holocaust and how it affected the people then and how it should teach us lessons for the future. The survivors and those that lost their lives deserve for their stories to live on. One last thing I need to say, have the tissues at hand and be prepared to read late into the night and have this book take over your mind and thoughts from the very beginning to the very end.

Fantastic book, a fantastically wrote book that made me cry and smile. Lales story is deeply moving and fantastically written I was hooked from the first page.

An unbelievably fantastic book. The most upsetting and harrowing of subjects. I've read numerous books over the years about the Holocaust, but this true story will stay with me for a long time. I would highly recommend this book. A huge thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this advance copy.

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for a free digital ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I thought the premise of this book, a man who was responsible for tattooing prisoners in Auschwitz, would be a pretty good read. This book is based on a true story and reads more of like a memoir. I found that all the mundane details to be a little bit hard to plow through. I hate to rate any book that was written on this terrible time in history below a 5 stars, but I just couldn't get into this book.

I had this novel downloaded for three months before I read it. I requested it the first day it went onto Netgalley but just kept putting it off. Novels based during the Holocaust are harrowing reading, so it stayed on my To Read Next list, until I saw it had been published I decided the time was right to read it.

Everyone knows that the inmates in Auschwitz, and other concentration camps, were tattooed. I for one have never thought about who did the tattooing, if it was an inmate, and if taking on such a duty could be deemed to be collaborating with the enemy.

This is a novel about the tattooist, taken from endless interviews with the protagonist Lale. At the core of the story is the love story between Lale and Gita another inmate he meets in Auschwitz. Lale is a charming man emotional man. He falls in love with Gita at first sight, charms people, and uses this charm to survive. In fact, the charm and genuine kindness that saves him.

Gita we know very little about. She doesn’t even tell him her last name until they leave Auschwitz. Gita works in the office processing the details of inmates, so for Lale the inmates are a number but for Gita they are real people with names and families. All documented.

I did find this a harrowing read. My whole demeanour changed when reading it, I found people interrupting me just annoyed me and I cried at the authors notes at the end. There are other characters in the tale whose story possibly moved me more than Lale and Gita’s. Leon the other tattooist, the Roma Lale shared a block with, and Cilka who worked in the office with Gita. In fact it was Cilka’s fate that really started the tears.

As a novel, it’s a quick read, but as a human story its one that will stay with you long after the last page. Four Stars.

I began reading this book thinking that it was going to be another run of the mill holocaust story however, the author made the exploits of this charismatic captive not too traumatic a read. The love story is incredible in light of where it took place and the author should take much credit in the telling of it. Thorough recommended.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz

by Heather Morris

When a book reads like fiction but is a union of memories and history, it is literary work that is destined to engage and move the reader. The Tattooist of Auschwitz is such a tale, related by Lale Sokolov to Heather Morris over a three year period. It is a horrific story of desperation in the worst of circumstances and of Lale’s confidence that he would survive and marry his beloved fellow sufferer Gita.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz displays the best and worst of mankind. It shows the incredible resilience of the human spirit. Throughout, the reader witnesses people doing whatever it takes to survive as does Lale who is innovative, multilingual, charming, and determined that in the end his tormentors would not get the best of him. There are many books written about the Holocaust. Each addresses the events from a different perspective. This is another valuable contribution, adding to our understanding and reinforcing the sentiment of “never again.”

I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Bonnier Zaffire for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5/5

Category: General Fiction (Adult), Historical Fiction

Notes: Despite the nature of the events being retold, the writing has a respectful tone without graphic descriptions of violence or swearing. I highly recommend this book.

Publication: January 11, 2018—Bonnier Zaffire

Memorable Lines:

Lale has witnessed an unimaginable act. He staggers to his feet, standing on the threshold of hell, an inferno of feelings raging inside him.

How can a race spread out across multiple countries be considered a threat?

“I know it’s a strange thing for me to say, but you will honor them by staying alive, surviving this place and telling the world what happened here.”

He knows they will never grow to be the women they were meant to be. Their futures have been derailed and there will be no getting back on the same track. The visions they once had of themselves, as daughters, sisters, wives and mothers, workers, travelers, and lovers, will forever be tainted by what they’ve witnessed and endured.

I stayed away from reading 'the boy in the striped pyjamas' because I know what the book contained and I wanted to be entertained, I did not want to read something that would make my heartache.

For me 2018 is hopefully going to be the year that I break out of my reading mold and reach out to books that I would normally bypass, and this would most defiantly be one of those books.

This is the whole point of challenges , to push yourself out of your comfort zone and golly, I am glad that I was offered this to read and clicked accept.

This book is written so well and it a joy to read, the words just melted off the page and you are turning page by page.

It is also an utterly harrowing tale of a mans desire to survive against the odds and come out the other end alive and in love!

The aforementioned gentlemen is called Lale Sokolov and he was THE TATTOOIST OF AUSCHWITZ, forced to work by the Germans in the POW camp.

In 1942 Slovakian families were required to offer up a member of their family to work or face the whole family being sent to a concentration camp, Lale was this person. He thought that by doing this, he would be saving his family, little did he know that he was going to arrive at Auschwitz.

Lale did not expect to find love whilst her was there, but love he found, amongst the pain and the suffering, he tattooed her arm and took her heart with it.

There is SO much more to this book than I have outlined here, the intolerable cruelty of this place and of the people who lived, worked and died there.

This book is totally engaging and defiantly should be on your 2018 reading list, whether you like this subject matter or not, it is written like fiction, but certainly is not, it is an extraordinary bid for life and an amazing book to have in your collection.

Thank you NETGALLEY and the PUBLISHERS for letting me read this, I am really happy to have done so and well done HEATHER MORRIS for writing it so well.

Thank you for dropping by and I look forward to seeing you here again!

Have a booktastic day!

I don't think I've ever read a WWII novel that I didn't like. And that's because there are so many stories from that period that deserve to be told. There are unsung heroes, overlooked workers, and behind the scenes support that all deserve their moment of remembrance. However, I tend to veer away from stories about the Holocaust due to the heaviness of the subject matter and, often, the heartbreaking images that one forms while reading. When I came across the opportunity to receive an ARC for The Tattooist of Auschwitz, though, I was immediately intrigued. This is unlike any Holocaust story I've come across yet.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz is based on the real story of Lale & Gita Solokov. I'll admit that my first impression of the novel was that Lale had an "easier" time than most during his time at Auschwitz and I wasn't sure how I felt about reading an entire book about that. But, I quickly realized that I was wrong. The Tattooist of Auschwitz is so much more than that. It is a story of hope. A story of sacrifice and love. A story about how hard work & luck & the actions of others all form our path in life. And a story about how you can find the light in even the darkest of circumstances.

Lale used his knowledge, speaking multiple languages, and his position at the tattooist of Auschwitz (the Tetovierer) to risk everything in order to help others. And Heather Morris tells this story beautifully - with a focus on the relationships Lale forms through his sacrifices, and the people he is able to help along the way. She also does a brilliant job weaving in other parts of the history of Auschwitz and the Holocaust, for example the presence of gypsies as the camps as prisoners and the roles of SS "doctors" such as Josef Mengele.

Lale's ability to find hope at almost every corner he turned, his promise to Gita that they WILL survive Auschwitz, and his constant role as a support pillar for those struggling to adapt to the terrible situation they were in makes him a true inspiration. I am so happy that Heather Morris took the time to listen, research, and tell this story.

Unfortunately this book did not download onto my kindle, not sure why, do sm unable yo review. Was interested to read about an insight into the death camps

This book is stunning. I had seen a lot of people raving about what an amazing book this was and I was a little worried about all the hype and that I might end up disappointed. There was no need to worry, it completely floored me in the most moving, gripping and emotional way possible. Not the kind of book I'd normally pick up and I'm so glad that my curiosity got the better of me.
I instantly fell in love with Lale and his perception of women. His depth and warmth towards others. I knew little about the horrors that occurred during the war at Auschwitz and I feel both honoured and blessed to have been able to hear Lales story. The strength that is shown and given to others, what people had to endure is phenomenal and I think that this story of everlasting love and survival will stay with me or the rest of my life. The authors note and acknowledgements had me in tears, to see pictures of them after having imagined them throughout the book, adds that extra layer of humanity and truth.

It’s 1942 and all Slovakian families are told they need to send one family member to the labour camps to work, if they refused they risked their whole family being sent to a concentration camp. Lale Sokolov put himself forward to protect his family, little did he know that he was on his way to Auschwitz. His journey to Auschwitz was the start of it all, on a train for days, crammed with so many people that they had no room to sit. Survival started with that train Journey and went on for several years.

Lale knew there were certain things that he needed to do to survive, keep his eyes down, not to attract the attention of the guards, remain clear-headed and strong. After fellow prisoners save his life from an illness Lale manages to get the job of ‘Tetovierer’ or ‘Tattooist, it was his job to tattoo the numbers on the prisoners as they came in to camp, Lale struggled with this sometimes especially when it came to women and children. When a group of women prisoners come in and he looks in to the eyes of a woman called Gita, he realises he has something else to live for as one day he is going to marry that woman.

The job of tetovierer came with some small luxuries, he had his own room and an extra portion of food which he used to smuggle to other prisoners. Lale will do anything for anyone but it may just cost him his life.

This is a debut novel by Heather Morris, it is a true account of Lale Sokolov’s time in Auschwitz. It’s a harrowing read of the treatment the prisoners endured. This was a brutal and chilling read but also very emotive and puts our everyday troubles into perspective. This was sensitively written and compelling, I sometimes had step back for a moment to remind myself that this really happened and everything I was reading was a devastating and cruel reality.

This is definitely a book that I recommend you pick up in 2018 – this is like ‘Night’ by Elie Wiesel, so if you enjoyed that book you will definitely enjoy this.

I rated this 4.5 out 5 stars

Stories from inside Auschwitz's walls, or any prison camp for that matter, are difficult to read. They tear at your heart strings. The story of Lale Sokolov, as told by author Heather Morris, is a tale of the joy of the human spirit which cannot be suppressed by even the most horrific and inhumane circumstances. It is the story of a plant, growing through the crushing cracks of concrete.

Lale Sokolov volunteered to go "away" in 1942. He, and millions of others, were told that, by going to the work camps, they would be sparing their family members. Lale arrives at Auschwitz, unsure of what is really going on, and has his life stripped and stolen away from him. He is no longer Lale, an upstanding citizen of Bratislavia, but a worthless piece of refuse, known to the Nazi regime as Prisoner 32407.
Lale is determined to survive, and uses his wits and gift with languages to make life better for himself and his fellow inmates. He shares with those around him, coming to the notice of the tattooist, who selects Lale to be his assistant. Lale does his work, hating every second, regretting every stab of the needle, but using his position to do what little he can for others in the camp, like medicine, chocolate, sausages, etc... He takes pity on the one group in camp that is even lower in status than the Jews, the Gypsies, befriending them and caring for their children. Along the way, he tattoos a beautiful girl, and his world shatters. He falls in love with Gita, who refuses to share her last name with him, until they are free of Auschwitz's terror. They struggle on towards freedom together, and observing their romance transform Lale makes imagining the hardship more bearable.

This is the incredible tale of a man who believed "To save one is to save the world" with all of his heart and with every breath. Read this book. If you read no other book this year but this, your life will be the better for it.

Keeping his humanity alive in the brutal camp of Auschwitz, Lale Sokolov must tattoo his fellow inmates for identification. He meets Gita in this lineup and their love story begins, surmounting odds stacked against them. A sensitive, poignantly written book, exposing both brutality and gentleness during this most shameful, wretched point in human history.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz

There was a lot of hype in my book club about this book and I had a serious fear of missing out. I had to read this book!

Ordinarily I wouldn’t go for this kind of genre but something about this book drew me to it.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz is based on the true story of two Slovakian Jews - Lale and Gita - who survived the atrocities of Auschwitz. Heather Morris spent between three and four years with Lale, finding out exactly what the couple and many many others went through. She does an amazingly sensitive job of retelling their story.

This book is an emotionally harrowing read that helps the reader actually feel like we are there, we experience the devastation and loss but also the hope and survival. Make sure you have the tissues at the ready! Five beautiful stars from purplebookstand.

Oh my goodness - this book!

I admit to reading it with some trepidation. Given the topic, I expected to be bawling my eyes out halfway through the book but this is a sensitive novel about what is basically a love story. It is the story of perseverance, of the strength of the human character, and how some people came to survive the most horrific of situations.

Heather Morris manages to take a horrendous true story about the people and the conditions in Auschwitz and tell it in a way that is life-affirming and uplifting. It's incredibly sad in parts, as you would expect, but it is overall a beautiful, well-written story.

The Tatooist of Auschwitz is a well-written and memorable tribute to Lale Sokolov, sent to Auschwitz on April 23, 1942. Due to his knowledge of several languages, Lale, a Slovokian Jew, was given the job of tattooing the numbers on the inside of the arms of his fellow German prisoners-of-war in the Birkenau and Auschwitz concentration camps. He hated being the one who reduced each prisoner to a number, but was acutely aware of the special privileges that the job could bring, and knew if he refused to do it, the Nazis would find someone else and he would be shot or put to hard labor.

Three months after being taken prisoner, Lale found himself immediately attracted to one of the young women waiting in his line to be tattooed. Gita was shy and hesitant at first, but found herself attracted to him as well. Soon love bloomed. The fact that they were able to find love in one of the darkest, most demented, horrific places ever recorded is an acknowledgement of the basic human need to be seen, known and loved. Their love survived until Gita's death on October 3, 2003.

This book is not for the faint of heart, but then, no book about the Holocaust is. The harsh conditions, the inhumanity of the Nazis towards the prisoners, Dr. Mengele's experiments, the horror of knowing that death could come at any time for any (or no) reason, seeing hundreds of fellow prisoners packed up like cattle and taken to the crematoriums, all is documented here.

But above all else, this is a story of one man's strong will to survive. His ability to remain positive, and hopeful, looking ahead to the day when he (and Gita) would be free again, while not losing his dignity or bowing down to his captors is an inspiring one.

This is not a book that is easily read because of the subject matter, but it is an engrossing one, which makes the pages turn themselves.

Many thanks to NetGalley & Zaffre publisher for allowing me the privilege of reading an e-ARC of this book. All opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

The Tattooist Of Auschwitz had me at the title. I have a weak spot for WWII historical fiction and the promise of a story from the POV of the tattooist of Auschwitz sounded intriguing. I have been looking forward to pick up this title, and there is no doubt that this is an excellent read. The Tattooist Of Auschwitz is based on true events, as the author has interviewed the real Tetovierer and this book is his account of his time in Auschwitz. A truly fascinating, emotional and heartbreaking account of how he tried to survive in the Polish concentration camp during the war...The writing flows and the author did an excellent job writing down Lale's story without interfering. It was intriguing to see the daily life at the camp through the Tetovierer's eyes... WWII historical fiction fans will love this book. Make sure to have some tissues ready just in case, because it's hard to keep it dry especially in the final part of this novel. And that is coming from someone who normally has a heart of stone and almost never sheds tears when reading.