Heather Morris- The Tattooist of Auschwitz Review by Annabel T Kassa

Heather Morris is an extremely talented author, who wrote this poignant novel to tell the true story of Lale Sokolov and the harsh life of those who survived the Holocaust during the World War. This book is a page-turner and it will leave you gripped to the very end.

I recently completed this amazing book, The Tattooist of Auschwitz and I enjoyed it very much. It starts with Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian man taken to work at the new Auschwitz Birkenau camp in Poland. Him and the other prisoners work tirelessly throughout the day, often with just a minuscule meal to go on. Through many troubles, Lale finds himself with the task of tattooing numbers on the new prisoners arms. A mark they will have for life and one which will continue to be remembered until the end of time. As he painfully tattoos numbers onto the arms of these prisoners,Lale meets a girl-anxious and scared about her painful tattoo and worried about what’s to come on the next chapter of her life. A girl which he will never forget for the rest of his life. Gita.

‘I tattooed a number on her arm. She tattooed her name on my heart’

- The Tattooist of Auschwitz

Lale holds her deep in his heart, desperately longing for the chance to feel love in the most hateful place on Earth. Lale fell instantly and motivated by his love, he continued to find out more about the camp and made sure that Gita was safe, no matter what he had to do to ensure that.

The tale highlights what life was like for prisoners and portrays the themes of love, determination and mostly hope. Hope that there was a world outside of the torture. Hope that a real life was waiting on the other side of those perilous gates. The Tattooist of Auschwitz is told brilliantly and you will fall in love with the book and the characters. It is a harsh reminder of the horrors in the past and puts out a firm idea: the idea that love conquers all. This story helps readers to experience the journey of love of Lale and Gita, who found each other in the most darkest period in their lives and helps us to live in the hope that we might too one day find a love as strong as Lale and Gita’s.

Overall, I love this book! I would highly recommend it to all and is the perfect mixture of fiction and non-fiction. It is a true story which I think everyone should read and experience the wonders of a Lale and Gita.

I give this book: ★★★★★/★★★★★