Scarlett's Notebook: BOOK REVIEW: The Tattooist of Auschwitz

Title: The Tattooist of Auschwitz
Author: Heather Morris
Publication: 2018
Genre: Biographical Fiction, Romance
My Rating: ★★★★★

Favourite Quote: "To him all women were beautiful and he believed there was no harm in telling them so."

I finished this book crying on the top deck of a bus and then got off and cried some more whilst I walked down the street. I knew I would be in for a highly emotional read with this book because of course, a book on the Holocaust is never going to be an easy read. However, despite the difficult and heartbreaking subject, this book is also a love story and a poignant reminder of a past that should not be forgotten.

“Politics will help you understand the world until you don’t understand it anymore, and then it will get you thrown into a prison camp. Politics and religion, both."

A story of love, loyalty, sacrifice and despair, The Tattooist of Auschwitz is based on the true story of Lale Sokolov, prisoner 34902. He was a Slovakian Jew who was held in the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp working as the tattooist who was forced to mark each prisoner with one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust- the blue numbers tattooed on prisoners' arms. He soon met and marked the love of his life, a young woman called Gita, and so began their unusual love affair.

I have to say, I feel slightly naive about what I thought I knew about the concentration camps. If Lale wanted to stay alive and keep Gita alive, he quickly realised he will have to do things have may never forgive himself for. During his imprisonment, Lale traded, smuggled and stored different goods. He also collaborated with outsiders- the workers sent in to build and maintain various parts of the camp. Due to his position as the 'Tetovierer (Tattooer), he was allowed a little more freedom and extra food rations which he shared with others inside the camp.

"Tattooing the arms of men is one thing. Defiling the bodies of young girls is horrifying."

Lale knew that marking the arms of innocent people was a violation. He knew it was brutal, cruel and degrading, but what choice did he have if he wanted to survive? Lale actually chose to withhold his story for many years as he was afraid of being labelled a collaborator for his role in the concentration camp and the guilt of it all. Eventually, he came to trust the author, Heather Morris, to tell his tale over a culmination of years of interviews.

"I saw a half-starved young man risk his life to save you. I figure you must be someone worst saving."

Lale is a character who easily wins the empathy and sympathy of the reader. From the outset of the novel, he is kind, thoughtful and always trying to do the right thing, putting others before himself. He takes risks that could cost him his life. Somehow, he manages to stay postive and upbeat despite the absolute brutality, cruelty, violence and inhumanity he's exposed to daily. Lale's instincts, cleverness and quick thinking saves his life and sometimes the lives of the friends around him. Both Lale and Gita show the other people in their blocks kindness, compassion and generosity, even when there's little to share.

"Their lovemaking is passionate, desperate. Two people desperate for the love and intimacy they fear they will otherwise never experience. Lale knows at this moment he can love no other."

As much as this is Lale's tale of survival, this is also a book about two souls who meet in the darkest of places and somehow make their love thrive. Love gives both Lale and Gita something to live for, to fight for and to stay safe for. Their weekly opportunities to secretly meet-up help shape their months and offer some solace and warmth in desperate conditions. Morris mainly follows Lale's story but we do spend a little time with Gita and see some of what the women in the camp were exposed to.

“when you spend years not knowing if in five minutes time you will be dead, there is not much that you can’t deal with.”

The interaction between Lale and Gita were sometimes heartbreaking to read due to the effect the barbarism had on them emotionally and psychologically. Saying this, it also offered hope, tenderness and a much-needed glimpse of the strength and courage of the men and women held in the camp. Lale can be humorous and playful and tries to remind Gita that they do have a chance of being happy and return to their lives outside of the camp, despite Gita's reluctance to believe this is is possible.

The protection and effort Lale goes to in order to secure Gita's survival is heart-warming. This inspiring and enduring love story reminds us of the depth of humanity, to love in the face of utter despair. My concern for the final fate of these lovers was why I continued to turn the pages over at such a feverish pace.

"Bodies, hundreds of naked bodies, fill the room. They are piled up on each other, their limbs distorted. Dead eyes stare. Men, young and old; children at the bottom. Blood, vomit, urine, and faeces."

Even though this is a love story, Morris doesn't shy away from describing the horrific living conditions and the treatment of prisoners. I don't really think you can "sugar coat" what happened at Auschwitz anyway. In doing so, it would be a disservice to all the millions who lost their lives, and to the survivors. Morris very much tells the story in life with the raw facts. It's overwhelming, particularly the sheer amount of people who inhabit the pages and then never hear of again due to their sudden murder. The fact that Lale survives seems like an absolute miracle, and perhaps it was. It would truly surpise me if this novel does not induce both laughter and tears from anyone who reads it.

"If you wake up in the morning, it is a good day."

Friendships, romance, loyalty and allegiances operate under exceptional circumstances but they exist and they exist fiercely. Despite the ugliness and horrid setting of this book, the resilence that Lale finds deep within himself, his courage and above all, his strength of character shines through, as does his passionate love for Gita. Morris did such an incredible job of retelling Lale and Gita's story at times it felt like i was there beside him. I felt his despair, his pain and those moments when it would have been easier to have given up than to live another day in pure torture. It's a heartbreaking tale yet the budding romance is something to cling to when all seems lost.

The depiction of the camp, the characterisation and the fluency and readability of the book reflect Morris' skill as an author. The Tattooist of Auschwitz is unforgettable, as is Lale and Gita themselves. I think this book will haunt me for a long time to come, but I can't recommend this book enough.

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