Heather Morris

The Tattooist of Auschwitz

Morris, Heather (Screenwriter)

The #1 International Bestseller & New York Times Bestseller This beautiful, illuminating tale of hope and courage is based on interviews that were conducted with Holocaust survivor and Auschwitz-Birkenau tattooist Ludwig (Lale) Sokolov—an unforgettable love story in the midst of atrocity. “The Tattooist of Auschwitz is an extraordinary document, a story about the extremes of human behavior existing side by side: calculated brutality alongside impulsive and selfless acts of love. I find it hard to imagine anyone who would not be drawn in, confronted and moved. I would recommend it unreservedly to anyone, whether they’d read a hundred Holocaust stories or none.”—Graeme Simsion, internationally-bestselling author of The Rosie Project In April 1942, Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, is forcibly transported to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. When his captors discover that he speaks several languages, he is put to work as a Tätowierer (the German word for tattooist), tasked with permanently marking his fellow prisoners. Imprisoned for over two and a half years, Lale witnesses horrific atrocities and barbarism—but also incredible acts of bravery and compassion. Risking his own life, he uses his privileged position to exchange jewels and money from murdered Jews for food to keep his fellow prisoners alive. One day in July 1942, Lale, prisoner 32407, comforts a trembling young woman waiting in line to have the number 34902 tattooed onto her arm. Her name is Gita, and in that first encounter, Lale vows to somehow survive the camp and marry her. A vivid, harrowing, and ultimately hopeful re-creation of Lale Sokolov's experiences as the man who tattooed the arms of thousands of prisoners with what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust, The Tattooist of Auschwitz is also a testament to the endurance of love and humanity under the darkest possible conditions.

A Novel

Anushree Taparia

I saw a half starved young man risk his life to save you. I figured you must be someone worth saving. I’ll come for you tomorrow morning. Get some rest now.

Politics will help you understand the world until you don’t understand it anymore and then it will get you turn into a prison camp, politics and religion both

The five million copy bestseller and one of the bestselling books of the 21st Century. Chosen for the Richard and Judy Bookclub. I tattooed a number on her arm. She tattooed her name on my heart. In 1942, Lale Sokolov arrived in Auschwitz-Birkenau. He was given the job of tattooing the prisoners marked for survival - scratching numbers into his fellow victims' arms in indelible ink to create what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust. Waiting in line to be tattooed, terrified and shaking, was a young girl. For Lale - a dandy, a jack-the-lad, a bit of a chancer - it was love at first sight. And he was determined not only to survive himself, but to ensure this woman, Gita, did, too. So begins one of the most life-affirming, courageous, unforgettable and human stories of the Holocaust: the love story of the tattooist of Auschwitz. Don't miss Heather Morris's next book, Stories of Hope. Coming September 2020. ----- 'Extraordinary - moving, confronting and uplifting . . . I recommend it unreservedly' Greame Simsion 'A moving and ultimately uplifting story of love, loyalties and friendship amidst the horrors of war . . . It's a triumph.' Jill Mansell 'A sincere . . . moving attempt to speak the unspeakable' Sunday Times

the heartbreaking and unforgettable bestseller

Sandra

Elad Schulman

I really wanted to like this book, it has been hyped quite a bit. But I found it flat and underwhelming. The characters were written in a very one dimensional way, they lacked depth. The last few chapters moved along too quickly and I'm really sorry to say but Lale was incredible unlikeable and unappealing to me. No disrespect intended, but Lale felt like a collaborator being sold to us as a hero. There was so much that could have been done with this story and these amazing people, it could have been an incredibly powerful narrative, but alas no. 

Saffia

An interesting tale based on a true story but not really comprehensively told. I enjoyed what was there but there seemed to be so much left out. There must have been a lot more to this story than we are made aware of. I found the author's style to be simplistic which left me detached from events. Fortunately the story is so incredible it stands up for itself. A good read, but not a great one.

Edna Aviles

Eva Ströberg

The tattooist of Auschwitz - Heather Morris
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⭐️⭐️
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I had such high expectations for this book that turned out to be such a flop. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still an important story to tell, however the way the story was told feels one dimensional to me and lacking character depth. 
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Lale Sokolov is a Jew from Slovakia who was sent to concentration camp in Auschwitz. With the stories of hardships and his struggles in the camp, he strived to survive to see the girl he once tattooed as a part of his “job” there. While the NAZI saw the prisoners as non-human or just numbers tattooed on their forearms, Lale learned to befriend people in the camp.
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I think Morris wrote this book based on Lale’s account directly so his character (Lale) was too much of a hero rather than an ordinary person trying to survive out in the camps. 
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#heathermorris #thetattooistofauschwitz #bookstagram #booksbooksbooks #currentlyreading #2024readingchallenge #2024reads

The #1 International Bestseller This beautiful, illuminating tale of hope and courage is based on interviews that were conducted with Holocaust survivor and Auschwitz-Birkenau tattooist Ludwig (Lale) Sokolov—an unforgettable love story in the midst of atrocity. “The Tattooist of Auschwitz is an extraordinary document, a story about the extremes of human behavior existing side by side: calculated brutality alongside impulsive and selfless acts of love. I find it hard to imagine anyone who would not be drawn in, confronted and moved. I would recommend it unreservedly to anyone, whether they’d read a hundred Holocaust stories or none.”—Graeme Simsion, internationally-bestselling author of The Rosie Project In April 1942, Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, is forcibly transported to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. When his captors discover that he speaks several languages, he is put to work as a Tätowierer (the German word for tattooist), tasked with permanently marking his fellow prisoners. Imprisoned for over two and a half years, Lale witnesses horrific atrocities and barbarism—but also incredible acts of bravery and compassion. Risking his own life, he uses his privileged position to exchange jewels and money from murdered Jews for food to keep his fellow prisoners alive. One day in July 1942, Lale, prisoner 32407, comforts a trembling young woman waiting in line to have the number 34902 tattooed onto her arm. Her name is Gita, and in that first encounter, Lale vows to somehow survive the camp and marry her. A vivid, harrowing, and ultimately hopeful re-creation of Lale Sokolov's experiences as the man who tattooed the arms of thousands of prisoners with what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust, The Tattooist of Auschwitz is also a testament to the endurance of love and humanity under the darkest possible conditions.

Patrick Book

I mostly hated this. The writing is perfunctory, the prose virtually non-existent (at least until it becomes heavy-handed), it fails to portray the danger of concentration camps and seems to rely on the reader having previous knowledge of the worst of the atrocities, it isn’t romantic enough to be a real romance, the characters aren’t even close to fully fleshed out, and that’s just the start. 

It just seems pointless. If it’s a Holocaust book, it should say more about the Holocaust. If the publisher and author are going to trumpet the writer’s relationship with the true-life subject, why is it a work of fiction? 

This started as a screenplay and it’s painfully obvious. Just watch ‘Life Is Beautiful’ instead and save yourself the time.

florrr

Caroline

What an incredible historic love story of Lale and Gita. 
The Tattooist of Auschwitz is a story of two ordinary people, living in an extraordinary time, deprived not only of their freedom but their dignity, their names, and their identities, and it is Lale’s account of what they needed to do to survive.
A story that would bring tears to one's eye.

Hats off the Heather Morris for such a heart touching story.

A must read for every book lover.

Luke Harkness

Underwhelmed but was still absolutely gripped

I'd heard this was a must read and I can't say I didn't enjoy it but it wasn't the most mind blowing book I've read.

It's a powerful and highly fascinating story with a love story that really takes you in for the last one hundred pages.

Christine

i feel bad for rating this book so low but also: absolutely no emotional connection & all tell no show

Suyash Goylit

A great story of perseverance in one of the worst conditions in human history. The pacing was a bit too quick, at places, to deliver the emotional impact proportional to the premise; but the story still delivered.

“How can someone do this to another human being? He wonders if for the rest of his life, be it short or long, he will be defined by this moment, this irregular number: 32407.“
This is a whole story about tragic love from two parts of the world in WWII. I’ve read another book that has quite similar plot with this— All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr—the camp called Auschwitz somewhere in Deutschland with people from France. You will find many crucial numbers, events, places, and tragedies in this book. The tattooist in the title remain a huge influence of survival in the world back then. 

The Tattooist of Auschwitz is a book about loss, survival, and love. Despite the exact war that happened during that time, I more lean into romance story between Lale and Gita. It’s so beautifully written with simple language usage. I didn’t find lot of thesaurus of poem in this book which makes this book floats easily as I was turning the page. Otherwises, this is so clichè (do I allow to say this?) which actually the story can be wider and deeper if they want to make it more poetic in their climax. Overall, I recommend all WWII background enthusiast to add this book on their shelves!

diya

This book was a narrative from Lale's perspective on what he had to go through while in Auschwitz. A person born with a name and family, but a number may as well be his only identity. Forced into inflicting pain and human degradation on others as he slowly marks everone's identity on the basis of a 'given number', this book is truly an insight into one of the many many cruelties and horrendous acts that were going on during Hitler's reign. 

We've all been through multiple stories about the camps and prisoners and survivors. But this book may as well be a perspective into the human psyche, for someone who was forced into surviving. Every day a struggle just so you could wake up the next morning and do it all over again. And how even in the direst of conditions, sometimes you need that special something to ground you to the earth, where giving up can not be an option. It tugs your heart's strings to read and practically visualize what humanity may be capable of, both in the case of an SS officer or be it a concentration camp survivor. Two polar opposites, extreme hate and extrmetities of kindess and love.

This may as well be an incredible book into the harrowing story of the one person who survived Auschwitz for 3 years, holding on to life for the love of his life, and who died pondering whether he will ever be able to forgive himself for the cruelities he was never orignially endowed with. It tells about that one role that none of us had ever thought about, the Tatowrier of the Concentrations camps. Who was this person, was he a prisoner, or just another SS sympathizer. It humanizes such a role on a person who only wanted to live one more day.

Heather you've done an amazing job bringing this story to life and telling us all about Lale Sokolov. Thank You!

"The incredible story of the Auschwitz-Birkenau tattooist and the woman he loved. Lale Sokolov is well-dressed, a charmer, a ladies' man. He is also a Jew. On the first transport from Slovakia to Auschwitz in 1942, Lale immediately stands out to his fellow prisoners. In the camp, he is looked up to, looked out for, and put to work in the privileged position of Tätowierer- the tattooist - to mark his fellow prisoners, forever. One of them is a young woman, Gita, who steals his heart at first glance. His life given new purpose, Lale does his best through the struggle and suffering to use his position for good. This story, full of beauty and hope, is based on years of interviews author Heather Morris conducted with real-life Holocaust survivor and Auschwitz-Birkenau tattooist Ludwig (Lale) Sokolov. It is heart-wrenching, illuminating, and unforgettable"--Publisher description.

Lila R E

we could discuss the role pretty privilege played in this but i feel like that's maybe not the appropriate conversation to have.

#1 New York Times Bestseller and #1 International Bestseller This beautiful, illuminating tale of hope and courage is based on interviews that were conducted with Holocaust survivor and Auschwitz-Birkenau tattooist Ludwig (Lale) Sokolov—an unforgettable love story in the midst of atrocity. “The Tattooist of Auschwitz is an extraordinary document, a story about the extremes of human behavior existing side by side: calculated brutality alongside impulsive and selfless acts of love. I find it hard to imagine anyone who would not be drawn in, confronted and moved. I would recommend it unreservedly to anyone, whether they’d read a hundred Holocaust stories or none.”—Graeme Simsion, internationally-bestselling author of The Rosie Project In April 1942, Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, is forcibly transported to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. When his captors discover that he speaks several languages, he is put to work as a Tätowierer (the German word for tattooist), tasked with permanently marking his fellow prisoners. Imprisoned for over two and a half years, Lale witnesses horrific atrocities and barbarism—but also incredible acts of bravery and compassion. Risking his own life, he uses his privileged position to exchange jewels and money from murdered Jews for food to keep his fellow prisoners alive. One day in July 1942, Lale, prisoner 32407, comforts a trembling young woman waiting in line to have the number 34902 tattooed onto her arm. Her name is Gita, and in that first encounter, Lale vows to somehow survive the camp and marry her. A vivid, harrowing, and ultimately hopeful re-creation of Lale Sokolov's experiences as the man who tattooed the arms of thousands of prisoners with what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust, The Tattooist of Auschwitz is also a testament to the endurance of love and humanity under the darkest possible conditions.

Macy Johnson

This one is so so sobering and I can't believe how the author managed to tell this story based on a real person in such a gripping, compelling, devastating way while also showing the little bits of light that were there. The way that the leading characters' love story played out... I mean, I have no words for how awed I was that this happened the way it did, and that it really occurred to two very real human beings.

I was fascinated by the way the protagonist worked the system at Auschwitz and duly wracked with grief at the seriousness of everything that happened there. I can't help but be in awe of this one. It's so worth the time in all ways, so that's why I gave it five stars, but it's also very hard to read for obvious reasons, so be aware of that.

Melissa Palmer

Book #107 Read in 2018
The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

This tells the true story of Lale, the man who tattoos the numbers of prisoners as they enter the concentration camp. He sees Gita and instantly falls in love with her. Their love survives horrible obstacles. This book is brutal to read at times but one will not be able to stop reading it. I read it in a day. I loved it. I strongly recommend it to everyone.

Katelyn Payne 

** spoiler alert **
           This book was really good. However I do feel that the author could have done away with saying s*** so many times. 

This book opened my eyes to a lot more of what was happening in the concentration camps. And it made it very real to me and how some of what happened in here still happens today. 

One of the things that made me really upset was when Lale followed a bus to the back of the camp and saw that it was being loaded with naked men to the point were there was no more space in the bus. An SS officer then dropped something in the bus started shaking and people were screaming. Then it just stopped. To me that was one of the most horrible things I have ever read and I had to take a break from reading the book for a while because of it. 

Then when Cilka was getting sexually assaulted and Schwarzhuber was doing that to her it made me feel really upset and made me feel so much more sympathy for the women at the camp knowing that that sometimes happened to them. 

I do however think that this book is super important to read as it helps educate you on what was happening at Auschwitz and what was most likely happening at the other camps. And I think it’s especially important for people to be educated on the issues at the time.

Elizabeth Wood

The rating is not in regards to Lale, his life, or his harrowing life story. I became fully immersed in this book and found it hard to put down. However, I do feel as though the writing could have been better. 

Instead of being told in 3rd person, I would have enjoyed it much more if it was told from Lale’s perspective. I found the writing very robotic which saddened me. This book contains a very valuable history of a terrible place where terrible things happened.

Zach Grosser

A great and accessible story about the Holocaust. It's great to break down the atrocities through the lens of one person rather than try to process the scale of the inhumanities.

Lamia Hajani

Lale is a young man who volunteers to be the man in his family sent to work for the Nazis. When he ends up at Auschwitz-Birkenau, he realizes that things were not what he was told they would be. Quickly, he uses his survival skills and instincts to become the camp’s tattooist, a position that is afforded privileges like extra food and a room to himself. While he is at the camp, he meets Gita, and he decides to survive if only for one reason: to marry her.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz is, believe it or not, nonfiction. Because, if it wasn’t, I would not be happy about a happy-ending love story Holocaust fiction. It just seems crude, doesn’t it? Another fact about the book is that it was originally written as a screenplay – which is more than apparent by the fact that the book is pretty much all dialogue with no real prose. I don’t want to be the gal that knocks a book about some of the worst trials and tribulations humans have had to endure in the history of the world – trust me, I don’t want to be her – but I have to be her just for a moment. I sort of wish someone else had written this book. Someone who wrote novels and knew how to actually give depth to their characters. I couldn’t tell you one thing about Gita, and she’s a main character in the book!

Overall, the story itself is so shocking and so heart-wrenching that it gets itself to 4-stars on its own. Lale and Gita are among many survivors of horrible atrocities that took so many lives. Unfortunately, the book’s writing leaves something to be desired. Nonetheless, I recommend to anyone who enjoys reading historical nonfiction if only to put meaning behind the phrase, “Never forget.”

I have heard all of the controversies with this book. And I agree the falseness of this book is certainly overwhelming. As a Jewish reader I was slightly disappointed. Every holocaust book I read seems to glance over the horrors of what happened and depict someone who was able to weasel by. I did not enjoy this book too me weeks to get through. 

The young adult edition of the incredible international number one bestseller.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz - YA Edition

“Lale makes a vow to himself: I will live to leave this place. I will walk out a free man. If there is a hell, I will see these murderers burn in it.”

“How can someone do this to another human being? He wonders if for the rest of his life, be it short or long, he will be defined by this moment, this irregular number: 32407.”

Roisin Ramdhayan 

“Lale makes a vow to himself: I will live to leave this place. I will walk out a free man. If there is a hell, I will see these murderers burn in it.”

“How can someone do this to another human being? He wonders if for the rest of his life, be it short or long, he will be defined by this moment, this irregular number: 32407.”

Dhruv Chopra

An amazing read, to which you will find yourself hooked. The book brings the atrocities faced by people during the World War 2 in purest way possible. A must read for those who want to feel the power of love 👌

Jackie Beauregard

This is one of the best books I have read in a long time . This book should be read in High schools ! So young people today know that it really happened! 
Lale Sokolov Prisoner 32407 ! Become the Tätowierer( the German word for tattooist) the task of permanently marking his fellow prisoners. He is chosen by the SS because he can speak many languages and with the job comes certain privileges. Like extra food and a warm bed . He exchanges jewels and money from murdered Jews for food to keep his fellow prisoners alive but this will eventually get him into so much trouble ! He meets Gita number 34902 it is he that tattoos Gita and falls instantly in love with her. He wants to marry her if they survive . “I tattooed her number in her left hand and she tattooed her number in my heart “ he told this to Heather Morris during an interview.
Together these two amazing couple experienced the everyday nightmare of what was going on around them and trying to protect everyone around them and always wondering if they were going to die at any day or any minute. They did get out eventually but were separated but because of their love for each other was so
Powerful that they found each other , got married and had a baby boy named Gary who said that his parents were wonderful and loved each other very much
This book made me feel so sad , scared angry at some points but happy at the end . I would have like to known Lale and Gita 
I recommend this book

Both difficult to read and page turning all at once. 

Amber cooper-green 

Both difficult to read and page turning all at once. 

Via audiobook 

Lacy W

Find this review and others like it at https://aravenclawlibraryx.wordpress.com

tw: typical Holocaust trigger warnings, rape, use of word gyspy, genital mutilation

Holocaust books are always hard to review. I have read a lot of them in my day and I still struggle to rate and review them. I always feel bad if I rate them lower then 3 (three) stars because I feel I am disrespecting the history of what happened. But I also wouldn’t be doing my job as a reviewer if I rated a book high simply because of the topic. It’s not fair to the book. Luckily, I enjoyed this book quite a bit and the 4 (four) star rating is justified.

Lale was a good main character. I didn’t quite relate to him but I enjoyed his POV nonetheless. He was a bit too obsessed with women but I appreciated how much he respected women. He remained true to himself, even though he was in a very horrible situation. It was interesting to read about his job as a tattooer, as this book is based on someone who was a tattooer for Auschwitz. It’s not a usual Holocaust topic. Overall, I don't have any real complaints about him although I was a little concerned about him at the end. 

The book was written in second person, which really brought the book to life. I felt like I was right there with Lale, even though I really didn't want to be there. I think that if the book had been written in any other way, it would have felt old and uninteresting. The author choosing to write the book this way was a great choice. 

The problem I had with the book was the ending. It felt incredibly rushed. I wish the author had taken the time to respect the ending like the rest of the book. Everything had been happening at a relatively decent speed, if a little slow at times. Once the last 50 pages hit, it seemed like everything was happening at breakneck speed and I felt myself getting whiplash. The ending is what kept me from giving the book a full 5 (five) stars. 

Overall, this was a good book. I, of course, highly recommend it as it's an interesting topic being the story of a tattooer. I can't wait to read the second book, which is about Cilka, a side character.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz

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