The Tattooist of Auschwitz – Heather Morris
100-Word (or Less) Synopsis: [from the dust jacket] 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.
Expectation: A harrowing first-person account of Lali’s life in the concentration camp.
Reality: Mediocre writing with many historic liberties.
Recommended For: Fans of historical fiction.
Why I Read It: It was highly recommended by several friends.
My take:
When visiting my grandmother in the late 1980s, we stopped at a Burger King near her home. The woman at the counter looked elderly, but she probably wasn't as old as my grandmother. As she was arranging our food on the plastic tray, I noticed numbers tattooed on the inside of her forearm.
After we took our seats, I asked why a grandma would have numbers tattooed on her arm. I was only in kindergarten and had no knowledge of the Holocaust. My grandmother, part of the Greatest Generation, tried as gently as she could to describe the forced branding of people — how those numbers were a cataloging system — and that many of the people given numbers during World War II were no longer alive. She ended it with, "I bet she has a story to tell."
When reading "The Tattooist of Auschwitz," I was reminded of this woman, who to my knowledge, is the only survivor of the Holocaust I've met in day-to-day life. I'd love to go back to that day, order a cup of coffee and have a conversation with her about her experiences, much like Heather Morris did with Lali for “The Tattooist of Auschwitz.”
It is true that every survivor had a story, and sadly many were never told. It is for that reason I'm grateful for this book, even though it isn't the best.
I'm fascinated to learn how ordinary people survive extreme circumstances, but many of the most egregious moments outlined in this novel are delivered in a matter-of-fact fashion that makes it hard to connect with the reality that was lived and how it is described. This is squarely on Morris, who clearly was enamored with Lali — he is incredibly charming, after all — and likely held herself back from digging deeper.
Another issue is the "based on a true story" component. Any first-person account of a situation will likely offer some revisionist history, so why add elements? I'd like to know what was inserted for heightened experience to propel the narrative versus what and when situations actually occurred.
I know of several readers who believed this to be a completely factual memoir and not a work of historical fiction, which is why the Auschwitz Research Centre, and Lali and Gita’s son have publicly taken issue with how situations are represented. There’s a fine line between raising awareness and perpetuating falsehoods.
Additionally, Morris' execution is stilted. Is it because this started as a screenplay or because it was based off interviews? There's little character development (except near the end) and some of the emotion feels forced.
Maybe because Lali shared his story decades later, and he had time to digest the suffering he and millions of others endured, but overall there wasn't the rawness you often find in other personal stories of human suffering.
This isn't "Night" or "Anne Frank: Diary of A Young Girl," and it lacks the detached objectiveness of "A River in Darkness," which made that story so effective. While I'm glad to have read Lali and Gita's story, I wouldn't put this high on a recommendation list.
Rating (story with historical accuracy): 1/5 stars
Rating (narration): 3/5 stars
Format: Audiobook (library loan)
Dates read: March 4 – 7, 2019
Multi-tasking: Good to go.
