The Tattooist of Auschwitz

A Novel

By: Heather Morris

Narrated by: Richard Armitage

Length: 7 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's Summary

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.

In April 1942, Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, is forcibly transported to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. When his captors discover 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 more than 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 recreation 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.

©2018 Heather Morris (P)2018 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Critic Reviews

"Richard Armitage is a superb narrator whose performance here is among his best.... Armitage's performance captures every emotion from fear to trepidation to hope and even to love with understated warmth." (AudioFile)

"The audio version of this book is a particularly strong marriage of narrator and material. The British actor Richard Armitage uses an impressive variety of actorly tools as he shifts perspective.... He skillfully conveys the cruel, mocking tone that the SS officers and guards often used with prisoners as a way of reinforcing their power. Even when he isn't portraying a specific character, Armitage keeps the listener engaged and alert by modulating his tone, sometimes within individual sentences. At times it seems as if there are two narrators, so often, and ably, does Armitage vary his delivery.... [The author's] compassion for her characters, combined with Armitage's riveting delivery, makes this an immensely satisfying book to listen to, whatever else you might happen to be doing." (The New York Times Book Review)

"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 best-selling author of The Rosie Project)  

Very uneven performance. Read this one instead.

I wish I’d read instead of listened to this book. I liked the story but the performance was pretty bad most of the time. I actually think it was the editing. It’s like they recorded it twice and each recording was dramatically different but they spliced the together anyway. Very annoying to follow and jarring. It takes away from the story itself.

Lest We Forget

For such a horrific time in history, this unforgettable love story was beautifully written. We must continue to make sure our children's children learn of thus time. Lest as a society, we forget.

A hopeful perspective on a harrowing time

Do we really need another book about the Holocaust? Yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes. We must continue to revisit society tragedies lest we forget. The unique aspect of The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris is that she took a very dark time in history and shared a story of joy, hope, and love through this tale of two courageous individuals. The book is based on the true story of Lale and Gita who fall in love at first site as Lale is given the horrible task of tattooing numeric identifiers on captured Jews. A multilingual Slovakian Jew, Lale was one of the "lucky" ones who was able to secure a "privileged" position of tätowierer. Once he meets Gita for those few moments, there is an instant connection and he knows he must find her again. He is successful and a challenging love affair ensues. So, while the backdrop of this book is the Holocaust and World World II, the prevailing plot is a love story.

I listened to this book via Audible. It was narrated by English actor, Richard Armitage, who was simply perfect in his narration. His voice is captivating. Granted Heather Morris has told a beautiful tale, and Armitage's voice just added icing to the cake. I found myself almost tired at times pulling for Lale and Gita. I won't say I was pulling for a happy ending because what is happy about the Holocaust, but rather, I was yearning for a hopeful ending. I felt strongly that hope would be revealed in the end, but it was a struggle listening to the atrocities before both main characters arrived there. Both the story and the narration pulled me in and didn't let me go until I'd finished listening to the author's notes and son's afterword at the very end.

Some criticisms I've read about this book is that there was not enough focus on the evils of the concentration camp. I disagree. If you want to read a book that goes into more in-depth detail on the horrors of Auschwitz and other concentration camps, there are hundreds of fiction and non-fiction books that will meet that need. This book is a love story, so much so, that the concentration camp setting of the book seemed to be relatively short to me even though it covered three long, tortuous years. My only criticism of this book is that some of the loose ends were not resolved. For example, what happened to Silka and Donna?

Recommendation: The Holocaust was real. It is a reality that the few living survivors continue to be haunted by. I really appreciated this hopeful perspective on this harrowing time period. If you're a WWII historical fiction (although this book included non-fiction elements) junkie, I think you will appreciate this book. Do yourself a favor and read along with the sultry Richard Armitage!

Until next time ... Read on!

Regardless of whether I purchase a book, borrow a book, or receive a book in exchange for review, my ultimate goal is to be honest, fair, and constructive. I hope you've found this review helpful.

Tattooist

Fast paced story that keeps you riveted to the book. Characters portray the time period well. I’ve read many books regarding this topic. This one I’ll allow my teens to read.

Weird distracting overlapping; bad sound engineer

It's like they found out after recording that they got the main character's name wrong and had to go back and insert the right name throughout. Especially noticeable in chapters 20-26.

Also sounds like they had 2-3 different readers, or perhaps the sound engineers were inexperienced and didn't know that you don't start a new session until a new chapter. You measure the distance from mouth to mic and keep that same distance.

For such a beautiful story, the sound engineers really messed up this reading.

Terrible editing or terrible narrator

The narrator’s voice seems to change mid-sentence, like the sound engineer discovered they were misreading a sentence and dubbed over it later. Very distracting!

TREMENDOUS

I resisted this book for weeks, always passing it over for an " easier" title. I am so glad I " Bravely decided to delve into this book. It is extremely well written. If you enjoyed a gentleman from Moscow this is your next read.

Incredible story, performed brilliantly

An incredible story of perseverance and hope! I finished listening to the book this morning and I've been deeply affected, to say the least. Of course, I've read and learned much about the Holocaust in my lifetime, but this is a different perspective. And it's a first-hand account of one who was there. There were multiple times while listening that I had tears streaming down my face. One of the things that really stood out to me was the details of the individuals Lale met. You see each person as an individual with their own personal struggle to survive. And through the eyes of each person, you see a different experience during this dark time.

Richard Armitage is a MASTER of narration. You truly feel like you are listening to the actual people speaking, in all of their different dialects and accents- rather than just one man expertly stepping into their voices and experiences. Richard is truly a master of his craft. Thank you, Richard Armitage, for bringing this story to life in a way I'll never forget.

The True Auschwitz

This book was fabulous. Another wonderfully written historical fiction book about an awful place and awful time. I would recommend this book to anyone that wants to know more about this place.

Great story, distracting narration

While this story really draws you in, the narration, and in particular the editing of the narration is very distracting, with the voice changing mid-sentence or mid-thought for no particular reason, it sounds almost as if two different narrators were spliced together randomly.

Not mad on love story's

Enjoyed the book a lot but could have focused more in detail about the environment rather than the love story.
Focused too much on the love but in fairness this is what the story was about

Still a very enjoyable listen if you like WW2 history like myself

What can you say

The story is well written, not spectacular. The reading is mediocre and fluctuates to the point of annoyance. Perhaps it is a personal preference or taste. I listen to a lot of audible books and most have been good some have been great. This is is ok.

This book will stay with me forever

We must never forget what far right does.
A difficult story, told with humanity & love

lacked emotional depth and poorly researched

The linear narrative with just a few memories inserted doesn't convey enough of the horror of the times. The poor research undermines the authenticity of the story. For example it's very well known that concentration camp survivors had to return to eating very gradually, that some died from starting on rich food. The tattooist eats a first meal of lamb in cream sauce with a bottle of wine with no ill effects? Yes, he had had extra food smuggled in but this goes too far, unless he lived even better than the book suggests. The book doesn't express any survivor emotions that are so often found. The bald language throughout detracts from the drama - his emotions were in a tumoil etc. This story demands much more effort on the part of the writer. I assume that the book's success is due to the zeitgeist - that it's written in a way people are prepared to read at this point. Of course it's excellent that a book about the Holocaust is so widely read now. But my family came from Bratislava too and the Jews os Slovakia and the prisoners of Auschwitz and Birkenau deserve more depth.

exceptional

I listened to this book while gardening. If I had not had that distraction I would not have been able to cope with the emotions it stirred in my heart. Even then there were many times I couldn't hold back tears, but there were so many happy tears too. Who knew a love story could have emerged for such horrific surroundings. I really really enjoyed this book.

Powerful story, brilliant narrator

I love most of Richard Armitage's narrations, but he was really great in this. The story is at times very distressing, but it should be heard lest we ever forget. It's well-written and apart from the gruesome treatment of the concentration camp prisoners (based on a true story) it's a fabulous read/listen. Highly recommend it.

Absolutely brilliant book

This was one of the best books I have ever read. Brings to life the horror of what happened in concentration camps

horrible and beautiful

Absolutely heart wrenching. Reduced me to tears. What a horrible but beautiful story that must never be forgotten

Fantastic Story

A great eye opener to a shocking story. would definitely recommend to all subscribers. Excellent.

Look inside the horror of Auschwitz

The Tattooist of Auschwitz is a story of beauty, hope, courage and survival against the odds. A story about the love between two young people destined to be together for more than 60 years. Its hard to say you have enjoyed a book when it is about such a harrowing time in history, but true love conquers all!