The Tattooist of Auschwitz

A Novel

By: Heather Morris

Narrated by: Richard Armitage

#1 New York Times Bestseller and #1 International Bestseller • Now a Peacock Original Series starring Harvey Keitel and Melanie Lynskey

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.

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.

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.

great book, performance was tough

this was an excellent book, but listening to the voices performing it was hard. they were too over dramatic and did not fit the book itself. highly recommend the story

Important story.

Poignant sorry but the writing/performance were just okay. Worth the listen because it represents a history that needs told and retold to keep the memory of what is possible when we don't diligently safeguard our civility and control hateful and arrogant leaders. performer did a good job with a range of accents, but voice control was inconsistent.

Must read

This book was well written. Storyline is so sad knowing that this is a true story. You won't be disappointed. Could hardly put book down.