Astonishingly beautiful and sad in equal measure

My brother recommended this book to me; I finally picked it up yesterday and four hours later I was at the end, in tears, in shock. What an important story, sensitively told. I’ve been to Auschwitz and the sense of place evoked by the author is impressive. A story of horror, of the very worst of human kind juxtaposed with love and hope and the power it gives us to survive terrible things. Fundamentally a love story and a story of friendship and kindness that shows us that even in some of the darkest days of human history hate never conquers love. I would encourage everyone to read this book, to go to Auschwitz, to tell their friends Lale’s story so that these horrors are never ever repeated and this man’s courage and kindness in the middle of atrocity shows us what humanity is capable of.