After all the buzz around this book, I was so excited to finally get hold of a copy. With all the great reviews it had, I really though that this book would be something special. However, I was a little disappointed to find that it really didn't live up to its hype.
The books follows the journey of Lale, who became a tattoist during his time at Auschwitz, tattoing numbers on the arms of his fellow Holocaust prisoners. Whilst living, or more accurately, 'staying alive', Lale falls head over heels in love with another Jew, Gita. This love results in Lale resolving to do whatever it takes to ensure that he and Gita make it out alive, and be together for good.
For such a thought-provoking, controversial topic, I really expected this book to have so much more emotion and heart in it. Despite this being based on a true story, I really struggled to connect to the characters, so I didn't feel strongly about anything that happened to them (even though I wanted to)!
This book is still worth a read, just because it's based on a true story, but I have read several fiction books on this topic, which I found much more enjoyable.
The books follows the journey of Lale, who became a tattoist during his time at Auschwitz, tattoing numbers on the arms of his fellow Holocaust prisoners. Whilst living, or more accurately, 'staying alive', Lale falls head over heels in love with another Jew, Gita. This love results in Lale resolving to do whatever it takes to ensure that he and Gita make it out alive, and be together for good.
For such a thought-provoking, controversial topic, I really expected this book to have so much more emotion and heart in it. Despite this being based on a true story, I really struggled to connect to the characters, so I didn't feel strongly about anything that happened to them (even though I wanted to)!
This book is still worth a read, just because it's based on a true story, but I have read several fiction books on this topic, which I found much more enjoyable.