I decided to read this book after it was recommended to me by so many people, and then kindly gifted to me for Christmas.
It tells a really engaging and heartwarming story of Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew who is imprisoned in Auschwitz concentration camp. He is given the job of tattooing prisoners arms with their prisoner number. Whilst here, he falls in love with a girl he is tattooing, and the novel follows them on their journey through the camp right until the camp is liberated at the end of the war.
Based on a true story, this novel is upsetting at times. But history is upsetting, and it is important that the horrors faced by Jews during the Holocaust are forever remembered. If it is through historical fiction that these stories are best kept alive, and shared with younger generations, then this is definitely a good thing.
I would encourage any lover of historical fiction, war fiction or romance to read this book. I look forward to reading the sequel, Cilka's Journey.
It tells a really engaging and heartwarming story of Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew who is imprisoned in Auschwitz concentration camp. He is given the job of tattooing prisoners arms with their prisoner number. Whilst here, he falls in love with a girl he is tattooing, and the novel follows them on their journey through the camp right until the camp is liberated at the end of the war.
Based on a true story, this novel is upsetting at times. But history is upsetting, and it is important that the horrors faced by Jews during the Holocaust are forever remembered. If it is through historical fiction that these stories are best kept alive, and shared with younger generations, then this is definitely a good thing.
I would encourage any lover of historical fiction, war fiction or romance to read this book. I look forward to reading the sequel, Cilka's Journey.