This series of books I would describe as amazing. But in a way that means they're brilliantly written and engaging. The subject matter is not a happy one. But one we should all be aware of.
The Tattooist of Auschwitz was a sort of biography for Lale Sokolov and the time he spent in Auschwitz, though it was also a love story because Lale met the love of his life in the camp. Heather Morris met and spoke to Lale for three years and the book was written and published after his death. It was never fully classed as non-fiction, I think because not everything within the book could be classed as fact. Some of it was an idea of how the author, and Lale, thinks things may have played out. It is more like historical-fiction.
Cilka was an inmate that Lale and Gita knew in the camp. The notes at the end of The Tattooist of Auschwitz explain a little of what is known to have happened to Cilka after, as some of this was discovered in researching for that book and, according to the notes at the end of this book, Gita and Cilka did meet again.
It seems that Heather Morris was asked about what happened to Cilka, more than any other person and so she set about discovering what happened and was able to write another book based on that information.
The story itself, to me, is good. It kept me interested. It is well written enough that the ten years the book details do not drag too much and it is captivating to discover what happened in such places.
Cilka was not so much freed from Auschwitz, but was put on trial and condemned and sentenced for sleeping with the enemy, then sent to a Russian Labour Camp. A Gulag called Vorkuta. That is fact.
What exactly happened to Cilka whilst in the camp, the people she met and forged relationships with, is generally unknown and this is where the really fictional element of the story comes into play.
Readers are taken on a journey of what an incredible young woman went through within the labour camp, how she survived. The kinds of relationships she may have forged, the jobs she did, the challenges she faced.
There are also flashbacks into Cilka's time at Auschwitz. The people and the challenges that she met there.
It is well written so that it is not really heavy reading, it is not too grim. It is about how Cilka managed to keep finding enough good to keep going, to keep surviving, even on the days when she felt helpless.
I should note here, that I was listening to the audio book, which is often a different experience. It had a narrator who read it well and clearly and did not have a grim voice. This can often make a difference and sometimes, books which are hard to read can be easier to listen to.
Once the story has been told, there are several sections of notes. Heather Morris is very clear on what Lale told her, what she discovered through research. She stated that the Auschwitz chapters have more factual information as much of it was what Lale told her. She says that there were parts to do with Cilka which were how Lale understood things to be. She also states that there are various other written accounts to do with Cilka which give another opinion. There are notes which state quite clearly what is genuine fiction. For example, in reality, Cilka had two sisters, but in the novel, she only has one.
She's also very clear that most of the book is merely her idea of what things might have been like for Cilka, for many women, in a place like Vorkuta.
I think Heather Morris isn't trying to create something which is absolutely correct. If you want something which is factual then you have to watch or read something which is created by actual historians to present nothing but fact.
Heather Morris is a storyteller. I think she's trying to create something that appeals to a certain audience. People like me who maybe can't handle reading huge chunky books with masses of print and are extremely hard to focus on. She's trying to make people think, to create something hopeful. Because Aushwitz is one of the worst chapters in all of human history and always will be. But through all of it there was light in what was otherwise utter darkness, complete hell.
Fact: Lale Sokolov met the love of his life, Gita, in Auschwitz and they survived for each other. Cilka Klein met the love of her life in Vorkuta.
Doubtless, had they not been forced through utter hell, they'd have had happy lives, much happier lives, otherwise.
But these books are eye openers to something that should never be forgotten, even if we don't particularly want to think about it too much.
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