Author: Heather Morris
My Review and Thoughts:
This is a dramatic, heart wrenching story that leaves a nightmarish reality. There are uplifting moments yet the reality of death lingers throughout this touching, emotionally charged plot. The book displays itself as a true story of war time horrors mixed with a underlining of the will to live and the precious reality of life itself.
The time is World War 2 and the setting is Auschwitz Concentration Camp. Your main character Lale must survive and plot to survive the horrors of the death camps. His job is to tattoo his fellow brothers and sisters of the Jewish nation among other races and selected persona the Nazis deem camp worthy.
During his trying time he meets many others on his journey inside the camp. Friends, and most of all, a love interest named Gita. The relationship inside the death camp is a moving and touching reality. All around them are darkness, death and destruction and yet they find each other. The story spirals from one darkened moment to another. The story is a complex reality of life and death, of survival and the will to live.
Lale is a character that touches your soul and moves your heart. You can't help but fall for Lale. His compassion and will to live is a moving mind altering clarity that every reader can hold on to. You want to know what happens. You want to experience his next move or ordeal inside the camp. How will he survive? What ultimately happens? All these realities and moments come page after page of perfected reading.
The book leaves a lasting reality inside your mind, heart and soul. It captures the raw darkness of the camps. It captures the insanity of Nazi Germany. It captures the beauty of life and the will to live. The book feels, real. The book displays itself as fact. The story showcases itself as a moving picture of history.
The book leaves nothing out. You experience the horrors of the death camp, from the gas showers, to the ovens. From experiments to suffering through medical means. From starvation to basic mass murder. Lale and his ordeal is something you wont forget. His reality becomes your reality. His dreams become your dreams. His suffering becomes your suffering. His loves become your loves. Lale and Gita grow on you in wonderful moving ways.
Would I Return to: I believe I would. The story is so moving and eye opening that you can't help but want to experience it again even with all it's darkness. There is a will of life inside the story that creates an emotional ordeal inside your heart and mind.
Would I Recommend: Absolutely in a heartbeat. A moving, rich descriptive experience that I feel is a must experience.
My Rating: 4 out 5
Four Final Words: Passionate. Emotionally Charged. Nightmarish.