Bookworm Takeaway: The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
How do I begin expressing my thoughts about this book? Well, if I were to choose a definite word to exactly and collectively convey my thoughts about this book: it would be moving.
Wow. I must say, never judge a book by its cover. In contrary to the book cover that kind of speaks dull, the story the covers bonded was profoundly moving, heartwarming. You may want to state all the possible describing words that would imply how invested I was while reading this.
Back story. Ever since the senior high requirement on Adolf Hitler, his life and regime have been an interest to me. I immensely stumble on novels related to world wars, Nazism, Holocaust, Jews, concentration camps etc. Why am I too fascinated? Well, I haven’t had the mentality to reorganize my thoughts. Do I support the cruelty? Oh, assuringly not. I think it’s something dissimilar from that former claim. I will have to have myself into a thorough reflection on this and perhaps write about it.
Jumping back to the novel, allow me to cite a short background.
Lale was born into a well-off family. He was pretty much doing fine, living his life when a notice from the government arrived in their household. Expectedly, the Nazi Party is asking all households to surrender a family member to work for the Germans. It was his brother who initially volunteered. But Lale was kind and loving for he did not want his brother to leave his family. He did what he needed to do. Days later, he was rendering his farewells to his parents — her mom trying to chase the moving train while his father trying to hold back tears. After a terrible journey with a colossal number of men inside a boxed carriage, Lale and the rest arrived in Auschwitz, one of Nazi’s concentration camps. Well, what else could have happened to a prisoner surrounded by SS soldiers which shooting prisoners were nothing for them but a quick solution to a petty aggregation or plain annoyance of the prisoners’ sight? Mind you, that lone concentration camp had crematoriums for cadaver disposal as if like they were just mere sand from a neglected beach. Lale was formerly treated cruelly but he kept his mentality strong, trying to avoid the calls of immediate senseless death. Though the winds have changed when odds were on him. He met kind men who lifted him from sorrow. He soon became the tattooist of the camp. The tattooist was the designated person who marked incoming prisoners with the number because once people entered that hellhole, they were removed of names and identities. Once inside, they were prisoners who would work nonstop for the Dictator. Lale only got one goal and that is to put an end to his suffering and healthily return home. Though, cupid must have passed by that sad camp when Lale momentarily fell in love with a fellow prisoner, Gita. It was love at first sight for Lale as he was sticking ink on Gita’s left arm with the number 34902. The story went on with how Lale built an agreement with outside workers to bring him goods like chocolates and sausages in exchange for diamonds and high-valued pieces of jewelry Lale managed to bribe out from one of Gita’s block mates. Lale was faced with many struggles, underwent numerous bribes, just to be with Gita usually every Sunday at the back of the Administration's building where Gita works. Unfortunate events then happened when Lale was found with the smuggled pieces of jewelry with this he was transferred and brutally treated by SS soldiers. Not long, rumors and hearsays were going around, implying that Russians were about to liberate the camps. Then came the night when it happened, Gita and Lale were separated. Gita was transferred to who knows where, but Lale, given that he spoke around 5 languages fluently, he was assigned in a work in the Russian headquarters. This short-lived job of his came along with the luxury of obtaining good sleep, a good bath, good clothes. One day, perhaps his luckiest day, he managed to escape and finally return home with a pocketful of pieces of jewelry. Lale then used his energy to find Gita, who apparently had come home as well. Fast track to colorful years of their lives, they were able to raise a child and a business. Though, of course, challenges somehow found its way to cause trouble, the strong couple got through with it as if they didn’t experience the worst.
This novel simply tells us that once a person is built with courage and love, nothing is impossible. I admire Lale’s determination throughout the story. I know I can’t romanticize the experiences of those affected by the regime, those who have lost loved ones, and those whose lives were hastily deprived of. When I finished the story, I wished that I will have Lale’s determination and strength. My struggles will never in any sense be equal to his. But I hope that in any circumstance I find myself in, I can find my way out smartly and bravely.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 everyone! A MUST READ.
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