THE TATTOOIST OF AUSCHWITZ by Heather Morris

I resolved not to read any books this year about the Holocaust, or anything book about the suffering of people during and after WWII. Or any war for that matter. But this was a Xmas present, and is still a popular read in the bookshop I work at, so decided to read it. The author has written a novel, but she spent a fair amount of time interviewing and talking with the subject of the novel, Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian born Jew, who ended up in Auchswitz and against every possible odd, survived. As did the young girl Gita, a fellow Slovakian Jew he fell in love with.

There are many stories of Auchswitz and the other camps, the horrors, brutality, the ghastliness of it all, the people who somehow managed to survive. And this is no different really, except that Lale makes a commitment to himself that he will survive, he will retain his self worth, his dignity, and do everything he can to help others. By chance he becomes the tattooist to the thousands and thousands of new arrivals that teem through the gates of Auchswitz. This affords him a slightly better standard of living than his fellows, giving some freedoms too that he audaciously takes advantage of to smuggle food, medicines, messages.

No spoilers in both Lale and Gita surviving, eventually going to Australia as refugees and making themselves a successful and happy life. These books, although prolific in number, are important testaments to a terrible time, and are constant reminders of the power of the human spirit, the bravery and courage of people in the most dreadful conditions. You can't imagine anyone surviving, but somehow luck is there, holding the power of life and death. This may not be the best literature around on the subject, but it is certainly a great page turner that will leave the reader breathless and grateful.