Wow wow wow. All the stars for The Tattooist of Auschwitz. If it wasn't for my body desperately needing a good nights sleep, I would have finished this in one sitting. It was super hard to put down as I wanted to know whether Lale and Gita got their Happy End. This book, based on a true story, shows once again which unthinkable things happend in the concentration camps, what the prisoners experienced and what they lived through. It had me tear up more than once; for the last chapters I was a sobbing mess. Being German I felt so guilty while reading. If you can get your hand on a copy of this novel, I highly recommend taking the chance and reading it.

Ein wundervoller (wenn man das bei der Thematik überhaupt sagen kann) Holocaust Roman mit autobiographischer Grundlage von einem sehr interessanten Leben des jüdischen Ausschwitz Tätowierers. Für mich war er trotz allem etwas schwächer als andere Bücher zu der Thematik. Er hebt sich definitiv ab und liest sich nicht wie ein Stoff, den man schon hundert Mal gehört hat. Das kommt neben den sehr eng an das reale Einzelschicksal gebundene Grundlage und Lales besonderer Stellung im Lager meiner Meinung nach durch einen starken Fokus auf die guten Dinge. Dass in diesem einzelnen Leben trotz all dem Grauen um ihn herum auch Liebe, Freundschaft, Glück - und daher Hoffnung und Stärke zum Durchhalten zu erkennen war. Da es trotz der Fiktionalität eben sehr autobiographisch ist, hat mir ein Spannungsbogen gefehlt, der mich irgendwas entgegenfiebern lässt. Auf jeden Fall ein toller Roman, der noch mal neue Denkanstöße gibt. Für mich persönlich fällt er nur etwas hinter Bücher wie MAUS, Die Bücherdiebin, Der Junge im gestreiften Pyjama zurück, deshalb „nur“ 4/5

Lale lived his life by the motto: 'If you wake up in the morning it is a good day.' April 1942. Lale is being transported into Auschwitz Birkenau, one of the biggest concentration camps existing during World War II. He has no clue what is about to happen to him and only the thought of his family and the lovely girl he meets in Auschwitz are the things that are keeping him alive right now. Soon he gets privileges, being the "Tätowierer" and starts an illegal business in camp. Until one day all of his secrets are dug up. This book is so important. I think it is one of the most important things for us not to forget our history. And reading or listening to stories like Lale's can help, especially young people, to reflect on everything that happened in those horrible times. I like the book. It manages to frame the horrible situation in Auschwitz during the war, without being too explicit or descriptive. I think Heather did a great job retelling Lales' story and capturing his feelings without being an actual part of his life during that time. a great and very important book.

No rating, every time I hear or read about the time that this book took place in, I'm baffled. It's crazy to know that these things were truly really happening, that people for all kinds of different reasons were treated so inhumanly. I don't want to rate this book because doing so would be like judging the value of someone's life since this book is based on a true story. Educational and Important!