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The Tattooist of Auschwitz cover art

The Tattooist of Auschwitz

By: Heather Morris
Narrated by: Richard Armitage
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Summary

The Tattooist of Auschwitz is based on the true story of Lale and Gita Sokolov, two Slovakian Jews who survived Auschwitz and eventually made their home in Australia. In that terrible place, Lale was given the job of tattooing the prisoners marked for survival - literally scratching numbers into his fellow victims' arms in indelible ink to create what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust. Lale used the infinitesimal freedom of movement that this position awarded him to exchange jewels and money taken from murdered Jews for food to keep others alive. If he had been caught, he would have been killed; many owed him their survival.

There have been many books about the Holocaust - and there will be many more. What makes this one so memorable is Lale Sokolov's incredible zest for life. He understood exactly what was in store for him and his fellow prisoners, and he was determined to survive - not just to survive but to leave the camp with his dignity and integrity intact, to live his life to the full. Terrible though this story is, it is also a story of hope and of courage. It is also - almost unbelievably - a love story. Waiting in line to be tattooed, terrified and shaking, was a young girl. For Lale - a dandy, a jack-the-lad, a bit of a chancer - it was love at first sight, and he determined not only to survive himself but to ensure that Gita did, too. His story - their story - will make you weep, but you will also find it uplifting. It shows the very best of humanity in the very worst of circumstances.

Like many survivors, Lale and Gita told few people their story after the war. They eventually made their way to Australia, where they raised a son and had a successful life. But when Gita died, Lale felt he could no longer carry the burden of their past alone. He chose to tell his story.

©2018 Heather Morris (P)2018 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

What listeners say about The Tattooist of Auschwitz

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    5 out of 5 stars

Heart-rending story, sensitively narrated.

First of all I'd like to say that I did not experience the kind of volume/tonal problems in the sound that other reviewers have mentioned. There were one or two small glitches here and there but nothing really terrible and they certainly didn't spoil the recording or my enjoyment of it.

This is a truly shocking tale of what can happen to humanity when evil ideologies and actions permeate the political elite of a society and, ultimately, the people who carry out that elite's policies. It is harrowing, horrifying and difficult to comprehend the enormity of what happened but I am so glad that I saw it through to the end. I had never heard of Lale Sokolov before listening to this book but I finished it believing that he was a truly remarkable human being, who did what he had to do in order to survive the Holocaust.

Forced to tattoo his fellow Jews in the concentration camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Lale manages to survive the horror of his job, the cruelty of the SS guards, the evil experiments of Dr.Mengele on some of his friends and the realisation that people were being killed ,en masse, around him. He finds friendship, even love, within the camp and takes terrible risks to save his friends and as many of his camp-mates as he can. Throughout this ordeal and the imprisonment that follows the liberation of the camp by Russian forces, Lale manages to maintain his humanity and decency, even a sense of humour.

The epilogue and author's note were very moving and brought a lump to my throat. The sense of injustice meted out to one of the female characters after the war was profound.

I thought the narration was superb. The tone of voice, the pacing, the sombre quality, the accents and even a sense of menace at times were all well judged and appropriate to the subject matter. It is difficult to use the word 'enjoyment' in relation to this book. I was left with a feeling that it was an important tale of witness and one that should be widely read, so that we never forget how quickly human beings can fall into depravity if we do not challenge evil.

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175 people found this helpful

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Superb

Harrowing but with a strong theme throughout of determination to survive. Excellent book, had me gripped. The inter woven love story amongst the inhumane treatment of the characters by the Nazis, won through. A beautiful memoir that all should read irrespective of their faith, to prevent the holocaust ever happening again x

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131 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Poor recording spoils the story

After waiting for this moving story to arrive on Audible for quite a while, it has ended as a real disappointment. As mentioned in other reviews Richard Armitage is a wonderful narrator but all that is lost where the sound seems to have been recorded at different volume levels and tonal quality. The story deserved much better and in my opinion, should be re-recorded.

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86 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing story let down by bad narration and editing.

This was a great story based on the real life experiences of an Auschwitz prisoner. Unfortunately the narration and editing were appalling. The narrator’s tone of voice changed every time he took a break and at several points in the book it sounded like there were two people narrating and speaking alternate paragraphs! This really disturbs the flow of the story.

It also seemed as though the narrator had a problem speaking the main character’s name as this was really clumsily edited in at numerous times throughout the story.

Perhaps this is a story best read rather than listened to.

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44 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Disappointing - wasted potential

I had very high hopes for this book and was left disappointed. The story is remarkable, moving, and the book is worth reading because of it but the writing is lacking depth and character. It’s like a school paper, as if the author just wrote down what she heard during her interviews without putting any personality or style into it. I didn’t feel the story. I didn’t feel the devastation, the grief, the hopelessness. Nor the outrage, the love, the desperation. Such wasted potential!
The narration is extremely irritating. The narrator himself is very good, nice voice, good voice acting, but the sound editing is just terrible! Almost like every sentence was recorded in a separate sitting - his tone and voice keeps changing so many times and sometimes so much it sounds like a different person, which is highly confusing. Not to mention that I have a suspicion he must have mispronounced the main character’s name many times, but instead of re-recording those affected chapters (or at least sentences), it sounds like the name itself was re-recorded and inserted into the existing narrative, and it sticks out like a sore thumb many times.
I didn’t enjoy this audiobook but I’m glad I heard this story. Sad to think how much better it could have been done, both written and narrated.

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36 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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one of the most moving books I've ever listened to

what a beautifully written book. the author should be very proud. I am very grateful too have listened too and own this book. thank you so much

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34 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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mesmerising

very touching and profound book that will leave you thinking for a long time after

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32 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Gripping, emotional and humbling.

I could not stop listening to this book. I found myself engrossed. Despite other reviews, I found no issues with the volume. This story stops you in your tracks. I would highly recommend.

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28 people found this helpful

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A true survivor

Having always had an interest in biographies and real life stories from the war, this has to be one of my favourite listens so far. A fascinating story where the writer does a great job of describing enough to inform but not over indulge. All I can say is a massive thank you for sharing this story, highly recommended listen to anyone interested in the darkest history of the war.

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27 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Read this one don't listen to it!

This is an amazing story. It is real. It is tragic. It is beautiful but I suggest it is better heard in your head than brought to life by Armitage.

Sadly the bizarre and incredibly inconsistent acting and (worse) accents (including cockney for some perhaps clever but nonetheless inexplicable reason) are just simply not convincing. I wanted to love the characters / real folk we were being introduced to by Morris and to understand their plight, yet I found myself thinking 'why are you speaking like that?' and 'that accent makes no sense in this context'. Accents were at best inconsistent and at worst just plain awful. The constant tremor given to Lale was simply out of character. He was a damn sight stronger than THAT!

I know if had I read this book I would have loved it but this audio interpetation was just awful

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24 people found this helpful