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Ilana's Reviews > The Tattooist of Auschwitz
The Tattooist of Auschwitz
by
by
Ilana's review
bookshelves: historical-fiction, war, wwii, no-thanks
Jan 27, 2019
bookshelves: historical-fiction, war, wwii, no-thanks
Read 3 times. Last read January 26, 2018 to January 27, 2018.
On Writing a Romance Set in an Extermination Camp
A note: as I keep getting notifications and occasional comments about this review, I can't help myself from rereading it once in a while too, however painful the subject matter. I suppose it has real therapeutic value for me. Today Nov 4/19 I felt the need to summarize my current feelings about this book, as I exchange impressions about it with other readers. It tapped into a very heavy legacy countless humans have to carry; descendants and their loved ones and all the sympathisers, whether consciously or not. Some of us feel that burden more heavily than others.
January 2018 — I am disgusted. And angry. And extremely upset. I was trying to determine whether I should continue till the end so I could count this book as one of my yearly reads considering how much of it I've endured so far, but f*ckit, it does count. I'm DNFing this book at 74% because I consider I've read enough of it to get a good sense of what it's about, what the author's intention was, how she handled her material, the historic period (the Holocaust from 1942 to the liberation) and place (Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp).
Here was my comment at the 30% mark as I was listening to the audiobook: "I was just reviewing a post-apocalyptic horror novel having a big moment right now (Bird Box), saying how compared to my psychological troubles I couldn’t see what the fuss was about. But Holocaust stories, concentration camps; these are true horrors that have willfully been done. And there are deniers on one hand, and Nazis are still among us today. THAT is the stuff of nightmares for me."
One of the reasons for this, is that my father's relatives were Polish Jews, a very large family, most of whom died in Auschwitz-Birkenau. At least, I am assuming that is where they where sent, but of course I shouldn’t assume anything. There were six extermination camps in Poland, and Jews were often transported in cattle carts on long train rides that could last days. And of course, who has the heart to look up old records, if there are any to be found (though we know the Germans were very thorough)?
As a young child, I spent several years in Israel attending a series of public schools as we moved around, my parents separately being nomads by nature. It was an vastly enriching multicultural experience for me, being a curious child interested in history and arts and language and people and culture in general. But I also had the great 'privilege' and dubious delight of being traumatized for life by being taken to holocaust museums and encouraged to watch Nazi footage of the Jewish Ghettos and then the Nazi "Work Camps". This was some four decades ago now. I saw with my own eyes the moving images of living corpses gathered against the fences in those worn out, much too large striped pyjamas. Followed by panning images on the piles upon piles of naked things, no more than skin tightly stretched over bones with skulls attached. There were also little piles of human hair and teeth, I remember a 40s style lamp shade made with human skin, bars of soap, and so on, all of these displays helpfully accompanied with little cards with helpful details about what the items were and how they'd been harvested. All neatly protected under glass cases, so that generations later, we would "Never Forget". I never forgot. No, no. I never did. How I dreaded those class excursions. Who wouldn't?
At the audiobook's 74% mark, I wanted to post the following update, but the character count was over the allowed limit of 420 characters. That was somehow the tipping point which made me decide I was done with this book:
"I'm reading this right now and am seriously nauseated, but not for the reasons you’d expect. It seems the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum concluded that this novel is “an impression about Auschwitz inspired by authentic events, almost without any value as a document”. Zero value as a document indeed. It's pure schmaltz with a few dead Jews thrown in to make the bright colours stand out all the better. Love is wonderful, love is sublime, but how someone would dare write a Romance novel based on the Holocaust and in Auschwitz, of all places, is beyond me. I'm shocked by how indecent this thing is. Who is this Heather Morris anyway?? She must have attended a conference about monetizing events. It all seems so crass. Must look her up now. smh."
... So, the update is I've looked up Morris's short biography here on GR, and seems she had the best of intentions. But you know what they say about the road to hell...
There was a headline the other day about the fact that young Canadians know little to nothing about the Holocaust nowadays, and of course I found this shocking and sad and very disturbing. And then when I shared this tidbit with my partner, he had the extremely bad taste to tell me that soon, to appease what will become a Muslim majority here, they will minimize the teachings on the Holocaust and emphasize the Crusades. He is left-brained and prides himself on being a scientist and a stoic and all such stuff to justify saying insensitive things at the wrong moments. Which seems to be a specialty with men in general, or the types I seem to be attracted to, for some reason.
I partly feel that any book which brings the Holocaust to public awareness is important, and that we can't saddle every novelist with the responsibility of being a documentarian, but in such cases, the author has no business claiming the novel is based on a true story when it simply isn't. The man who related the events told in this biographical novel was well into his 80s when he did so, and it is glaringly obvious that his memory had rewritten large swaths of his own history by then, and many times over.
The story here is so clearly exaggerated it beggars belief. Here, Lale, the Tattooist in question is so filled with confidence and charm he manages to gather a real treasure trove of gems as camp detainee, and obtains endless favourable treatment for everyone under his protection, including the almost unthinkable treasure of life-sustaining extra foodstuff (and chocolate no less!) to distribute around generously... Some parts of his tale were no doubt based on true events, but to me he seemed manipulative more than sympathetic, and his successes multiplied untill it between the both of them, the made the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camps as fairy tale experiencse compared to what I'd heard of it in my childhood days and ever since. I know there were relatively many—considering the odds, that is—who survived the camps, and I know most of those survivors were per force ingenious, charming, and/or incredibly lucky to survive at all, but this story was over the top and seriously beggared belief.
But you don't have to take my word for it. Here are a couple of articles that seem to mostly agree with my point of view too:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/08/bo...
I was going to give this a whole two stars because I was so angry when I started writing this review, and then I simmered down and could see objectivelly how some readers might enjoy this book. But my initial gut feeling about the terrible insult to all those souls who suffered so horribly, of creating a sort of fairytale in the very death camps and next to the very gas chambers and cremation ovens and the barracks and factories and clinics and endless daily brutalities until their final violent destructions came about... came literally haunting me back. And the descendants of their surviving relatives, for whom the merest suggestion of those times are still a wrenching and tearing deep inside our spirits and at the very core of our material bodies, this is no light matter. She simply had no right to this material. None at all. So no. I'd give it minuses if it were possible. A well-meaning European friend who often reads books I like recommended it to me, and yes, I see objectively what people loved about it, because there is all that hope, of love flourishing amid all that death and destruction, of surviving against all odds, of that love lasting a lifetime. I get all that. I do. But context matters. Intention matters. Who delivers the story matters. Humility matters. And as a descendant of survivors and a survivor myself, I say, we should start doing better.
A note: as I keep getting notifications and occasional comments about this review, I can't help myself from rereading it once in a while too, however painful the subject matter. I suppose it has real therapeutic value for me. Today Nov 4/19 I felt the need to summarize my current feelings about this book, as I exchange impressions about it with other readers. It tapped into a very heavy legacy countless humans have to carry; descendants and their loved ones and all the sympathisers, whether consciously or not. Some of us feel that burden more heavily than others.
January 2018 — I am disgusted. And angry. And extremely upset. I was trying to determine whether I should continue till the end so I could count this book as one of my yearly reads considering how much of it I've endured so far, but f*ckit, it does count. I'm DNFing this book at 74% because I consider I've read enough of it to get a good sense of what it's about, what the author's intention was, how she handled her material, the historic period (the Holocaust from 1942 to the liberation) and place (Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp).
Here was my comment at the 30% mark as I was listening to the audiobook: "I was just reviewing a post-apocalyptic horror novel having a big moment right now (Bird Box), saying how compared to my psychological troubles I couldn’t see what the fuss was about. But Holocaust stories, concentration camps; these are true horrors that have willfully been done. And there are deniers on one hand, and Nazis are still among us today. THAT is the stuff of nightmares for me."
One of the reasons for this, is that my father's relatives were Polish Jews, a very large family, most of whom died in Auschwitz-Birkenau. At least, I am assuming that is where they where sent, but of course I shouldn’t assume anything. There were six extermination camps in Poland, and Jews were often transported in cattle carts on long train rides that could last days. And of course, who has the heart to look up old records, if there are any to be found (though we know the Germans were very thorough)?
As a young child, I spent several years in Israel attending a series of public schools as we moved around, my parents separately being nomads by nature. It was an vastly enriching multicultural experience for me, being a curious child interested in history and arts and language and people and culture in general. But I also had the great 'privilege' and dubious delight of being traumatized for life by being taken to holocaust museums and encouraged to watch Nazi footage of the Jewish Ghettos and then the Nazi "Work Camps". This was some four decades ago now. I saw with my own eyes the moving images of living corpses gathered against the fences in those worn out, much too large striped pyjamas. Followed by panning images on the piles upon piles of naked things, no more than skin tightly stretched over bones with skulls attached. There were also little piles of human hair and teeth, I remember a 40s style lamp shade made with human skin, bars of soap, and so on, all of these displays helpfully accompanied with little cards with helpful details about what the items were and how they'd been harvested. All neatly protected under glass cases, so that generations later, we would "Never Forget". I never forgot. No, no. I never did. How I dreaded those class excursions. Who wouldn't?
At the audiobook's 74% mark, I wanted to post the following update, but the character count was over the allowed limit of 420 characters. That was somehow the tipping point which made me decide I was done with this book:
"I'm reading this right now and am seriously nauseated, but not for the reasons you’d expect. It seems the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum concluded that this novel is “an impression about Auschwitz inspired by authentic events, almost without any value as a document”. Zero value as a document indeed. It's pure schmaltz with a few dead Jews thrown in to make the bright colours stand out all the better. Love is wonderful, love is sublime, but how someone would dare write a Romance novel based on the Holocaust and in Auschwitz, of all places, is beyond me. I'm shocked by how indecent this thing is. Who is this Heather Morris anyway?? She must have attended a conference about monetizing events. It all seems so crass. Must look her up now. smh."
... So, the update is I've looked up Morris's short biography here on GR, and seems she had the best of intentions. But you know what they say about the road to hell...
There was a headline the other day about the fact that young Canadians know little to nothing about the Holocaust nowadays, and of course I found this shocking and sad and very disturbing. And then when I shared this tidbit with my partner, he had the extremely bad taste to tell me that soon, to appease what will become a Muslim majority here, they will minimize the teachings on the Holocaust and emphasize the Crusades. He is left-brained and prides himself on being a scientist and a stoic and all such stuff to justify saying insensitive things at the wrong moments. Which seems to be a specialty with men in general, or the types I seem to be attracted to, for some reason.
I partly feel that any book which brings the Holocaust to public awareness is important, and that we can't saddle every novelist with the responsibility of being a documentarian, but in such cases, the author has no business claiming the novel is based on a true story when it simply isn't. The man who related the events told in this biographical novel was well into his 80s when he did so, and it is glaringly obvious that his memory had rewritten large swaths of his own history by then, and many times over.
The story here is so clearly exaggerated it beggars belief. Here, Lale, the Tattooist in question is so filled with confidence and charm he manages to gather a real treasure trove of gems as camp detainee, and obtains endless favourable treatment for everyone under his protection, including the almost unthinkable treasure of life-sustaining extra foodstuff (and chocolate no less!) to distribute around generously... Some parts of his tale were no doubt based on true events, but to me he seemed manipulative more than sympathetic, and his successes multiplied untill it between the both of them, the made the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camps as fairy tale experiencse compared to what I'd heard of it in my childhood days and ever since. I know there were relatively many—considering the odds, that is—who survived the camps, and I know most of those survivors were per force ingenious, charming, and/or incredibly lucky to survive at all, but this story was over the top and seriously beggared belief.
But you don't have to take my word for it. Here are a couple of articles that seem to mostly agree with my point of view too:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/08/bo...
I was going to give this a whole two stars because I was so angry when I started writing this review, and then I simmered down and could see objectivelly how some readers might enjoy this book. But my initial gut feeling about the terrible insult to all those souls who suffered so horribly, of creating a sort of fairytale in the very death camps and next to the very gas chambers and cremation ovens and the barracks and factories and clinics and endless daily brutalities until their final violent destructions came about... came literally haunting me back. And the descendants of their surviving relatives, for whom the merest suggestion of those times are still a wrenching and tearing deep inside our spirits and at the very core of our material bodies, this is no light matter. She simply had no right to this material. None at all. So no. I'd give it minuses if it were possible. A well-meaning European friend who often reads books I like recommended it to me, and yes, I see objectively what people loved about it, because there is all that hope, of love flourishing amid all that death and destruction, of surviving against all odds, of that love lasting a lifetime. I get all that. I do. But context matters. Intention matters. Who delivers the story matters. Humility matters. And as a descendant of survivors and a survivor myself, I say, we should start doing better.
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Reading Progress
Finished Reading
(Kindle Edition)
Finished Reading
(Kindle Edition)
January 26, 2018
–
Started Reading
January 27, 2018
–
Finished Reading
October 8, 2018
– Shelved as:
to-read
October 8, 2018
– Shelved
November 26, 2018
– Shelved as:
historical-fiction
November 26, 2018
– Shelved as:
war
November 26, 2018
– Shelved as:
wwii
January 26, 2019
–
30.0%
"I was just reviewing a post-apocalyptic horror book having a big moment right now, saying how compared to my psychological troubles I couldn’t see what the fuss was about. But Holocaust stories, concentration camps; these are true horrors that have willfully been done. And there are deniers on one hand, and Nazis are still among us today. THAT is the stuff of nightmares for me."
October 28, 2019
– Shelved as:
burn-this-book
October 28, 2019
– Shelved as:
just-no
October 28, 2019
– Shelved as:
no-way
October 28, 2019
– Shelved as:
no-thanks
November 1, 2019
– Shelved
(Kindle Edition)
Comments Showing 1-50 of 59 (59 new)
message 1:
by
Kathleen
(new)
-
rated it 3 stars
Jan 27, 2019 03:55PM
Agree.
reply
|
flag
Thanks Kathleen. When I'd reached the 74% mark, I had a look at some of the reviews here, including yours, and was relieved to see you and I were in agreement on this one. I wouldn't have minded if we hadn't been, but sometimes it feels good to get confirmation when something hits you as being so WRONG. I was angry because my reactions tend to be extreme, with little room for anything in the middle. Also because my childhood exposure to these things really did traumatize me, and because my father and grandmother were incapable of talking about that period in time; my granny Sonia refused to say a word about while my father cried when he did, and walked out on the wonderful "La vita è bella" when I wanted to bring him to a lovely movie with a hopeful message. He just couldn't stand it, and I understand that.
To me, this book was a travesty. Not that it matters, but I doubt very much Morris could have Jewish ancestry and have written this book. Then again, there are plenty of Jews with extremely bad taste too, they're just people like everyone else. Takes all kinds, and perhaps if I hadn't had the particular life experiences I did I might have found this to be a wonderful book. Obviously, many, many people did.
To me, this book was a travesty. Not that it matters, but I doubt very much Morris could have Jewish ancestry and have written this book. Then again, there are plenty of Jews with extremely bad taste too, they're just people like everyone else. Takes all kinds, and perhaps if I hadn't had the particular life experiences I did I might have found this to be a wonderful book. Obviously, many, many people did.
Thank you. The topic intrigued me, but I had a feeling that didn't sit right. My sixth sense kept warning me away. Now you have confirmed for me that I should walk on by.
Stewart wrote: "Thank you. The topic intrigued me, but I had a feeling that didn't sit right. My sixth sense kept warning me away. Now you have confirmed for me that I should walk on by."
I'm happy to help, Stewart. My sixth sense warned me away too, until a good book friends recommendation encouraged me to give it a chance. I studied and made a career as a designer and art director and worked in advertising, branding and publishing, and so know a thing or two about how important image is to attract the desired audience, and everything about the cover of this book screamed ROMANCE READER at me, and that simply felt all wrong paired with that title. That old saying about never judge a book by its cover is true enough, but only up to a point, and I usually know how to read big publishers when it comes to their cover designs!
I don't mind a good Romance now and again, but some things should never mix, and if they do, then the formula needs to be extremely well dosed!
I'm happy to help, Stewart. My sixth sense warned me away too, until a good book friends recommendation encouraged me to give it a chance. I studied and made a career as a designer and art director and worked in advertising, branding and publishing, and so know a thing or two about how important image is to attract the desired audience, and everything about the cover of this book screamed ROMANCE READER at me, and that simply felt all wrong paired with that title. That old saying about never judge a book by its cover is true enough, but only up to a point, and I usually know how to read big publishers when it comes to their cover designs!
I don't mind a good Romance now and again, but some things should never mix, and if they do, then the formula needs to be extremely well dosed!
Your review sums up what I feel about this, not even having it it because a friend shared that first link you post and that settled it for me.
Nocturnalux: in retrospect, I wish I’d read the Guardian article first too. I like their reviews and would probably have avoided what turned out to be an upsetting ordeal.
This book made me angry when I read it. It was glaringly fake and after reading your review, I find I am still angry at how demeaning this book is to this horrific time.
I agree with you Marialyce. It’s never easy for me to approach any material about that period in history and I feel the author did more harm than good with this romantic nonsense.
You articulating how I felt about this book well. Especially: "...he seemed manipulative more than sympathetic and his successes went on and on till it sounded like Auschwitz-Birkenau was a fairy tale experience compared to what I'd heard of it in my childhood days and ever since." Thanks.
You’re welcome Meredith. Every time I think about this book I get a horrible sinking feeling. “They made a ROMANCE out of Auschwitz... how COULD they?!?” and the outrage and trauma are all bundled together. I’m horrified that’s the version of the Holocaust countless people will have ever experienced in their lifetime because of the success of this book and because they aren’t taught anywhere else. But then there is so much being written about that period and many authors do strike the right tone. I’m glad I’m not alone in feeling so much was wrong with this story.
Ilana wrote: "You’re welcome Meredith. Every time I think about this book I get a horrible sinking feeling. “They made a ROMANCE out of Auschwitz... how COULD they?!?” and the outrage and trauma are all bundled ..."
Making authors like Primo Levi mandatory reading in school would go a long way into exposing younger people to the actual reality of the Holocaust. I know there was a time when The Diary of Anne Frank was mandatory reading for middle school in some parts of the world and it might be a good idea to reinstate it.
This book is still at the top of the charts whenever I visit a bookstore. I find that profoundly disturbing.
Making authors like Primo Levi mandatory reading in school would go a long way into exposing younger people to the actual reality of the Holocaust. I know there was a time when The Diary of Anne Frank was mandatory reading for middle school in some parts of the world and it might be a good idea to reinstate it.
This book is still at the top of the charts whenever I visit a bookstore. I find that profoundly disturbing.
Nocturnalux wrote: "Ilana wrote: "You’re welcome Meredith. Every time I think about this book I get a horrible sinking feeling. “They made a ROMANCE out of Auschwitz... how COULD they?!?” and the outrage and trauma ar..."
I was going to reply to your message when I finally saw it, which was ages after you posted it, but it was so long after that I thought it was almost pointless so long after the fact. Now that she's come out with another book, the anger is reignited and I thought I'd respond all the same to say I agree with everything you said.
Someone gave me a tip on how to change my preferences so I could get notifications on comments since then. It's still not 100% reliable, but I do get notifications now and then.
I was going to reply to your message when I finally saw it, which was ages after you posted it, but it was so long after that I thought it was almost pointless so long after the fact. Now that she's come out with another book, the anger is reignited and I thought I'd respond all the same to say I agree with everything you said.
Someone gave me a tip on how to change my preferences so I could get notifications on comments since then. It's still not 100% reliable, but I do get notifications now and then.
Terence M wrote: "A very heartfelt review, Ilana."
It couldn't be any other way Terence. This hits too close to home. The exposure and teachings (and trauma) about the Holocaust I had from a young age combined with the fact that members of my family perished in the camps she wrote about so glibly made it impossible for me NOT to react with so much emotion and anger. Especially considering how deeply I tend to take things to begin with.
It couldn't be any other way Terence. This hits too close to home. The exposure and teachings (and trauma) about the Holocaust I had from a young age combined with the fact that members of my family perished in the camps she wrote about so glibly made it impossible for me NOT to react with so much emotion and anger. Especially considering how deeply I tend to take things to begin with.
Ilana wrote: "I was going to reply to your message when I finally saw it, which was ages after you posted it, but it was so long after that I thought it was almost pointless so long after the fact. Now that she's come out with another book, the anger is reignited and I thought I'd respond all the same to say I agree with everything you said."
It'd be too much to expect the author to apologize and stop the damage she has already caused.
I realized recently that Tattooist is part of a recommended, state approved list of books for students in my country. I sent an e-mail with the link.
I don't think I'll get a reply...but I had to let them know that this is not exactly a book that should be recommended by those in charge of educating children and young people.
It'd be too much to expect the author to apologize and stop the damage she has already caused.
I realized recently that Tattooist is part of a recommended, state approved list of books for students in my country. I sent an e-mail with the link.
I don't think I'll get a reply...but I had to let them know that this is not exactly a book that should be recommended by those in charge of educating children and young people.
Nocturnalux wrote: "Ilana wrote: "I was going to reply to your message when I finally saw it, which was ages after you posted it, but it was so long after that I thought it was almost pointless so long after the fact...."
Why should she apologize?! She thinks she's done a good thing, and most people think that when something sells it's a measure of excellence. Why else would she write a follow-up?! After all, many people defend 50 Shades of Grey saying it's an excellent series based on the fact it's sold millions. But then, people are morons. That's not exactly news.
Unbelievable they're using this book as a teaching tool! Good for you for writing, but OMG! 😱😱😱
Why should she apologize?! She thinks she's done a good thing, and most people think that when something sells it's a measure of excellence. Why else would she write a follow-up?! After all, many people defend 50 Shades of Grey saying it's an excellent series based on the fact it's sold millions. But then, people are morons. That's not exactly news.
Unbelievable they're using this book as a teaching tool! Good for you for writing, but OMG! 😱😱😱
You're right, she would only apologize if her intentions were honest.
This sequel is very much a cash grab and another wink at Hollywood. It's a matter of time until this gets turned into a movie, which will compound the problem and reiterate the crime against historical accuracy that this author has unleashed on the world.
This is genuinely scary in that millions upon millions of readers absolutely loved this. Reviews are almost always overwhelmingly positive.
This sequel is very much a cash grab and another wink at Hollywood. It's a matter of time until this gets turned into a movie, which will compound the problem and reiterate the crime against historical accuracy that this author has unleashed on the world.
This is genuinely scary in that millions upon millions of readers absolutely loved this. Reviews are almost always overwhelmingly positive.
It's a shame so many common books become bestsellers and the best ones stay on shelves. But there is still hope, the ratings are less than the ones of Anna Frank and Man's Search for Meaning.
Ilana wrote: "Terence M wrote: "A very heartfelt review, Ilana."
It couldn't be any other way Terence. This hits too close to home. The exposure and teachings (and trauma) about the Holocaust I had from a young..."
I had never intended to read the book, Ilana, but I have noticed she has received some pretty critical press comments in Australia over recent times.
I have my own connection to WW2, but not through the Holocaust. I was seven months old when HMAS* Sydney was sunk by the disguised German raider Kormoran in November 1941, off the coast of Western Australia. All 645 Australian naval personnel on board, including my father, were killed.
*His Majesty's Australian Ship
It couldn't be any other way Terence. This hits too close to home. The exposure and teachings (and trauma) about the Holocaust I had from a young..."
I had never intended to read the book, Ilana, but I have noticed she has received some pretty critical press comments in Australia over recent times.
I have my own connection to WW2, but not through the Holocaust. I was seven months old when HMAS* Sydney was sunk by the disguised German raider Kormoran in November 1941, off the coast of Western Australia. All 645 Australian naval personnel on board, including my father, were killed.
*His Majesty's Australian Ship
Wow. This one has been getting a lot of buzz, but for some reason, I was put off by it and never got around to it. I didn't realize that Cilka's Journey was by the same author. Kind of sick to make a career on Holocaust romance. News flash: Love does NOT conquer all in a sick society. And it sounds like she somewhat empathizes with the non-Jewish characters rather than those who are suffering. Not my cup of tea. Thanks for the warning.
I share your distaste for using the holocaust as a cheap way to create emotional resonance or as a background for a nice romance.
Nocturnalux: this is probably an extreme statement and some will say it is a completely unfair comparison but in my defense I will say that you can’t control feelings. But I feel as horrible about the mega hit bestselling of this piece of mind worm as I do about 50 Shades of Grey. Both are deeply damaging for different reasons altogether, but with such huge consequences that I am made unwell to my bones about it. The same way I was when tRump was ever on television and then on The Apprentice. I didn’t predict a presidency, but I knew it would lead to something terrible. Socially, we’re in a total mess. There’s no up nor down. It’s up to each person to find their center and hold on to it. Which is why I completely condemn this as garbage and the REAL false news. You don’t romanticize a death camp. You just fucking don’t.
I am, probably fortunately, not that well acquainted with 50 Shades. I read snippets of atrocious prose but that is about all I know of it.
Ilana wrote: "You don’t romanticize a death camp. You just fucking don’t."
Yes, this. I read somewhere a definition of Auschwitz as 'the worst place on Earth' and that is precisely what it was. Other horrors match it- if not in scope then at least in spirit, Unit 731 immediately comes to mind- but none can outdo it.
By definition, a death camp is the utter collapse of humanity. Any attempt at minimizing the full extent of such a collapse is an insult to those who suffered there and their families.
Any book on the subject must be difficult to read. Even when written by a survivor, or concerning a survivor, it has to thrust the reader into a world of brutal suffering and daily dehumanization.
If readers would rather not handle such things then they should not read about them. Tailoring Auschwitz into a fluffy love story because people just cannot handle the living skeletons in their millions is so, so wrong that I cannot even understand how anyone would be okay with it.
Ilana wrote: "You don’t romanticize a death camp. You just fucking don’t."
Yes, this. I read somewhere a definition of Auschwitz as 'the worst place on Earth' and that is precisely what it was. Other horrors match it- if not in scope then at least in spirit, Unit 731 immediately comes to mind- but none can outdo it.
By definition, a death camp is the utter collapse of humanity. Any attempt at minimizing the full extent of such a collapse is an insult to those who suffered there and their families.
Any book on the subject must be difficult to read. Even when written by a survivor, or concerning a survivor, it has to thrust the reader into a world of brutal suffering and daily dehumanization.
If readers would rather not handle such things then they should not read about them. Tailoring Auschwitz into a fluffy love story because people just cannot handle the living skeletons in their millions is so, so wrong that I cannot even understand how anyone would be okay with it.
Ilana wrote: "There’s no up nor down. It’s up to each person to find their center and hold on to it. Which is why I completely condemn this as garbage and the REAL false news. You don’t romanticize a death camp. You just fucking don’t. ..."
I'm with you on this matter, my friend🤙!
I'm with you on this matter, my friend🤙!
Wow that is one he'll of a compelling review - probably makes me more interested to review it to see if I agree - great review!
Terence, I’m terribly sorry to hear about what happened to your father and his comrades on that ship. That’s a very sad legacy to have grown up with. 😥
Tatevik: isn’t it always the case that bestselling ANYTHING is for the most part sub-par and the true quality is left to languish? Not always. Of course we have our classics and there are plenty of exceptions but so many works of genius are languishing in piles of dust because the vast majority of people don’t have the capacity to appreciate them. Most people want fast-food. Cheap and easy and readily available. And if there’s a love interest it’s sure to sell better.
Deborah: anytime! I find is especially sick for a person who has no Jewish roots to speak of to be making oodles of cash out of Holocaust stories which are sentimental and false and expressly meant to be turned into movies. This first book was initially written as a movie script and only AFTER turned into a full-length novel. In my court of law, this woman would be jailed for high moral crimes. It just beggars belief. I wasn’t going to give this one the time of day because I was suspicious of the packaging. As someone who’s worked in design, advertising and publishing, I know full well book covers are designed to appeal to specific market segments and this one SCREAMS Romance. Normally when an audiobook shows up on OverDrive’s and I’m taken by the subject or I like the narrator (in this case Richard Armitage—a definite YES) I grab it right away, but I couldn’t bother to reserve it. Then Bianca suggested it, so I thought I should give it a chance. Which is how, once again, I had confirmation to ALWAYS follow my instincts. They are usually following a set of perfectly logical information gleaned from experience. Same instincts are telling me she didn’t learn her lesson with the second book and just wants to cash in on her success. I may have said this before, but Heather Morris’s name is DIRT to me. Filthy and disgusting.
Alison, I don’t know if this is idle wishing on my part, but I often find myself hoping there will be a swing of the pendulum and we will return to a time when people find worth in common decency again.
Noctornalux, excellent comment, once again. I want to respond more fully but will return to do so at another time. Hunger pangs calling me away!
Totally agree, Ilana. I have a lot of favourite books which reviews are less then even 1000 in Goodreads. And if I find a book with less then 200 reviews, I am buying it immediately!
I haven't read this book, but I have read the history of those times. I am glad I didn't read it. I get angry when authors distort history that much just to sell books.
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Terence M - [Quot libros, quam breve tempus!]
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Ilana wrote: "Terence, I’m terribly sorry to hear about what happened to your father and his comrades on that ship. That’s a very sad legacy to have grown up with. 😥"
Thank you, Ilana. The location of the wreck was unknown for 66 years until it was found in March 2008 after an extended search supported very strongly, and rightly, by the Australian Government, the Navy, and other interested parties, including the "Finding Sydney Foundation".
This was a momentous discovery for family, relatives and friends of the 645 seamen lost and I attended a number of memorial events, conducted by the Australian Government, which provided my family and me some sense of "closure", to use an overused, but relevant expression, for an event that occurred when I was just a babe in arms.
Thank you, Ilana. The location of the wreck was unknown for 66 years until it was found in March 2008 after an extended search supported very strongly, and rightly, by the Australian Government, the Navy, and other interested parties, including the "Finding Sydney Foundation".
This was a momentous discovery for family, relatives and friends of the 645 seamen lost and I attended a number of memorial events, conducted by the Australian Government, which provided my family and me some sense of "closure", to use an overused, but relevant expression, for an event that occurred when I was just a babe in arms.
I felt the same way when reading this book. I kept thinking, “how could all of these other people think this is so wonderful? Are we even reading the same book?!”
BAM, you’re certainly not alone. I always feel reassured when others tell me they felt this felt wrong to them too. The feedback on her second book is just as dire.
Patrick: I’m sure there are other reviewers who didn’t like this book either, but I feel like this thread is a little cell of resistance against the commercial success her Holocaust Porn is attracting.
Rosemarie, it’s upsetting enough that authors routinely distort history to fit their narrative constructs, but in a special category of indecency when the distortion also shows such lack of respect for millions of victims of genocide.
Terence, seems like I read your comment just a couple of days ago and meant to answer ASAP, and three weeks have flown by! I don’t have any notion of time passing. Possibly has something to do with sleeping some 12 hours a day.
Sounds like the discovery of the wreck and the memorial events that followed must’ve done a great many people quite a lot of good. I’m glad you were able to have that sense of closure. It’s not often we manage to get that, especially not in situations involving such huge losses. What a blessing!
Sounds like the discovery of the wreck and the memorial events that followed must’ve done a great many people quite a lot of good. I’m glad you were able to have that sense of closure. It’s not often we manage to get that, especially not in situations involving such huge losses. What a blessing!
Kimberly: “are we even reading the same book” is a question I often ask myself when reading any reviews, but in this case, the contrasting experiences are especially troubling. In the sense that this book ought to come with a warning about it being toxic waste. I wonder if the ratings would be quite so positive, then. 😐
Ilana wrote: "Terence, seems like I read your comment just a couple of days ago and meant to answer ASAP, and three weeks have flown by! I don’t have any notion of time passing. Possibly has something to do with..."
Thank you for your kind thoughts, Ilana😘!
Thank you for your kind thoughts, Ilana😘!
Yes, I gave this book only 2 stars. My review indicates why - but didnt fell the author paid enough time and attention to the real pain and suffering of the victims of these death camps, too much romance - was too light for the subject matter for me.