Lynnie 
historical fiction
Apologies... I’m about to get really unpopular here, but The Tattooist of Auschwitz was... not good. I know that I am in the minority here as most people seem to have loved this story, but I was not one of them.
There is so much to learn about the Holocaust and I believe that personal stories of survival are crucial to our understanding. This book, the story of Lale and Gita, their meeting in Auschwitz-Birkenau, and their survival often felt disingenuous. This is “historical fiction” and I often wondered exactly how many liberties the author Morris took with their story because it just seemed unrealistic; it felt like Morris was trying to find a story that would make the events of Holocaust be okay. Ewww.
Do I believe that Lale had special privileges as the camp tattooist? Absolutely. But I do not, for an instant, believe that he had the freedom portrayed in this book- I just don’t. And honestly, it churned my stomach to read his character talk about enjoying himself and having happy days because it’s just so antithetical to every single other account from survivors I have ever read or listened to. There were a few times where I was utterly disgusted by his cavalier attitude.
Most of the characters were one-dimensional, as was the story, while the writing was often awkward and primitive. In a world where there is some truly outstanding, heartbreaking, and uplifting historical fiction and non-fiction about the Holocaust, I can’t recommend this book. If this were the only book you ever read about Auschwitz-Birkenau you might get the impression that things weren’t really that bad. I certainly believe that people met, created bonds, and even fell in love in the camps, but this kind of bizarre focus on a love story felt revisionist, dishonest, and gross.
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