Cilka's Journey (The Tattooist of Auschwitz #2) by Heather Morris
Shelves: adult-fiction, better-than-expected, books-i-own, historical, lasting-impression, read, read-in-2020, realistic-fiction, really-good, series-or-companions
Description via Goodreads:
In this follow-up to The Tattooist of Auschwitz, the author tells the story, based on a true one, of a woman who survives Auschwitz, only to find herself locked away again.
Cilka Klein is 18 years old when Auschwitz-Birkenau is liberated by Soviet soldiers. But Cilka is one of the many women who is sentenced to a labor camp on charges of having helped the Nazis--with no consideration of the circumstances Cilka and women like her found themselves in as they struggled to survive. Once at the Vorkuta gulag in Siberia, where she is to serve her 15-year sentence, Cilka uses her wits, charm, and beauty to survive.
After really enjoying the first novel in this duo, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, I was impatient to start reading the follow-up story. I'm so thankful that I had a copy of Cilka's Journey ready to read and straight from the very first page, I devoured it.
Cilka's Journey follows one of the women that we briefly met in The Tattooist of Auschwitz, but this can also easily be read as a standalone book. This story, again a work of fiction but based on history, follows the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp and shows the fate of many of the prisoners afterwards. After escaping the control of the Nazis, Cilka immediately finds herself under the control of the Soviets and is sent to another labour camp, this time the Vorkuta gulag in Siberia.
Whilst the majority of people are aware of the true horrors of the Holocaust, many are less aware of the continuing horror for so many of the so-called 'liberated'. Personally, I didn't really know many details about the gulags before reading this book but after reading it I would definitely be keen to learn more about this period from a more factual source - the author certainly did a great job of peaking my interest and has brought awareness to such an important period of history. Whilst this is a book of fiction, there is definitely things to be learned from this book, if not only the true horror of man.
Morris does a fantastic job of setting the scene in Siberia and it's clear that her writing style has improved a lot since her first book. There is a much more appropriate, balanced amount of description and dialogue and I found myself submersed in the cold, dark nights of the camp - I really absorbed the atmosphere. The relationships between the characters also felt very tangible, there was strength in each personality and I enjoyed reading about each character and each situation. I particularly enjoyed reading about Cilka's time in nursing and both the challenges and rewards that this brought. The setting, the actions, the situations and the relationships in this book all conjured up a jumble of emotions - of both hope and, sadly, mostly of despair yet despite all of the tragedy and the torture, it really was hard to put this book down.
Cilka's Journey is a highly compelling, emotive story which shows both the potential malice of mankind as well as the strength. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone - whether you read it as a standalone or as a follow-up to The Tattooist of Auschwitz. Personally, I found this book to be superior due to both the writing and the story. This is a book that will stay with me for a very long time.
Great review. I also read this one and found it such a heartbreaking story.
ReplyDelete