Rating: 5 out of 5

Just like its predecessor, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, this book is beautifully written. The characters feel so engaging and alive; I was completely pulled into their world. The skill of the writing is that it isn’t hard to read, even though the subject is tough. The focus stays firmly on the relationships between people, rather than purely on the atrocities happening around them.

I had to take a moment after finishing it to read the afterword and the explanations at the very end. I wanted to find out what was fact, what was fiction, and what lay somewhere in between. It made the whole story feel even more powerful.

I rooted for Cilka. I wanted her to survive. I wanted her to somehow stay strong and keep that incredible bravery, despite everything she was put through. It’s hard to imagine enduring that kind of suffering.

I knew so little about the gulags before this. It’s yet another horrific system of forced labour in history. It just reminds you of how truly cruel humans can be.

Originally posted to my Goodreads account