Review: Three Sisters (by Heather Morris)

My Rating:  3.5 stars

In her third novel, Heather Morris once again brings us a tale of tragedy, heartbreak, and survival through the story of Slovakian sisters Cibi, Magda, and Livi Meller.  When they were only a few years old, the three sisters made a promise to their father that they ended up keeping for the rest of their lives:  that the three of them would always take care of each other and watch out for one another no matter what happens in their lives. Several years later, their beloved father is dead, but the promise they made to him continues to live on.  When Livi, the youngest of the sisters at 15 years old, is ordered to Auschwitz, 19 year old Cibi decides to go with her.  Though Magda is spared due to being away while the Nazis make their rounds, she is captured a few years later and also sent to Auschwitz.  Together again, the sisters not only fulfill the promise to watch after each other, they also make another promise — the fierce will to live and survive the horrors of the camp, no matter what.   During the death march, the sisters are able to find a way to escape, but after they return home, they realize that their lives will never be the same.  

While I like the story and appreciate Morris's efforts in relaying the Meller sisters' experiences through each of their perspectives, I felt that the writing was bit too simplistic and oftentimes felt detached from the narrative.  I found it difficult to engage with the story on the emotional level that I was expecting to, primarily because the writing lacked depth and so the emotional scenes felt like they had less impact.  I don't know if what I'm conveying makes sense, but after having read both of Morris's previous novels (both of which had moved me deeply), I unfortunately didn't feel the same connection to this one, despite how much I wanted to.  The way some parts were written I felt bogged the story down, to the point that I actually ended up skimming some sections instead of actually reading each word like I normally would.  

Having said all that, I do appreciate what Morris tried to do here, which was to relay the sisters' courage and resilience in surviving the camps and rising above the tragedies they experienced to ultimately live full and flourishing lives.  This third book definitely has a more hopeful and uplifting tone than the previous two, which I also appreciated.  The sisters' story is amazing on its own merit and absolutely a must read, especially given how few Holocaust survivors remain who are willing to share their stories.  Despite the issues I had with the writing, I'm glad I got the chance to be introduced to the Meller sisters and no doubt I'll be seeking out more of their story on my own.

Received ARC from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley

Review: Cilka’s Journey (by Heather Morris)

My Rating: 4 stars

When I read The Tattooist of Auschwitz last year, I was blown away by Lale and Gita's incredible story and the harrowing ordeal they endured during their 3 years at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland.  As I mentioned in my review of that book, stories about the Holocaust continue to be extremely important given the world we live in – whether through fictionalized or non-fiction accounts, these are stories that absolutely need to be told, no matter how difficult and heartbreaking it may be to hear such unthinkable atrocities being recounted.  With Cilka's Journey, the sequel to The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Heather Morris gives us the story of Cecilia "Cilka" Klein, a woman we first met during Lale's recounting of his story, whom he described as "the bravest person [he] ever met" and whom he credited with saving his life.  When she was just sixteen years old, Cilka was forcibly separated from her family and sent to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp where, on the first day, she was immediately singled out for her beauty.  In order to stay alive, Cilka had no choice but to endure repeated sexual abuse from the Commandant (and other men in power), but what weighed on her soul the most was the role she was forced into --  the unspeakable role of being the one to send hundreds of women to their horrific deaths in the camp's gas chambers.  After suffering 3 years of pain and torture, freedom finally comes when the camp is liberated, but unfathomably not for Cilka, as she ends up being charged as a collaborator for "sleeping with the enemy" and sentenced to 15 years in a Siberian prison camp.  In the gulags, Cilka encounters horrors both new and familiar, once again finding herself at the center of unwanted attention despite her best efforts to go unnoticed.  Placed under such circumstances, Cilka must reach within herself to find the strength to not only survive, but also help others in the process.  In a narrative that jumps back and forth in time, between memories of her time at Auschwitz and the realities of her present situation, Cilka shows her remarkable will to endure and confront the daily terrors with courage.

Through Cilka's story, Morris once again presents us with an impactful tale of survival, resilience, and true love's ability to overcome hardship.  For someone so young to have to endure so much, it was heart-rending to read, yet at the same time, it humbled me and reminded me how much there truly is to be grateful for.  The Author's Note at the end of the book as well as the Afterword give keen insight into Cilka's real-life story and the conditions those interned in the camps were subjected to — both these narratives supplement the story and should not be missed. I'm keeping this review deliberately short, as this book is a necessary read as well as a timely one and it is my hope that more people will read it.  Thank you to Heather Morris for bringing us Cilka's story as well as that of Lale and Gita and helping us better understand this important piece of our society's history.

Received ARC from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley and direct from publisher.

Review: The Tattooist of Auschwitz (by Heather Morris)

My Rating:  4.5 stars

This was an incredible story, one that was extremely heartbreaking yet also hopeful and inspiring.  Based on the real-life experiences of Holocaust survivor Lale Sokolov, who wanted his story recorded prior to his death so that the harrowing events he went through "would never happen again", this is a fictionalized account of the 3 years he spent at the notorious Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland during World War II.    After being saved from sure death upon arriving at the camp, Lale becomes the tattooist responsible for marking each of his fellow prisoners' arms with the numbers used to identify them – a position that allowed more freedom and privileges than other prisoners though not immune to punishment and suffering.  Lale does the best he can to survive while also using his position to help others, whether it's sneaking food and medicine to other prisoners or helping to better the plight of others where he can.  In the process, he meets the love of his life, Gita, a fellow prisoner in the women's camp, and his devotion to her strengthens his resolve to survive the horrors in the hopes of building a future life together.  Lale's story is one of courage, resilience, unwavering resolve and endurance in the face of terrible suffering, loss, death, and the unimaginable horrors and atrocities that went on in those camps.  As is always the case when we read these types of stories, we will never truly understand what these survivors went through, the extent of the pain and suffering they had to endure at the hands of other human beings, the price they had to pay – physically, mentally, emotionally – for survival, but we can be grateful, we can read and remember, reach out and get these stories out there, hope and encourage one another to learn from history and prevent these horrors from ever being repeated.  In the years since that horrific time period, we have come a long way, yet in many ways, we also have haven't, which is why stories like these are SO IMPORTANT!

For me, the experience reading this book brought me back to the semester in high school when we studied the Holocaust in-depth in one of my history classes.  Despite the more than 2 decades that have passed, the memories came flooding back vividly as though it was just yesterday -- the memories of reading numerous stories and testimonies from survivors, watching countless interviews of survivors and their family members, reading and analyzing The Diary of Anne Frank, attending a special screening of Schindler's List back when the movie first came out, culminating our studies with a visit to the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles where we were given an immersive history lesson on the Holocaust and got to hear first-hand, several real-life survivors tell their stories.  The impact of those studies was powerful and I am grateful I went to a school that cared enough to truly educate and make learning about the Holocaust a necessary part of the regular class curriculum.   Sadly, these types of experiences in our schools are less and less common, and during a time when we as a society need it most, so it's good to see informative books such as this one help bridge the gap somewhat.

I don't think there is much else I can say except read this book (and definitely read the Author's Note in the back that explains how this book came to be)!  Lale's story is unforgettable and one that I know will stay with me for a long time to come!

Received ARC from Bonnier Publishing / Ecco via NetGalley