The Tattooist of Auschwitz

A Novel

By: Heather Morris

Narrated by: Richard Armitage

Length: 7 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

This beautiful, illuminating tale of hope and courage is based on interviews that were conducted with Holocaust survivor and Auschwitz-Birkenau tattooist Ludwig (Lale) Sokolov - an unforgettable love story in the midst of atrocity.

In April 1942, Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, is forcibly transported to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. When his captors discover he speaks several languages, he is put to work as a Tätowierer (the German word for "tattooist"), tasked with permanently marking his fellow prisoners.

Imprisoned for more than two and a half years, Lale witnesses horrific atrocities and barbarism - but also incredible acts of bravery and compassion. Risking his own life, he uses his privileged position to exchange jewels and money from murdered Jews for food to keep his fellow prisoners alive.

One day in July 1942, Lale, prisoner 32407, comforts a trembling young woman waiting in line to have the number 34902 tattooed onto her arm. Her name is Gita, and in that first encounter, Lale vows to somehow survive the camp and marry her.

A vivid, harrowing, and ultimately hopeful recreation of Lale Sokolov's experiences as the man who tattooed the arms of thousands of prisoners with what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust, The Tattooist of Auschwitz is also a testament to the endurance of love and humanity under the darkest possible conditions.

©2018 Heather Morris (P)2018 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Critic reviews

"Richard Armitage is a superb narrator whose performance here is among his best.... Armitage's performance captures every emotion from fear to trepidation to hope and even to love with understated warmth." (AudioFile)

"The audio version of this book is a particularly strong marriage of narrator and material. The British actor Richard Armitage uses an impressive variety of actorly tools as he shifts perspective.... He skillfully conveys the cruel, mocking tone that the SS officers and guards often used with prisoners as a way of reinforcing their power. Even when he isn't portraying a specific character, Armitage keeps the listener engaged and alert by modulating his tone, sometimes within individual sentences. At times it seems as if there are two narrators, so often, and ably, does Armitage vary his delivery.... [The author's] compassion for her characters, combined with Armitage's riveting delivery, makes this an immensely satisfying book to listen to, whatever else you might happen to be doing." (The New York Times Book Review)

"The Tattooist of Auschwitz is an extraordinary document, a story about the extremes of human behavior existing side by side: calculated brutality alongside impulsive and selfless acts of love. I find it hard to imagine anyone who would not be drawn in, confronted and moved. I would recommend it unreservedly to anyone, whether they’d read a hundred Holocaust stories or none." (Graeme Simsion, internationally best-selling author of The Rosie Project)

Beautiful

This books is so beautifully written and so wonderfully narrated. I strongly recommend this book!

Beautiful story but the narration is bad

This book tells a frightening, heartbreaking, beautiful, important story, but the recording is so weird. It frequently sounds as though two different people are taking turns reading sentences. I’ve never experienced this in an audio book, and I hope I never experience it again because it is unbelievably distracting.

Loved the story, hated the narration

As others have said, the narration and editing on this book is just awful. The voice changes often and mid sentence, which I assume is just bad editing. It is quite distracting.

Brilliantly written and moving!

I really enjoyed Lale's story. This is an amazing of being torn apart from your family, taken to work at the camps, using your skills to survive, and escaping to find your lost love. The narrator did a great job. There are part of his sentences where he switches between a young and old voice for no reason. This makes the story a little 'weird'. Overall, both voices are wonderful. The book ended a little too soon.

Perhaps the best book I’ll read all year

The writing and narration of this incredible true story are both phenomenal. Stop reading reviews and start reading this book. Every moment is captivating.
Perfect.

Amazing!

A riveting story, that kept me on the edge of my seat, with a great narrator!

Holocaust survivor

Although I’ve read many novels about the horrors of the holocaust, this is told from the point of view of a man who could be thought of as a collaborator but I believe his very great humanity and will to survive makes him a hero. And the love story embedded in the telling makes reading about the horrors bearable. I strongly recommend this book. The reader is excellent so it is an excellent listen

Heart wrenching!

This was a compelling story and a great narration. Don't ever let hate rule again!

Loved it!

Loved this story! An easy and engaging listen that I continue to think about after finishing. Highly Recommend!

Revealing and heartbreaking

This is an extraordinary account of the life and times in the world of Concentration Camps in the 40s.
I always knew bits and pieces of these times, but to fill in the details has been spellbinding.
A must read of this almost forgotten time in history!