The Tattooist of Auschwitz

A Novel

By: Heather Morris

Narrated by: Richard Armitage

#1 New York Times Bestseller and #1 International Bestseller • Now a Peacock Original Series starring Harvey Keitel and Melanie Lynskey

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.

“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-bestselling author of The Rosie Project

In April 1942, Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, is forcibly transported to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. When his captors discover that 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 over 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 re-creation 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Beautiful

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