The Tattooist of Auschwitz: Volume 1

· Bolinda · Narrated by Richard Armitage
4.9
55 reviews
Audiobook
7 hr 26 min
Unabridged
Eligible
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About this audiobook

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.

Ratings and reviews

4.9
55 reviews
Harris Morrison
August 13, 2018
Enthralling book but quite a few little things which the author had added but would not have happened. This may be to simplify for read but a pernickity reader like me, saw (Penicillin in occupied Poland, Germans didn't have it). Those things aside, very readable book.
24 people found this review helpful
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Keira Cservak
May 11, 2024
One of the most moving, heartbreaking, captivating novels I have ever read. I will never forget this book
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Kathy Storer
September 19, 2020
Wow too the bravery and research that as made this one of the future greats...this should be in the library's of the world..given in schools..the subject would take too much ranting too fit..I wanted to just express my admiration too this work..this is harrowing. moving..heartbreaking ...But it's the most accurate truthful account at last....you will be so moved by this and the librarian. children's block that follow ...I hope this book is reaches everyone..congratulations...we thank you for your bravery..
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About the author

Heather Morris is an international number one bestselling author, who is passionate about stories of survival, resilience and hope. In 2003, while working in a large public hospital in Melbourne, Heather was introduced to an elderly gentleman who ‘might just have a story worth telling’. The day she met Lale Sokolov changed both their lives. Heather used Lale’s story as the basis for The Tattooist of Auschwitz, which has sold six million copies. Her follow-up novel, Cilka’s Journey, has sold more than a million copies worldwide.

Richard Armitage is an English actor and author who’s first leading role was in the BBC’s North & South. He best known for his role as dwarf king Thorin Oakenshield in Peter Jackson's film trilogy adaptation of The Hobbit, which brought him international recognition. He is a prolific audiobook narrator with credits such as The River’s Edge by Joy Ellis and Fiona McIntosh’s By By Baby, as well as author of bestselling thriller Geneva.

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