⭐️ ⭐️

The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

Overrated among the company of other greats.

(I hate my review of this book. I explain why at the end.)

Historical Fiction has had a VERY good track record lately, especially when it comes to WWII: Beneath a Scarlet Sky, The Alice Network, All the Light We Cannot See, The Nightingale, and probably many more that aren't coming to mind right now.

Typically when something is among other greats of the same nature, it tends to get overlooked and underrated. Think James White on the Patriots, or if you need a book reference, think of the ocean that is YA dystopia and how many have gotten overshadowed. Interestingly, The Tattooist of Auschwitz has achieved the opposite, and (for me at least) has stood out as subpar when compared to its predecessors of the same genre.

It seems to me that these other books have created an idea that historical fiction novels are inherently great, with deep, emotional tales of human endeavors and what it truly means to be free and experience life. Well, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, plain and simple, falls short of this standard.

Now don’t get me wrong, I have the utmost respect for the true story behind this book. But I also feel that, as a novel, it is overrated BECAUSE of the appreciation people have for its true story.

Take away that true story and the real people, and the book, in and of itself, on its own merits, does not live up to the quality that I’ve come to expect of this genre.

Now it is very possible that I have been spoiled by these other great books. A "victim of the moment" so-to-speak, having read one great historical fiction novel after another over the past couple years.

That being said, The Tattooist of Auschwitz is, by no means, a bad book. Lale’s story is incredibly heart wrenching and heartwarming at the same time, and is an incredible tale of how love can endure even the darkest of times.

Perhaps it’s the scope of the book. It’s narrow focus on a singular person and personal hardships. That’s ok, but I’m often also interested in the external factors. The world around them. The guards, their food, their labor, who runs the camp, the shifting state of the war. No doubt these had an impact on Lale, but are rarely ever explored.

This is probably my least favorite review I’ve done so far. Not the book (I’ve read a lot worse), but my review. I’m not a fan of reviews that compare the product to other products, instead of judging it on its own merits and taking into account that it’s not trying to be like those other products. My problem was, as I was reading, it’s all I could think about. How great these other books were, and how this just didn’t have the same feel to it. I will admit, this skewed my expectations for The Tattooist of Auschwitz, and ultimately affected my review. Being aware of that, I gave it the benefit of the doubt with a 3/5 instead of a 2/5.

(Yep, I just reviewed my review)