The Tattooist of Auschwitz: A Novel

This story is based on interviews with Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew who was interred at Auschwitz. Mr. Sokolov was forced to tattoo the arms of thousands of prisoners with what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust. The book is a testament to the endurance of love and humanity under the darkest possible conditions.

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288 pages

Average rating: 7.9

1,417 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

Anonymous
May 04, 2025
8/10 stars
A beautiful true story. There are so many stories like this from World War II that will never be told. Not too deep (and probably not brutally honest) and fast to read.
maddiereads’96
Apr 22, 2025
8/10 stars
Read this at the same time I was watching the series on Stan. Very moving, eye opening. Full of hope and devastation in every way.
SunnE🌻
Apr 03, 2025
10/10 stars
I discovered this in a gift shop at the Long Beach airport. While I’m a bleeding heart for love stories, this is so much more than that. Gripping, deeply sad, maddening, beautiful, unreal, unshakable. I forgot multiple times that this wasn’t Heather’s story, but the retelling of someone else’s because she captured his emotions, feelings, perspective and personality so seamlessly that you can’t tell where his voice ends and her creativity polishes it over. Very grateful this one caught my eye and though it was emotional and painful in a way I’ll never fully know, I’m grateful I was able to bear witness to the power of love on this level. Read it.
aviationmet
Mar 31, 2025
8/10 stars
Listened to the audiobook in one day - starting out on the lawn mower and finishing with laundry. :)

An interesting story apparently based on the real life story and account of a holocaust survivor with a afterword by the son of that survivor. So interesting to hear how his parents' experiences in the camps shaped their parenting style of their only son. Beyond that, the book was another look into the different characters of WWII and the concentration camps - from the prisoners to the nazi guards to the civilian workers paid to help build the camps to the Russians. Fascinating - though this one didn't tug quite as hard at the heartstrings as some other novels of the time period have. Solid four stars and glad I listened to it today.
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Lebo
Mar 21, 2025
8/10 stars
Enjoyed this book very much, never been a history fanatic but this book got me curious to learn more about the Nazis and all

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