Paperback: 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 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 (2018) is also a testament to the endurance of love and humanity under the darkest possible conditions.
TV rights in Heather Morris’ bestselling novel The Tattooist of Auschwitz have been snapped up by Synchronicity Films for a multi-part, high-end international drama series. The plan is to broadcast in January 2020 to tie in with the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
Morris' next book, Cilka's Journey - a sequel to The Tattooist of Auschwitz - will be published on 3 October 2019.
About the author: Heather Morris was born in Te Awamutu, New Zealand, educated at Pirongia Primary School and Te Awamutu College. In 1971, she moved to Melbourne, Australia. In 1975, she and her husband returned to New Zealand, living in Christchurch. She commenced a BA degree at Canterbury University (NZ) in 1986 before moving back to Melbourne in 1987. She completed her BA at Monash University in 1991. In 1995, she began work in the Social Work Department at Monash Medical Centre in Melbourne where she stayed until 2017. In 1996, she decided to follow her passion for storytelling and enrolled in The Professional Scriptwriting Course through the Australian College of Journalism. Heather attended many screenwriting courses, seminars and workshops in both Australia and the US. Her first screenplay was optioned by Academy Award winning writer Pamela Wallace (Witness).
In 2003 she was introduced to Lale Sokolov and subsequently wrote The Tattooist as a screenplay.
The Tattooist was optioned by Instinct Entertainment (Melbourne). When the option lapsed, Heather entered it into several international screenwriting competitions, winning the International Independent Film Awards competition in 2016 and highly placing in several others, including the ISA (International Screenwriters’ Association) and Final Draft competitions.
Inspired by the comments from competition readers, Heather embarked on a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to self-publish her story as a novel. Through this venture, she came to the attention of Angela Meyer at Echo (Bonnier Publishing Australia) in Melbourne.
Rating: 4/5
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