A devastating journey through Cilka's life
This work of historical fiction is one of the hardest things I have ever read. It’s full of suffering and darkness. Cilka has survived Auschwitz and can’t believe the day that the camp is liberated by the Russians. They start to interrogate the prisoners to see what role people played within the camps. Cilka is found guilty of having relations with the enemy because she was raped by German soldiers and is sentenced to 15 years in a gulag in Siberia to commence immediately. She is thrown on a train and so her battle for survival recommences again, but this time in the Arctic circle.
I read The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Morris and I was interested right away by Cilka’s Journey. Cilka was a character in The Tattooist and Morris based Cilka on a real woman that Lale knew, so I wanted to see how her story ended. It was extremely upsetting and full of jarring imagery. I can’t even believe what she had to endure after already surviving the concentration camp. I thought Morris did an excellent job depicting the gulag (Russian work camps) with accuracy and in depth. I had known little about this part of our dark human history before, so I was very interested to learn. I found the dialogue and the character development to be a little flat, but the concept was so new to me I couldn’t put it down. Trigger warnings for people who are bothered by sexual assault as it’s a recurring theme throughout the novel. Thank you to Heather Morris and Lale, who was able to share his story as well as Cilka’s.
I read The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Morris and I was interested right away by Cilka’s Journey. Cilka was a character in The Tattooist and Morris based Cilka on a real woman that Lale knew, so I wanted to see how her story ended. It was extremely upsetting and full of jarring imagery. I can’t even believe what she had to endure after already surviving the concentration camp. I thought Morris did an excellent job depicting the gulag (Russian work camps) with accuracy and in depth. I had known little about this part of our dark human history before, so I was very interested to learn. I found the dialogue and the character development to be a little flat, but the concept was so new to me I couldn’t put it down. Trigger warnings for people who are bothered by sexual assault as it’s a recurring theme throughout the novel. Thank you to Heather Morris and Lale, who was able to share his story as well as Cilka’s.