Cilka's Journey by Heather Morris is the second in her series but could easily be read by itself. Rather than focusing on life at Auschwitz alone like many other historical novels, Morris' mainly narrates what happens to Cilka after leaving behind her terrible life at the concentration camp. Sadly, her pains did not stop there as she was sent to a gulag in Siberia as punishment for the perceived collusion with the enemy during her stay at Auschwitz. All throughout the story, there are flashbacks to her former imprisonment to help understand her feelings and fears related to the ups and downs at Vorkuta Gulag.
Once again, I was barely able to put down one of Morris' books until I made it all the way through. I feared and I cried, I laughed and I rejoiced right along with Cilka throughout most of the story. The only part that left me hanging somewhat was the ending as it felt very rushed to me. Morris shows once again that she has done her research for this book so while this is a fictional story, it is based on many facts of the real Cilka.
There are many, many historical fiction books to explain the horrors of the Holocaust to people today but finally, here is a book that shows that while the Nazis were thankfully stopped, this doesn't mean everything was improved for all the prisoners. There were still many people that went through pain and tragedy at the hands of a different kind of dictator.
Once again, I was barely able to put down one of Morris' books until I made it all the way through. I feared and I cried, I laughed and I rejoiced right along with Cilka throughout most of the story. The only part that left me hanging somewhat was the ending as it felt very rushed to me. Morris shows once again that she has done her research for this book so while this is a fictional story, it is based on many facts of the real Cilka.
There are many, many historical fiction books to explain the horrors of the Holocaust to people today but finally, here is a book that shows that while the Nazis were thankfully stopped, this doesn't mean everything was improved for all the prisoners. There were still many people that went through pain and tragedy at the hands of a different kind of dictator.