This sequel to The Tattooist of Auschwitz (bwl 89) is loosely based on a Holocaust survivor and her time in a Russian gulag. Her family have disowned it as a distortion of the truth. It's a pity, perhaps, the author used the name of a real person who did survive, but differently. Nevertheless, it is a compelling read and indictment of the terrible things humans do to each other. True 16-year old Cilka would do anything to survive but would we have been any better?
(Jenny Baker - bwl 97 Summer 2020 ) |
