Although the literary beginnings of Heather morris were the most recurrent (her work "The Tattooist of Auschwitz" sounds like titles copied changing by: photographer of..., pianist of..., or waitress of..., like hackneyed testimonies of the hecatomb), Morris finally ended up uncovering herself as an author in search of the exceptional even in such common scenarios. Because her plots contain a raging truth of those dark days.
When one writes a book on a subject as horrifying as the Nazi death camps, a metaphorical, even humanistic intention can be guessed, like the one that arises when visiting Auschwitz, Mautthausen or any of those other places where there still seems to be a scent impregnated with smoke within its walls. From that specific intention, narrative successes appear like that of that boy in the striped pajamas, of John boyne, or so many others ...
But it is that Morris seems to make Auschwitz a narrative foundation, a unique setting from which to erect human aspects subjected to the deformity of those horrors that end up awakening a special sensation of humanity by contrast. An intention or will to distill what remains of human in its best possible meaning, among the shadows of what is also human, however ominous it may seem to us from the XNUMXst century.
Top 3 Recommended Heather Morris Novels
The Auschwitz tattoo artist
In such ignominious spaces and in a time as gray as Nazism, each life suspended at the mercy of arms or gas chambers surpasses the most tragic notion of the romantic until it takes on a Dantesque look ...
Acclaimed by critics and thousands of readers, The Auschwitz tattoo artist is a novel based on the great true story of Lale and Gita Sokolov, two Slovak Jews who managed, against all odds, to survive the Holocaust.
When Lale Sokolov arrived at Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1942 he became the tattoo artist of the camp. His job is to write numbers in permanent ink on the arms of the prisoners, creating what will become one of the most powerful symbols of the Holocaust. In the waiting crowd, Lale sees a terrified and trembling girl waiting for her turn.
It's love at first sight for him, and he decides that he's going to do everything in his power to help them both survive the horror. Thus begins one of the most courageous, unforgettable and humane accounts of the Holocaust: the love story of the Auschwitz tattoo artist.
Cilka's journey
1942. Cilka Klein is only sixteen years old when she is transferred to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where she immediately draws the attention of Major Schwarzhuber. You will soon learn that unwanted power helps you stay alive. But after liberation she is accused by the brutal Soviet police of collaborating with the Nazis and will be severely punished for this with a sentence of fifteen years of forced labor in Siberia.
Thus, for the second time in three years, Cilka finds herself crammed into a cattle train that will transport her to the gulag of Vorkutá, where she will face new obstacles and others that are horribly familiar, making everyday life a struggle for survive.
Based on the true story of Cilka Klein, this novel is a powerful testimony to the triumph of human will, the importance of friendship, and the value of hope and love as weapons for survival.
The three sisters
The last story in the Auschwitz series. Perhaps the most chilling testimony where the bonds of brotherhood serve to overcome hells only approachable from absolute self-denial when hope for one's own life ends up being lost.
When they are children, Cibi, Magda and Livia promise their father that they will always stay together, no matter what happens. Years later, at just 15 years old, the Nazis send Livia to go to Auschwitz and Cibi, who is only 19 years old, lives up to the promise and follows her sister, determined to protect her or die with her. Together they fight to survive. Magda, 17 years old, manages to hide for a while, but is finally also captured and transported to the death camp. The three sisters will meet again at Auschwitz-Birkenau and there, remembering their father, they make a new promise, this time to each other: they will survive.
Other interesting books by Heather Morris
stories of hope
Based on Heather Morris's narrative background, a volume of stories like this can only be understood as that transforming intention based on experiences. Stripped of previous more extreme contexts, yes, Heather presents us with characters stripped from the skin inwards. Her determination to aim at the soul prepares us to receive secrets, confessions and soliloquies from protagonists finally willing to tell their truth.
The Auschwitz Tattoo Artist has become one of the best-selling books of our times, a contemporary classic. Stories of Hope is your essential companion, and in it Heather Morris offers us an inspiring manual for our lives, with exciting accounts of the people she has met, the incredible stories they have shared with the author, and the lessons they teach us all.
Morris explores his extraordinary talent as a listener, a skill he employed when he met Lale Sokolov, the Auschwitz-Birkenau tattoo artist and the inspiration for his most celebrated novel. The author shares the story behind her writing journey and her life experiences, including her deep friendship with Lale, and explores how she learned to listen to the stories told to her by those who reached out to her, skills she considers essential and who believes that we all can, and should, learn.
