cilka's journey review

Review: CILKA’S JOURNEY by Heather Morris

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

CILKA’S JOURNEY Review

Cilka’s Journey by Heather Morris is the heart-wrenching story of Cilka Klein, who in 1942, at the age of sixteen, is sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp.  Cilka is a beautiful girl and her beauty catches the eye of some of the guards at the camp, who decide to separate her from her fellow prisoners.  By playing the role these men want her to play, Cilka manages to survive three years in the camp until it is liberated.  Unfortunately, young Cilka’s harrowing journey has just begun.  She is arrested by the Russians, charged as a collaborator for sleeping with the enemy (even though she had no choice in the matter) and is sent to prison for 15 years in Siberia.

While Cilka’s Journey itself is a work of historical fiction, it is based on a true story and as such is just all the more heartbreaking to read.  Cilka is an incredibly sympathetic character. I liked her immediately because of the way she nurtures some of the younger prisoners.  It’s clear that she is a victim of an unfair system and I found myself immediately rooting for her to find a way to survive.  In showing what happens to Cilka from the moment she is arrested, Morris does an incredible job of exposing the many wrongs that all prisoners, but especially female prisoners, faced.  The abuse is rampant, both physical and sexual, the conditions they are kept in are barbaric, and the treatment is inhumane, making the Russians appear, in many ways, not very different from the Nazis.

I thought the pacing of the novel was excellent too.  Because I was so invested in Cilka and worried for her well-being, I was just glued to the book to see how things would turn out for her.

Thankfully though, it’s not all doom and gloom.  Morris shows that there are a few bright spots in Cilka’s life in spite of her prison sentence.  Her cellmates become somewhat of a “found family” for her, and she even befriends a female doctor at the hospital where she has been assigned to do administrative work because of her language skills.  And while working at the hospital, she meets someone who inspires her to think about her future and what her life could possibly be like once she is finally free.  It was nice to have moments like these woven into what is otherwise one heartbreak after another.

With every page of Cilka’s Journey , Morris brings to life Cilka’s heart, her bravery, and her strength.  Her journey is filled with loss and grief, but also with resiliency and the will to live. And while Cilka’s Journey is a harrowing tale of survival, it is also ultimately a story of hope and love.

I didn’t realize when I requested Cilka’s Journey that it is a sequel to The Tattooist of Auschwitz , which I haven’t read yet.  Thankfully, however, it works quite well as a standalone and I highly recommend it to fans of historical fiction, especially from the WWII era.  It’s a powerful read, an emotional read, and one that will stick with you long after you’ve finished the last page.

GOODREADS SYNOPSIS: From the author of the multi-million copy bestseller, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, comes the new novel based on an incredible true story of love and resilience. Her beauty saved her life – and condemned her. Cilka is just sixteen years old when she is taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp, in 1942. The Commandant at Birkenau, Schwarzhuber, notices her long beautiful hair, and forces her separation from the other women prisoners. Cilka learns quickly that power, even unwillingly given, equals survival. After liberation, Cilka is charged as a collaborator for sleeping with the enemy and sent to Siberia. But what choice did she have? And where did the lines of morality lie for Cilka, who was sent to Auschwitz when still a child? In a Siberian prison camp, Cilka faces challenges both new and horribly familiar, including the unwanted attention of the guards. But when she makes an impression on a woman doctor, Cilka is taken under her wing. Cilka begins to tend to the ill in the camp, struggling to care for them under brutal conditions. Cilka finds endless resources within herself as she daily confronts death and faces terror. And when she nurses a man called Ivan, Cilka finds that despite everything that has happened to her, there is room in her heart for love.

About Heather Morris

Heather Morris is a Native of New Zealand now resident in Australia, working in a large public hospital in Melbourne. For several years she studied and wrote screenplays, one of which was optioned by an academy award winning Screenwriter in the U.S. In 2003, she was introduced to an elderly gentleman “who might just have a story worth telling”. She says the day she met Lale Sokolov changed her life, as their friendship grew and he embarked on a journey of self scrutiny, entrusting the inner most details of his life during the Holocaust. Morris originally wrote Lale’s story as a screenplay – which ranked high in international competitions – before reshaping it into her debut novel, The Tattooist of Auschwitz.

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I just read another glowing review of this book, and now I’m tempted to read this even though it’s not my usual genre. But I love emotional stories, so I’ll have to consider this one.

If you read it, I hope you enjoy it!

This sound like such a powerful story. How utterly cruel that she had to serve a prison sentence for what she endured in order to stay alive at Auschwitz. I already have this one on hold at the library and am looking forward to it.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it!

This sounds like such a powerful story! I haven’t read the first one yet, either.

I really want to go back and read the first one now!

This just showed up at my library today! Excellent review, Suzanne💜

Thank you for your insightful review, Suzanne. I haven’t yet read The Tattooist of Auschwitz, but I did wonder if this would stand alone. It sounds like a heartbreaking story. I look forward to reading it.

Yes, it definitely works as a standalone, although I do want to go back and read the first one just because this was so good.

I just finished The Tattooist of Auschwitz and WOW- what a powerful story. I was so intrigued by Cilka’s story, so I was looking forward to read her story as well. She just seems like a victim of circumstances, which is so horrible. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear to have been on Netgalley. Definitely want to read it though!

It was on Netgalley but I think it has already been archived unfortunately. I still need to go back and read The Tattooist of Auschwitz.

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CILKA'S JOURNEY

by Heather Morris ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2019

Though gripping, even moving at times, the novel doesn’t do justice to the solemn history from which it is drawn.

In this follow-up to the widely read The Tattooist of Auschwitz (2018), a young concentration camp survivor is sentenced to 15 years’ hard labor in a Russian gulag.

The novel begins with the liberation of Auschwitz by Soviet troops in 1945. In the camp, 16-year-old Cecilia "Cilka" Klein—one of the Jewish prisoners introduced in Tattooist —was forced to become the mistress of two Nazi commandants. The Russians accuse her of collaborating—they also think she might be a spy—and send her to the Vorkuta Gulag in Siberia. There, another nightmarish scenario unfolds: Cilka, now 18, and the other women in her hut are routinely raped at night by criminal-class prisoners with special “privileges”; by day, the near-starving women haul coal from the local mines in frigid weather. The narrative is intercut with Cilka’s grim memories of Auschwitz as well as her happier recollections of life with her parents and sister before the war. At Vorkuta, her lot improves when she starts work as a nurse trainee at the camp hospital under the supervision of a sympathetic woman doctor who tries to protect her. Cilka also begins to feel the stirrings of romantic love for Alexandr, a fellow prisoner. Though believing she is cursed, Cilka shows great courage and fortitude throughout: Indeed, her ability to endure trauma—as well her heroism in ministering to the sick and wounded—almost defies credulity. The novel is ostensibly based on a true story, but a central element in the book—Cilka’s sexual relationship with the SS officers—has been challenged by the Auschwitz Memorial Research Center and by the real Cilka’s stepson, who says it is false. As in Tattooist , the writing itself is workmanlike at best and often overwrought.

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-250-26570-8

Page Count: 352

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2019

RELIGIOUS FICTION | HISTORICAL FICTION

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More by Heather Morris

BOOK REVIEW

by Heather Morris

THE NIGHTINGALE

by Kristin Hannah ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 3, 2015

Still, a respectful and absorbing page-turner.

Hannah’s new novel is an homage to the extraordinary courage and endurance of Frenchwomen during World War II.

In 1995, an elderly unnamed widow is moving into an Oregon nursing home on the urging of her controlling son, Julien, a surgeon. This trajectory is interrupted when she receives an invitation to return to France to attend a ceremony honoring  passeurs : people who aided the escape of others during the war. Cut to spring, 1940: Viann has said goodbye to husband Antoine, who's off to hold the Maginot line against invading Germans. She returns to tending her small farm, Le Jardin, in the Loire Valley, teaching at the local school and coping with daughter Sophie’s adolescent rebellion. Soon, that world is upended: The Germans march into Paris and refugees flee south, overrunning Viann’s land. Her long-estranged younger sister, Isabelle, who has been kicked out of multiple convent schools, is sent to Le Jardin by Julien, their father in Paris, a drunken, decidedly unpaternal Great War veteran. As the depredations increase in the occupied zone—food rationing, systematic looting, and the billeting of a German officer, Capt. Beck, at Le Jardin—Isabelle’s outspokenness is a liability. She joins the Resistance, volunteering for dangerous duty: shepherding downed Allied airmen across the  Pyrenees to Spain. Code-named the Nightingale, Isabelle will rescue many before she's captured. Meanwhile, Viann’s journey from passive to active resistance is less dramatic but no less wrenching. Hannah vividly demonstrates how the Nazis, through starvation, intimidation and barbarity both casual and calculated, demoralized the French, engineering a community collapse that enabled the deportations and deaths of more than 70,000 Jews. Hannah’s proven storytelling skills are ideally suited to depicting such cataclysmic events, but her tendency to sentimentalize undermines the gravitas of this tale.

Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-312-57722-3

Page Count: 448

Review Posted Online: Nov. 19, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014

HISTORICAL FICTION | FAMILY LIFE & FRIENDSHIP

More by Kristin Hannah

by Kristin Hannah

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BOOK TO SCREEN

SEEN & HEARD

by Robert Harris ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 22, 2016

An illuminating read for anyone interested in the inner workings of the Catholic Church; for prelate-fiction superfans, it...

Harris, creator of grand, symphonic thrillers from Fatherland (1992) to An Officer and a Spy (2014), scores with a chamber piece of a novel set in the Vatican in the days after a fictional pope dies.

Fictional, yes, but the nameless pontiff has a lot in common with our own Francis: he’s famously humble, shunning the lavish Apostolic Palace for a small apartment, and he is committed to leading a church that engages with the world and its problems. In the aftermath of his sudden death, rumors circulate about the pope’s intention to fire certain cardinals. At the center of the action is Cardinal Lomeli, Dean of the College of Cardinals, whose job it is to manage the conclave that will elect a new pope. He believes it is also his duty to uncover what the pope knew before he died because some of the cardinals in question are in the running to succeed him. “In the running” is an apt phrase because, as described by Harris, the papal conclave is the ultimate political backroom—albeit a room, the Sistine Chapel, covered with Michelangelo frescoes. Vying for the papal crown are an African cardinal whom many want to see as the first black pope, a press-savvy Canadian, an Italian arch-conservative (think Cardinal Scalia), and an Italian liberal who wants to continue the late pope’s campaign to modernize the church. The novel glories in the ancient rituals that constitute the election process while still grounding that process in the real world: the Sistine Chapel is fitted with jamming devices to thwart electronic eavesdropping, and the pressure to act quickly is increased because “rumours that the pope is dead are already trending on social media.”

Pub Date: Nov. 22, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-451-49344-6

Page Count: 304

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: Sept. 6, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2016

GENERAL THRILLER & SUSPENSE | LITERARY FICTION | RELIGIOUS FICTION | SUSPENSE | SUSPENSE

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by Robert Harris

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Cilka’s Journey

Written by Heather Morris Review by Katie Stine

Cilka Klein was a real woman who endured not only Auschwitz but also the Russian gulag: two of the most brutal places of the 20 th century. We first met Cilka Klein in The Tattooist of Auschwitz , but one need not read the first in order to understand and appreciate Cilka’s Journey .

As a sixteen-year-old, Cilka was sent to Auschwitz, where she became the mistress of an SS commandant. Because she was Jewish, it “stained” the commandant to be with her, so she was kept out of sight at the bunkhouse where condemned women slept the night before the gas chamber.

After liberation, the Russian Army decided she had collaborated with her rapists. She was then condemned to fifteen years in the Soviet Vorkuta Corrective Labor camp, located nearly 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle, near the White Sea. It is at Vorkuta that the bulk of this story takes place, showing Cilka’s wit and strength, her fears and failures.

There are many stories about specific atrocities suffered by those in concentration camps and the gulag. What makes this novel worth the read is its clarity in showing the physical as well as psychological brutalities that women prisoners endured. Cilka Klein was sent to Auschwitz because she was Jewish. She was sent to the gulag because her oppressors found her desirable.

While reading a novel full of such horrific content can be upsetting, Cilka’s resilience keeps the reader hooked and hopeful. It isn’t a book of oppression and failure – this is a book of strength and compassion. This should be required reading for everyone.

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Book review: Cilka's Journey by Heather Morris

 Well hello to you my reader chums! Historical fiction-based books are one of my favourite as I love learning more about history, especially during wartime. I really enjoyed The Tattooist of Auschwitz , The Librarian of Auschwitz , and The Twins of Auschwitz that I couldn't wait to read Cilka's Journey as I've heard so many good things about the novel.

If you're looking for a new read and love learning more history, here is my full book review of Cilka's Journey .

This post contains affiliate links.

Cilka's Journey is a fiction based on the heartbreaking true story of Cilka Klein who was taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp at only 16 years old. When in the camp, Cilka catches the attention of Commandant Schwarzhuber and forces her separation from the other woman prisoners. From there, she really learns how power means survival and that she has to do anything she can to survive.

After the liberation of the camp, Cilka is then charged as a collaborator of the Russians and is sent to a labour and brutal prison camp in Siberia. An innocent and young woman who has been imprisoned once again, Cilka faces terribly familiar challenges and some scarily new ones as she figures out how to survive once more. But, when she meets a man called Aleksandr, she realises that there may be room for love in her heart.

Characters and relationships

Characters make up a story and in this book, it's the people which make it so heartbreaking, powerful, and emotional. Cilka is one of the most incredible people I've ever read about. Her strength, determination, and care for others are genuinely inspiring and even on the hardest of days, she puts others before herself. She experienced so much at a young age and somehow, she had the strength to keep going.

My favourite relationship in the book to read and learn more about is between Cilka and Josie. That's what I define as pure and true friendship. They go into the Siberian camp together, both young and scared women. Cilka takes Josie under her wing as it's Josie's first time in a camp and really cares for her, and the love and care between them grow - and it's so emotional to read.

Her connection with all the other girls in her hut makes my heart break, as really, they only have each other to get through each day and I really felt the devastation and heartbreak through the words in this book, I couldn't even imagine what they went through. Another relationship that I adore is between Cilka and Yelena, the doctor at the hospital. Cilka manages to get a job as a nurse in the hospital and Yelena looks out for Cilka from day one, despite her prisoner status as she sees the strength in her eyes and how she is a golden soul.

The relationship between Cilka and Aleksandr is one of the most hopeful things to read about and something that genuinely pulled at every one of my heartstrings.

Overall thoughts

Overall, I absolutely loved this book. It's one of the most heartbreaking, inspiring, and uplifting books I've ever read and tells a tale of the determination, strength, and courage of the young woman Cilka. As every page went on, it got even harder to read as I learnt more about how poorly the people in the camps were treated, in Auschwitz and in the Siberian camp. I cried a few times reading this book as I was honestly disgusted how badly Cilka, her friends, and everyone was treated during this period. I know from reading and learning about the camps, but it never does hit any differently, especially when reading about ordeals women went through in particular.

It's a brilliant read for education, for awareness and to learn more about an inspiring individual. I love how the book literally took us on the journey with Cilka and has the attitude there is always hope, as it's the only thing that gets Cilka through.

The ending was everything it should have been, full of hope and positivity. It made me smile as I came to the end of Cilka's journey as after all the hardship she went through, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. I also love how the author had a couple of sections when the story ended, sharing her process of researching and learning about Cilka's journey before writing it.

If you're looking to buy this book, you can pick up Cilka's Journey here .

I hope you enjoyed this review! Have you read this book before?

Thank you for reading <3

42 comments

Great review, I loved this book too and the tattooist of Auschwitz

Thank you xx

Cilka's Journey is an amazing book! I've read it twice already, along with the first one.

It really is! So glad you enjoyed it xx

This sounds like a powerfully evocative book about something truly heartbreaking but as you reviewed, with much hope too. I think I should read this book -- thank you for sharing!

It really is an incredible book xx

This book has been on my reading list for a while now. I need to read it. Thank you for sharing this review.

I hope you enjoy it x

This book sounds amazing. I really struggle to read/watch things about Auschwitz as it's just a devastating moment in history. All those poor people :( Corinne x www.skinnedcartree.com

It really is so devastating!

This sounds so emotionally powerful. I'd love to read it!x \ mia // https://beautiful-inspiring-creative-life.com/

I hope you enjoy it!!

This sounds wonderful - especially the friendship between the two young women Josie and Cilka, in such difficult circumstances. Thank you for sharing this review!

So incredible!

Oooh this sounds like a wonderful book sweetheart, definitely going to check this out! I have so many on my TBR list atm!

Thank you!!

This sounds like a very powerful read. I did no expect you to say the ending it positive because of the harrowing plot. Not my cup of tea genre-wise but very nice review x

This sounds like such a powerful book that will really educate readers as well! Great review :) https://www.femaleoriginal.com

Great review! This sounds like such an inspiring and interesting book! I love the sound of the friendships! Thank you for sharing this book!

Thank you so much xx

I like when the book put good names that makes the book more attractive. This seem interesting book to read!

It is so brilliant!

Oo, this book sounds wrenching and the kind of story to illicit a tear or two from me. It is the kind of wrenching I am open to, though, and I love that the story is grounded in reality and told so powerfully. Thanks for sharing an important read!

You'd really like it then!

I'm so glad the characters in this story make it what it is, as I love characters in books :) thanks for sharing, I've never heard of this one so I'll have to try it out x

I hope you like it!

I'm so glad this story was so layered but also that it ended the way you wanted it to. It makes me more inclined to read it myself, I can't face something too heartbreaking right now Rosie

Thank you x

Great review, I haven’t read this one or Tattooist but I’ve heard great things about them both. My mum really enjoys them and we have very similar taste in books, so I’m guessing I will too!

I hope you get the chance to read it!! xx

We haven't heard of this book, but we enjoyed the Tattooist. We'll have to give it a try.

Hey Della, this sounds like an incredible book, thank you for a great review. I've not really read much war books but this sounds like a great book, thank you for sharing! Alicia

This book is on my reading list! I knew I wanted to read it as The Tattooist of Auschwitz was so good. But I do like to read reviews and know that books are a good read before I buy!

I hope you like it xx

This is a great review. This book sounds really interesting and sad.

I have never heard of this book but you totally had me with this review! It sounds like a must read! x

Aw, this book sounds lovely! I love that little part where the main character finds room in her heart for love. xx Lynn | https://www.lynnmumbingmejia.com

Agree, this book is wonderful

Loved this, three sisters and the tattooist of Auschwitz - they're all really moving, heartbreaking and yes hopeful. Great review x

Thank you for reading my blog! I hope you enjoyed this post and found it helpful in anyway. I'd love to hear any feedback you may have.

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Book Review: Cilka’s Journey by Heather Morris

Cilka’s Journey by Heather Morris

St. martin’s press (october 1, 2019), historical wwii fiction/jewish literature & fiction.

The follow-up to  The Tattooist of Auschwitz,  Cilka’s Journey  is the story of Cilka’s Klein’s perseverance and strength of soul.

Her beauty saved her — and condemned her.

Cilka is just sixteen years old when she is taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp in 1942, where the commandant immediately notices how beautiful she is. Forcibly separated from the other women prisoners, Cilka learns quickly that power, even unwillingly taken, equals survival. When the war is over and the camp is liberated, freedom is not granted to Cilka: She is charged as a collaborator for sleeping with the enemy and sent to a Siberian prison camp. But did she really have a choice? And where do the lines of morality lie for Cilka, who was send to Auschwitz when she was still a child?

In Siberia, Cilka faces challenges both new and horribly familiar, including the unwanted attention of the guards. But when she meets a kind female doctor, Cilka is taken under her wing and begins to tend to the ill in the camp, struggling to care for them under brutal conditions. Confronting death and terror daily, Cilka discovers a strength she never knew she had. And when she begins to tentatively form bonds and relationships in this harsh, new reality, Cilka finds that despite everything that has happened to her, there is room in her heart for love. From child to woman, from woman to healer, Cilka’s journey illuminates the resilience of the human spirit—and the will we have to survive.

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“Staying Alive”

Heather Morris’s Cilka’s Journey is an insightful novel that deals with an issue little explored in fiction: the treatment of women in the Soviet Gulag. While Cilka’s Journey may be fiction, it is based on conversations with Lale Sokolov (the tattooist of Auschwitz) about Cilka, from others who knew her, and the authors impressive research. Cilka, a Czechoslovakian, was sent to Aushwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp for being a Jew. At liberation, she was wrongly convicted of working with the enemy. She was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor and sent directly to the Soviet gulag in Siberia.  She was fortunate to obtain work duty in a hospital under a brilliant doctor who was willing to share her knowledge, give her training, and opportunities. She and the other women in her prison “hut” battled for trust, hope, and survival. At the Gulag, she again finds herself in survival mode over ethics. She does what she has to do in order to live. I found myself fully immersed in this story, a subject I had very little knowledge of. Two weeks later, I’m still processing the story. Rich in history and woven with a mix of real-life and imagined incidents and characters, the story gives history a human face to the awful treatment of those imprisoned at the Gulag. The author did an excellent job of taking history and writing a novel that tells a dark tale, yet honors Cilka, and making it readable. This is a story that tells of a remarkable journey and needs to be read.

Note:  I have not read The Tattooist of Auschwitz which this is a follow-up to. Many have said to read that first, but I feel that Cilka’s Journey can be read as a stand-alone. I most definitely will read The Tattooist of Auschwitz in the near future, since Cilka’s Journey was an incredible read.

Read and Reviewed by Comfy Chair Books/Lisa Reigel (August 20, 2019)

ARC provided by St. Martin’s Press via Netgalley

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

HEATHER MORRIS is a native of New Zealand, now resident in Australia. For several years, while working in a large public hospital in Melbourne, she studied and wrote screenplays, one of which was optioned by an Academy Award-winning screenwriter in the US. In 2003, Heather was introduced to an elderly gentleman who ‘might just have a story worth telling’. The day she met Lale Sokolov changed both their lives. Their friendship grew and Lale embarked on a journey of self-scrutiny, entrusting the innermost details of his life during the Holocaust to her. Heather originally wrote Lale’s story as a screenplay – which ranked high in international competitions – before reshaping it into her debut novel,  The Tattooist of Auschwitz.

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• Literature & Fiction
• Genre Fiction

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Cilka's Journey: A Novel (Tattooist of Auschwitz, 2) Hardcover – Illustrated, October 1, 2019

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From the author of the multi-million copy bestseller The Tattooist of Auschwitz comes a new novel based on a riveting true story of love and resilience. Her beauty saved her ― and condemned her. Cilka is just sixteen years old when she is taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp in 1942, where the commandant immediately notices how beautiful she is. Forcibly separated from the other women prisoners, Cilka learns quickly that power, even unwillingly taken, equals survival. When the war is over and the camp is liberated, freedom is not granted to Cilka: She is charged as a collaborator for sleeping with the enemy and sent to a Siberian prison camp. But did she really have a choice? And where do the lines of morality lie for Cilka, who was send to Auschwitz when she was still a child? In Siberia, Cilka faces challenges both new and horribly familiar, including the unwanted attention of the guards. But when she meets a kind female doctor, Cilka is taken under her wing and begins to tend to the ill in the camp, struggling to care for them under brutal conditions. Confronting death and terror daily, Cilka discovers a strength she never knew she had. And when she begins to tentatively form bonds and relationships in this harsh, new reality, Cilka finds that despite everything that has happened to her, there is room in her heart for love. From child to woman, from woman to healer, Cilka's journey illuminates the resilience of the human spirit―and the will we have to survive.

• Book 2 of 3 Tattooist of Auschwitz
• Print length 352 pages
• Language English
• Publisher St. Martin's Press
• Publication date October 1, 2019
• Dimensions 6.18 x 1.19 x 9.48 inches
• ISBN-10 1250265703
• ISBN-13 978-1250265708
• See all details

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Editorial Reviews

Praise for Cilka's Journey : “Cilka’s Journey gives a memorable portrait of the minutiae of women’s lives in the gulag. Morris has a fine eye for the way they managed their meagre food supplies, pulled threads from their bedding to use in sewing, or strips from blankets to make eye masks so they could sleep in the White Nights, when the sun never set ― and even helped each other give birth.” ―The Jewish Chronicle “[An] incredible story of bravery and love.” ―Library Journal, Starred Review “In the stirring follow-up to The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Morris tells the story of a woman who survives Auschwitz, only to find herself locked away again. Morris’s propulsive tale shows the goodness that can be found even inside the gulag.” ―Publishers Weekly “Although the subject matter is dark, this is an inspiring and ultimately uplifting story of strength and survival.” ―Good Housekeeping (UK) Praise for The Tattooist of Auschwitz: “Based on a true story, the wrenching yet riveting tale of Lale’s determination to survive the camp with Gita is a moving testament to the power of kindness, ingenuity, and hope.” ― People “ The Tattooist of Auschwitz is the story of hope and survival against incredible odds and the power of love. ” ― PopSugar “ The Tattooist of Auschwitz is an extraordinary document ..I find it hard to imagine anyone who would not be drawn in, confronted and moved. I would recommend it unreservedly to anyone , whether they’d read a hundred Holocaust stories or none.” ―Graeme Simsion, internationally-bestselling author of The Rosie Project

About the Author

Product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Press; Illustrated edition (October 1, 2019)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250265703
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250265708
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.15 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.18 x 1.19 x 9.48 inches
• #202 in Historical World War II Fiction (Books)
• #269 in Jewish Literature & Fiction
• #598 in World War II Historical Fiction (Books)

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My REVIEW and RATING of this historical fiction novel!

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Cilka's Journey: The sequel to The Tattooist of Auschwitz

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About the author

Heather morris.

Heather Morris is a native of New Zealand, now resident in Australia. For several years, while working in a large public hospital in Melbourne, she studied and wrote screenplays, one of which was optioned by an Academy Award-winning screenwriter in the US. In 2003, Heather was introduced to an elderly gentleman who ‘might just have a story worth telling’. The day she met Lale Sokolov changed both their lives. Their friendship grew and Lale embarked on a journey of self-scrutiny, entrusting the innermost details of his life during the Holocaust to her. Heather originally wrote Lale’s story as a screenplay – which ranked high in international competitions – before reshaping it into her debut novel, The Tattooist of Auschwitz.

Customer reviews

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• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 1 star 74% 21% 4% 1% 1% 1%

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Customers say

Customers find the story interesting, memorable, and fascinating. They praise the writing quality as well-written and excellent. Readers describe the story as heartbreaking, sad, and illuminating. They say it's an excellent book worth reading and buying. Customers also mention the characters are well-developed and interesting.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Customers find the story interesting, well-told, and memorable. They describe the book as an excellent read, with an intense and heart-wrenching history. Readers also mention it's an amazing story of survival in a horrible situation.

" I really enjoyed the book . It was a book club choice and look forward to hear how others felt about the book." Read more

"This is a carefully researched account of a young woman’s time in German and then Russian prison camps. Second World War and after...." Read more

" Entertaining story , well written hand I interesting to read. Would recommend to anyone interested in that time frame.thought provoking" Read more

"...She endures and is able to grow. This is a hard read , but one that will stay in my heart for a long time" Read more

Customers find the writing quality of the book well-written, excellent, and riveting. They also say it's emotional.

"Entertaining story, well written hand I interesting to read. Would recommend to anyone interested in that time frame.thought provoking" Read more

"...Just great writing all around ." Read more

"...Many times I was dismayed because writing was so descriptive it brought the scenes to life in my head...." Read more

"Very interesting book and well written ." Read more

Customers find the book to be a testament to strength, hope, and constant survival. They say it's beautifully written and a true story of love and resilience.

"...Her story is touching filled with challenges and constant survival . By the end of the book I too agreed she was the strongest of people." Read more

"...Cilka, a teenager, is a very strong willed person . The compassion she has is genuine and out of character in a place of hell she resided in...." Read more

"... Power of strength & friendshipAnother wonderful read" Read more

"...Heather another powerful book !!!" Read more

Customers find the story heartbreaking, sad, and emotional. They describe it as a reminder of the past, beautiful yet tragic life, and an emotional story. Readers also mention the book is horrifying and educational.

"Such an emotional gut wrenching read . I love all of these books, especially reading about the journeys and survival of so many wonderful people." Read more

"...This will make you cry and laugh , sometimes some times simultaneously...." Read more

"This story was just as inspiring and heartbreaking as the first . I want to know more about everyone...." Read more

"...Wow, what an upsetting, sad, traumatic and true story. I'd forgotten that The Tattoist of Auschwitz was a true story, as is Cilka's Journey...." Read more

Customers find the book wonderful, excellent, and worth buying. They say it's a worthwhile effort and an amazing account of humans.

"I bought this book used for a very good price . It is in excellent condition. It's just like new!!" Read more

" Excellent book absolutely worth reading . I love it." Read more

"...Definitely worth the read ." Read more

" Excellent product . Very pleased. Great read." Read more

Customers find the characters well-developed, interesting, and hard to put down. They also appreciate the determination and grit of the main character. Readers say the book is based on a real life person.

"...Heather Morris does an excellent job of portraying the Jewess , Cilka, the closed-off woman, who protects her soul and her sanity at all costs, as..." Read more

"...I thought the book had great characters ." Read more

"...The characters all have full , rich back stories and none of these ring false...." Read more

"...Heather Morris is an outstanding writer, with such passion for her characters , that you won't easily forget them." Read more

Customers find the pacing of the book incredibly moving, riveting, and exciting. They say it holds their attention and touches their hearts.

"it was written very well and held my attention " Read more

"Heather Morris has outdone herself with yet another poignant and moving novel that I just couldn't put down...." Read more

"One of the best books I’ve read in a long time. Moving and sensitive with someone who was a young girl imprisoned in the camps." Read more

"...book of fiction with bits of truth mixed in but I still found it incredibly moving and educational...." Read more

Customers find the book descriptive, detailed, and eye-opening. They also say it's a great follow-up to The Tattooist of Aushwitz. However, some readers find the story surreal, disappointing, and upsetting in parts.

"...This book is filled with pain and at times was very hard to continue to read. But, I’m so thankful I pressed on reading...." Read more

"...Her story is touching filled with challenges and constant survival. By the end of the book I too agreed she was the strongest of people." Read more

"...questions, and more that made the ending very frustrating and unsatisfying ...." Read more

"...The writing moves smoothly, you can clearly picture the scenes in your mind. Just great writing all around." Read more

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