cilka's journey review

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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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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

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by Kristin Hannah

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THE TATTOOIST OF AUSCHWITZ

by Heather Morris ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 4, 2018

The writing is merely serviceable, and one can’t help but wish the author had found a way to present her material as...

An unlikely love story set amid the horrors of a Nazi death camp.

Based on real people and events, this debut novel follows Lale Sokolov, a young Slovakian Jew sent to Auschwitz in 1942. There, he assumes the heinous task of tattooing incoming Jewish prisoners with the dehumanizing numbers their SS captors use to identify them. When the Tätowierer, as he is called, meets fellow prisoner Gita Furman, 17, he is immediately smitten. Eventually, the attraction becomes mutual. Lale proves himself an operator, at once cagey and courageous: As the Tätowi erer, he is granted special privileges and manages to smuggle food to starving prisoners. Through female prisoners who catalog the belongings confiscated from fellow inmates, Lale gains access to jewels, which he trades to a pair of local villagers for chocolate, medicine, and other items. Meanwhile, despite overwhelming odds, Lale and Gita are able to meet privately from time to time and become lovers. In 1944, just ahead of the arrival of Russian troops, Lale and Gita separately leave the concentration camp and experience harrowingly close calls. Suffice it to say they both survive. To her credit, the author doesn’t flinch from describing the depravity of the SS in Auschwitz and the unimaginable suffering of their victims—no gauzy evasions here, as in Boy in the Striped Pajamas . She also manages to raise, if not really explore, some trickier issues—the guilt of those Jews, like the tattooist, who survived by doing the Nazis’ bidding, in a sense betraying their fellow Jews; and the complicity of those non-Jews, like the Slovaks in Lale’s hometown, who failed to come to the aid of their beleaguered countrymen.

Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018

ISBN: 978-0-06-279715-5

Page Count: 272

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: July 16, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018

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The Tattooist of Auschwitz #2

Cilka's journey, heather morris.

352 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2019

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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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Reading Ladies

Cilka’s journey: a review.

September 27, 2019

  Cilka’s Journey by Heather Morris

Genre/Categories: Historical Fiction, WW11, Holocaust, Jewish

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Thanks #netgalley #stmartinspress for the free e copy of #cilkasjourney by Heather Morris in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Cilka’s Journey is a companion read (or spin-off) of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and can be read as a stand-alone. Cilka was sent to Auschwitz when she was sixteen years old and because of her beauty, she was singled out to sleep with the Commandant. This assured her survival, but when she was liberated from Auschwitz, the Russians charged her with sleeping with the enemy and collaborating with them. Cilka tried explaining that she was forced into that impossible situation at sixteen and she certainly didn’t collaborate with them. Nevertheless, she was sentenced to fifteen years of hard labor and sent to Siberia. Above all else, Cilka is a survivor and at the camp, she gains the attention of a female doctor who takes Cilka under her wing and teaches her nursing skills. Even though conditions are brutal, Cilka finds a way to survive and even discovers that there is room in her damaged and broken heart for love.

My Thoughts:

Just when I think I will take a break from WW11 historical fiction, along comes another incredible read. If you read The Tattooist of Auschwitz , you will recognize certain characters as Cilka remembers (in flashbacks) her experiences and friendships with Lale and others while detained at Auschwitz. However, if you haven’t read Tattooist , Cilka’s Journey can be read as a stand-alone.

Memorable Character: Cilka’s beauty most likely saves her life, but it also puts her in a position to be noticed and used by powerful men. She survives continuous sexual abuse by shutting herself off from feeling anything (through disassociation) and allowing her mind to go into a blank and dark space. Cilka has a strong sense that no matter how difficult the circumstances, she will eventually survive. This doesn’t minimize the fact that she faces occasional periods of hopelessness and discouragement.  She has the strength, determination, and grit to pull herself through again and again and again. At one point she acknowledges that she is “exhausted by hope.” During the years she is used sexually by a powerful man, she meets a woman doctor whom she admires and trusts. This doctor helps Cilka gain some nursing skills and also offers Cilka hope and encouragement that her life will not always be like this. I loved the doctor and the risks she took to make a difference in Cilka’s life. I loved the trust that developed and the respectful way in which the doctor offered support to Cilka. It was the most beautiful and touching part of the story. Can you imagine surviving Auschwitz for years and then at your liberation facing another trial and further imprisonment? For a young girl to survive this, absolutely wrecked me.

The Writing: I read this engaging, pageturner in two days. For me, it was unputdownable. I have also read The Tattooist of Auschwitz , and it’s my opinion that the writing in Cilka’s Journey is stronger. The writing is also informative as I was unaware that some prisoners liberated from Auschwitz faced trials and additional punishment. Heather Morris did not interview Cilka the way she did Lale for the Tattooist of Auschwitz , but she did gather some first-hand accounts of Cilka from Lale and from a few neighbors and friends. The remainder of Cilka’s story is imagined from historical accounts of others in similar circumstances.

Themes: As in most WW11 histfic, there are powerful themes of hope, determination, grit, and survival. Other beautiful themes include finding love amidst the brutal conditions and building caring friendships in dangerous circumstances.

Recommended: I wholeheartedly recommend Cilka’s Journey for fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz , for readers who appreciate the themes found in WW11 histfic, for those who look for stories about inspirational and strong women, and for book clubs because of the various discussion topics.

***CW: WW11 atrocities

***This is my Review of the Month for the review collection on  LovelyAudiobooks.info

Find my full review of The Tattooist of Auschwitz here.

My Rating: 5 Stars

Cilka’s Journey Information

Meet 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.

Do you read WW11 historical fiction? Have you read The Tattooist of Auschwitz ?

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16 comments.

Fantastic review Carol!

Thanks Nicki! 👍😍

Cilka’s journey sounds so sad yet hopeful…it will be a great experience to read about this brave woman and how she manages to escape the dangers she faces.. I haven’t read The tattooist yet but your review makes me me want to read them both now! LOVELY, LOVELY REVIEW!!! 😍😍❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Thank you! The Tattooist is a bit lighter in tone as Lale is an extreme optimist. Cilka’s determination and hope is remarkable. These WW11 reads are difficult but it’s important to hear the stories! Thanks for commenting!

I totally agree! ❤️❤️

History is important;)

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Thanks for including my review of Cilka’s Journey!

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A lovely review!

Thanks Jennifer! 😍👍

[…] Full Review Here […]

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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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Submitting a book for review, write the editor, you are here:, cilka's journey.

• About the Book

From the author of the multi-million copy bestseller THE TATTOOIST OF AUSCHWITZ comes a new novel based on an incredible true story of love and resilience.

Her beauty saved her --- and condemned her. Cilka is just 16 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 stil 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.

Cilka's Journey by Heather Morris

• Publication Date: September 8, 2020
• Genres: Fiction , Historical Fiction
• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• ISBN-10: 125026569X
• ISBN-13: 9781250265692

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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A Journey of Words

Book review: cilka’s journey, cilka’s journey by heather morris my rating: 4 / 5 genre: historical fiction.

From a Nazi death camp to a Siberian gulag, we follow Cilka Klein, who was charged with spying for the enemy and conspiring, due to her role of senior officers’ mistress and death block leader in Auschwitz II-Birkenau. In the Russian prison camp, she faces 15 years of conditions not much better than they were in Auschwitz, plus the addition of frigid weather nearly year-round. She manages to stand apart yet again, but this time mostly because she shows herself to be a quick learner, which makes her valuable at the prison hospital.

This book is a sequel to The Tattooist of Auschwitz , but only in that Cilka is introduced in that first book, and some of the characters from the first book are brought up again in this one. I do recommend reading The Tattooist of Auschwitz first, for a more full experience, but you wouldn’t lose a lot if you didn’t. Click here to see my review of The Tattooist of Auschwitz.

I liked Cilka’s Journey a bit more than its predecessor, and I think that is because of the writing. I didn’t find it quite as stilted as in the first book. The subject matter is nearly as dark, especially since there are flashbacks to Cilka’s time at Birkenau, but we also get to see glimpses of her life before she went to the camp.

Cilka was very compassionate, even to her own detriment many times. I appreciated the way that her heart ached when a friend was hurt (physically or otherwise), or when a rift came between her and someone she cared about. She even managed to find a way to understand and forgive those who persecuted her, by acknowledging that they were simply trying to survive this place like she was. She may have been a bit on the Mary Sue side, somehow being the best at everything she did, but it wasn’t glaring.

There were a few events and situations that seemed unnecessary, or that were maybe only there to show again how wonderful Cilka was. I know that this book was even more fictionalized than The Tattooist of Auschwitz , with no first-hand account to draw from, so I did at times wonder how realistic certain things were.

In the end, it was a good read, and I would definitely recommend it to readers of historical fiction, especially of the WWII era.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to find something much lighter to read, especially since the book I had originally planned to read next ( Priceless by Joel & Luke Smallbone) also involves sexual abuse, and between these 2 books, I’ve had enough of that for a while.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me a copy of this book to review.  

Find out more about Cilka’s Journey Publication date: October 1, 2019

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If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

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Cilka’s Journey

Based on the heartbreaking true story of Cilka Klein,  Cilka’s Journey  is a million copy international bestseller and the sequel to the No.1 bestselling phenomenon,  The Tattooist of Auschwitz

‘She was the bravest person I ever met’ Lale Sokolov, The Tattooist of Auschwitz

In 1942 Cilka Klein is just sixteen years old when she is taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp. 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 by the Russians and sent to a desolate, brutal prison camp in Siberia known as Vorkuta, inside the Arctic Circle.

Innocent, but imprisoned once again, Cilka faces challenges both new and horribly familiar, each day a battle for survival. Cilka befriends a woman doctor, and learns to nurse the ill in the camp, struggling to care for them under unimaginable conditions. And when she tends to a man called Alexandr, Cilka finds that despite everything, there is room in her heart for love.

Based on what is known of Cilka Klein’s time in Auschwitz, and on the experience of women in Siberian prison camps,  Cilka’s Journey  is the breathtaking sequel to the internationally bestselling novel  The Tattooist of Auschwitz .

Cilka’s Journey  is a powerful testament to the triumph of the human will. It will move you to tears, but it will also leave you astonished and uplifted by one woman’s fierce determination to survive, against all odds.

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Cilka's Journey (Morris)

Cilka's Journey   Heather Morris, 2019 St. Martin's Press 352 pp. ISBN-13: 9781250265708 Summary 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. ( From the publisher .)

Author Bio • Birth—N/A • Where—Te Awamutu, New Zealand • Education—B.A., Monash University (Australia) • Currently—lives in Melbourne, Australia 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 . Morris's second novel, Cilka's Journey , came out in 2019. ( From the publisher .)

Book Reviews [F]ast-paced…, but the brisk speed often papers over a lack of emotional depth and character development. Cilka and those around her respond with a positivity that feels unnatural. Even so, Morris’s propulsive tale shows the goodness that can be found even inside the gulag. Publishers Weekly 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.… Though gripping, even moving at times, the novel doesn't do justice to the solemn history from which it is drawn. Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions 1. After reading the author’s note about her conversation with Lale Sokolov, the Tattooist of Auschwitz, did knowing that Cilka’s story is based on areal person change your reading experience? Does the author weave fact and realistic fiction into the story effectively? In what ways? 2. What drew you to this time period and novel? What can humanity still learn from this historical space—from the front lines of an infamous concentration camp to the brutal Russian Gulags? How was this story unique in its voice and characters? 3. Is Cilka’s prison sentence in Vorkuta as punishment for "sleeping with the enemy" in the concentration camp cruel? Was she forced into this role in order to survive as a mere sixteen-year-old girl? How might Cilka’s outward behavior compare to her inner intentions? 4. "What you are doing, Cilka, is the only form of resistance you have—staying alive. You are the bravest person I have ever known, I hope you know that" (Chapter 32). Is Lale right? Is Cilka brave, and were her acts of resistance the best course of action she had? What does Cilka feel guilty about or complicit in? How is she suffering because of it? 5. Could you imagine having the fortitude to survive one death sentence and then another? How do these two hells—the camp and the prison—compare? Were your perceptions challenged or expanded on what life in the Gulag was like after reading this book? In what ways? 6. What strategies does Cilka use to survive? Which ones does she teach the others, including Josie? How could her body be her ticket? What does she sacrifice in giving of her body but not her mind? 7. "Another number. Cilka subconsciously rubs her left arm; hidden under her clothing is her identity from that other place. How many times can one person be reduced, erased?” (Chapter 3) How would you answer Cilka here? What inner fire allows Cilka to live? How does she endure with so much death and suffering around her? 8. Does Cilka assume a protective role for the women in her hut? For her block at the camp? In what ways is Cilka a target for their rage and a focus for their hopes for life beyond the fencing? How does she help the women survive the toughest parts of their sentences (the rapes, work, injuries, separation)? 9. How do the women form a sisterhood or join in solidarity? Do you believe there is something universal about what they do? From snowy rescues to smuggled food—even Elena’s self-inflicted burn in order to get a message to Cilka—how do the women look out for one another? How is this essential for their survival? 10. Why do the women invest their time and scarce energies into"beautifying" the hut with their meager resources? What does this tell us about the human spirit? 11. How does Yelena help and advocate for Cilka? What chances and tests is Cilka given because of Yelena’s attentions? How does Cilka repay her faith and kindness? Also, why do you think Yelena would choose to serve in such a brutal place? 12. She doesn’t dare hope that she has broken her curse. That she could have a role in helping new life come into the world, rather than overseeing death” (Chapter 12). In what ways is Cilka’s time served in the maternity ward a turning point? How does she intervene with her patients and make a difference? How does she put herself at risk? 13. Discuss Josie’s desperation regarding her baby Natia’s fate, and what lies ahead for them both after the two-year mark? How does Cilka ensure her safe transfer? What does Natia’s presence stir up for the others in the hut? 14. How would you describe a mother’s love? How does it manifest in the book? 15. How does Cilka find her calling with her ambulance work? How did she spur others to be their best selves? On the other hand, what sexist abuse did she face while performing such technical and important work? 16. Why does Cilka reject the comfort of the nurses’ quarters at first? In what ways is she seeking forgiveness? 17. How are Cilka and Alexandr joined together? How does she administer to him and what new hope does he offer for her future? What risks? Were you surprised by their reunion on the train platform? 18. The main oppressors in this novel are men—from the commanders and guards to her fellow prisoners—and their sense of menacing entitlement and acts of rape and cruelty shape the novel. Have things changed for women in times of both war and peace when it comes to their bodies and defining their own destinies? What can society do about it? 19. Why does Cilka ultimately tell her hut-mates about her experiences and actions at Auschwitz? How does she know the time is right? 20. Why are women’s voices of wartime so important to unearth and tell? What could be lost when they are unreported or under reported? ( Questions issued by the publisher .)

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Cilka's Journey: The Sunday Times bestselling sequel to The Tattooist of Auschwitz now a major SKY TV series Kindle Edition

• Book 2 of 3 Tattooist of Auschwitz
• Print length 353 pages
• Language English
• Sticky notes On Kindle Scribe
• Publisher Zaffre
• Publication date 1 Oct. 2019
• File size 2996 KB
• Page Flip Enabled
• Word Wise Enabled
• Enhanced typesetting Enabled
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• Next 2 for you in this series £7.56
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• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07N7HSMZZ
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Zaffre (1 Oct. 2019)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• File size ‏ : ‎ 2996 KB
• Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
• Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 353 pages
• 1 in European History (Kindle Store)
• 1 in History of Russia eBooks
• 1 in Historical Russian Fiction

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.

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Cilka's Journey: A Novel (Tattooist of Auschwitz) Mass Market Paperback – July 26, 2022

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From Heather Morris, the author of the multi-million copy bestseller The Tattooist of Auschwitz , comes a engrossing 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 sent 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 384 pages
• Language English
• Publisher St. Martin's Paperbacks
• Publication date July 26, 2022
• Dimensions 4.75 x 1.05 x 6.95 inches
• ISBN-10 1250265789
• ISBN-13 978-1250265784
• See all details

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This novel examines morality and its many shapes through the life of one woman who is never allowed to be free.

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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 Paperbacks (July 26, 2022)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250265789
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250265784
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.6 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.75 x 1.05 x 6.95 inches
• #2,993 in World War II Historical Fiction (Books)
• #7,016 in 20th Century Historical Fiction (Books)
• #63,107 in Literary Fiction (Books)

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.

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