Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsTearjerking tale of life in the gulag
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 December 2020
Heather Morris follows up her tearjerking story of love and survival, 'The Tatooist of Auschwitz', with another heart-rending semi-true tale showing the best and worst of humanity. We met the character Cilka in the first novel, where she was an important supporting character - a teenaged camp inmate who was forced to act as the concubine for the camp's commandant. In this sequel, she is the main character, and we follow her from the concentration camp to another prison - a Soviet gulag in the Arctic where she is sentenced to 15 years hard labour for collaboration.
The sheer injustice of her situation is breathtaking - after years of horrendous abuse, she is punished for simply having done what she had to in order to avoid being killed. It's not some crazy fiction - Cilka was a real person and she really was imprisoned for this reason. The other women around her are being brutally punished for similar non-crimes, like wanting to marry someone from another country, or being related to the wrong person.
The gulag is a fascinating though horrible world with its own code of conduct and politics. It is less utterly depraved than Auschwitz - which is very faint praise indeed. But the fact the prisoners have a degree more freedom and a degree less fear gives more opportunity for stories to develop. Cilka gradually makes some friends and finds meaningful work in the prison hospital, but she is damaged by her experiences and her courageous nature mean she is not as good at keeping her head down as she tries to be.
It's impossible not to root for Cilka and want her to succeed, and there are many likeable supporting characters as well. It's not a cheerful read - but you wouldn't expect it to be. It is however life-affirming and a testament to the strength of the human spirit and the goodness in human nature, as well as a depiction of the results of the worst inhumanity. If you are likely to be upset by a story featuring violence, including sexual violence, and descriptions of horrible treatment of human beings then you might want to steer clear.
All in all it's a well written book with a strong emotional punch and sheds light another shameful episode in human history.