The Tattooist of Auschwitz – A book review

The Tattooist of Auschwitz – A book review

I am a self professed World War II fiction junkie. I scour through the internet for any WWII related anecdotes and historical facts. So when the whole world was reading The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris could I be left out? Actually I was, I read it real late. 

Anyway.. I caught up with the trend and I am posting my review even later than what I had planned. But I am here now, and shall we talk about The Tattooist of Auschwitz?

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About the Tattooist of Auschwitz

The Tattooist of Auschwitz Cover

Book Name: The Tattooist of Auschwitz

Author: Heather Morris

Genre: Fiction –  HistoricalDrama

Characters: Lale Sokolov, Gita Sokolov, CIlka

Setting: Krompachy, Slovakia, Auschwitz, Poland

Plot Summary of the Tattooist of Auschwitz

Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, holds a relatively privileged position at the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp as a Tätowierer (the German word for tattooist). He risks his life several times to scrap off jewelry and money of dead Jew prisoners and then exchange them to buy more food to keep his fellow prisoners alive.

He feels an immediate connection with Gita, one of the prisoners he had to tattoo and the affection is quite mutual. Despite the circumstances, they sneak out and meet each other, at every opportunity they get. They vow to marry if they ever escape the camp, if at all. 

Did they get to keep their promise? Did they escape? The answers to these questions form the rest of The Tattooist of Auschwitz.

Book review of the Tattooist of Auschwitz

I couldn’t stop myself from mentally putting myself in Lale’s place while reading the book, from my comfortable couch, and then feel guilty about it. It must have been hard keeping up his spirits and humanity throughout the book and his real life, and I loved it

I particularly liked the fact that how he made friends with the people from other countries and races, despite whatever he has been “taught at home” about them, given how stubborn people were on those days. 

When I think of a tale of a real life survivor from a genocide, I wanted to cry, be shocked and be enraged. Sadly that is not what I felt. ⁠And I am sucker for emotional readers, and the plot was all that. But it didn’t work for me at all. For me it was just another romance, and worse, it romanticizes the whole harrowing experience at the concentration camp. 

And I definitely was not prepared for The Tattooist of Auschwitz being a romance-centric book. That one might be on me, I should have read the blurb/ synopsis better. 

Also, while reading the book, someone sent me an interview of how the author wasn’t true to the real tattooist of Auschwitz’s story (which she was borrowing) and they had a dispute. Well, that put me a little off. Poor guy! 

Things that worked for me

  • As I have clearly established, I love the WWII premise and historical fiction in general.
  • I loved that there was optimism and time for love even during those dire days. 

Things that didn’t work for me

  • I wished the storytelling was better and it actually made me feel something.
  • It was a romance book, predominantly and I expected more of the history part. 
  • It may be just me, but I felt the book was romanticizing the concentration camps, which is horrible if you think about it.

Similar reviews you might like

Bottom-line

If you want to read a romance from WWII era, choose The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris. But if you want to read about the war itself or what it does to ordinary people, there are better books to choose from.

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The Tattooist of Auschwitz – A book review

Mrs. Everything – A book review

I picked Mrs. Everything without any idea what the general theme was about and I was pleasantly surprised that it was a historical fiction, a genre I rarely read. Let us see how it turned out for me in my book review, shall we?

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About the book

Mrs. Everything book review cover

Book Name: Mrs. Everything

Author: Jennifer Weiner

Genre: Fiction –  HistoricalDrama

Characters: Sarah, Bethie and Jo Kaufman, Harold, Dave, Shelley

Setting: Detroit, MichiganThe United States of America

The plot

Mrs. Everything follows the story of two sisters, Jo and Bethie Kaufman, right from their childhood when they move into Detroit in the 1950s. Jo, the elder one, is quite tomboyish and feels uncomfortable in skirts and frills who Bethie bonds with their mother through the pretty, girlie things. 

Jo grows up edgy, socially aware/woke and outspoken while Bethie loves being the mother’s pet, pliable and the center of attention. Over the years, we see them grow into their rebellious teens alongside the political and societal changes in the USA. 

As more matured adults, their roles reverse. Jo gets into the more traditional mother/wife role and Bethie becomes the free spirit and joins a woman only commune. What does it take for these sisters, and the world, to stick together despite all their flaws forms the rest of Mrs. Everything.

My initial thoughts

Mrs. Everything is pretty predictable and the plot by itself has been told countless times. The lives of Jo and Bethie can be yours, mine or any other woman – it is about the roles we play to keep the world running. It is relatable and has happened to each of us, in pieces at the least, and hence “Mrs. Everything”. 

I have read a few Jennifer Weiner’s books in my late teens. I remember them being lighthearted (I may be remembering it wrong), so I was surprised Mrs. Everything being so intense with multiple themes like civil rights, women rights and LGBTQA. And she has done a great job with it. 

I found Mrs. Everything a bit longer than it could have been. While I loved reading about the sister’s lives, the history part felt longer and repetitive in places. 

Things that worked for me

  • The plot and the characters felt relatable.
  • The author has done a great job handling multiple themes. 

Things that didn’t work for me

  • Mrs. Everything felt a longer than it could have been.
  • The history part felt repetitive in places. 

Bottom-line

Mrs. Everything does a perfect job of interweaving the historical facts with the lives of ordinary women, that are so closer to every other woman. If only it were shorter it would be my go to recommend for woman fiction genre, easily.

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The Tattooist of Auschwitz – A book review

Yes no maybe so – A book review

What turns a book good to great? I would love reading a predictable story if it has awesome, well developed characters. Is that what happened with Yes no maybe so? I am not hinting anything! Read on to find out more.

What turns a book good to great? I would love reading a predictable story if it has awesome, well developed characters. Is that what happened with Yes no maybe so? I am not hinting anything! Read on to find out more. Click To Tweet

About the book

YES NO MAYBE so cover

Book Name: Yes no maybe so

Author: Becky Albertalli, Aisha Saeed

Genre: Fiction – Romance

Characters: Jamie and Sophie Goldberg, Maya Rehman, Sara, Gabe.

Setting: Atlanta, GeorgiaThe United States of America

The plot

Jamie is a shy, awkward teen who wants to do everything in his might to help his favorite congressman win. He has aspirations to be a politician himself one day, if he can survive his toast at his sister’s bat mitzvah. To make things worse, his mom is pushing him to try out door to door canvassing.

Maya is a Pakistani-American Muslim who is not having the best summer. Her parents are splitting up and her best friend is moving away and has been too busy to hang out lately. When her parents offer to buy her a car in return for canvassing for Rossum, she is not thrilled. 

By luck and their mothers’ will, Jamie and Maya begin their canvassing with different goals in their mind. But a bill that was passed recently targeting Muslims and anti Semitic against Rossum’s supporters get them both rallied up.

Will the slow burn chemistry between them derail them from their political campaigns? Or is it the opposite? You might have to read Yes no maybe so to know more. 

My initial thoughts

Yes no maybe so is a cute YA contemporary romance with a liberal dose of politics. It takes a strong stand on their political leaning towards a particular side. So if you had strong opinions about it or that will stop you from enjoying this YA romance, you might have to watch out.

Even as someone who is not from the USA, I am not totally devoid of any opinions about it and such a law against covering the head would be against personal freedom, something that the USA boasts of quite often.

The one thing that did not sit right with me Maya’s sudden change of opinion towards kissing Jamie, given that she was not allowed to date non Muslim guys or to be physically intimate with a buy before marriage. Sure she was missing him and in love with him, but kissing (or any kinda physical intimacy) was explicitly forbidden. What made her make that leap?

This might sound too weird for others, but “no physical intimacy before marriage” is a real thing with desi families, and I am sure it would have been more strict in a Muslim household. #RepresentationMatters.

I loved Jamie’s cool grandmother and Sophie was a diva. I would love to read a spin off or fan fiction with them as main characters. It has been a while since I loved the sub plots so  much. 

Things that worked for me

  • I loved the fact that the romance takes a back seat (for a tiny bit) for family and politics.
  • Jamie was perfect. His awkwardness and mishaps kept me laughing!
  • The side characters were extremely well developed and I loved Sophie, especially.
  • And Yes no maybe so is based on a true story!

Things that didn’t work for me

  • We could have seen a bit more of Maya’s faith and her community.
  • Maya changing her belief and value for a white guy, may come off as a “white savior” thing to some.
  • And yes, the book takes a political stand. If you don’t like politics mixing with pleasure reading, that might be turn off for you.

Bottom-line

Yes no maybe so is cute and perfect for a summer read, or you know, for just staying in due to the lock down. It has well developed and likeable characters and takes a political stand. 

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The Tattooist of Auschwitz – A book review

From Twinkle, with love – A book review

Remember the time when everyone including your friends loved a thing and you didn’t know how to react because you didn’t love it as much. Or to be honest didn’t love it at all? Well, I am gonna probably lose some friends over this review of From Twinkle, with love by Sandhya Menon. Let get it done with ok?

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About the book

From Twinkle, with love Cover

Book Name: From Twinkle, with love

Author:  Sandhya Menon

Genre: Fiction – Romance

Characters: Twinkle Mehra, Dadi, Sahil and Neil Roy, Maddie Tanaka, Victoria

Setting: Colorado Springs, ColoradoThe United States of America

Summary

Twinkle Mehra is an aspiring filmmaker, who has had a crush on the school’s golden boy Neil Roy for a long time. She has made it her personal goal to break out of the groundling status (AKA commoners), in the high school cliched ranks, and get promoted to that of silk feathered hats, that is the popular ones.

To make matters worse, her childhood best friends Maddie had found new friends earlier this year and she is now among the popular clique, and she has to win her back.

When Sahil, a fellow film geek and the awkward twin of Neil Roy, asks her to work on a film for the summer festival, she takes it up as a chance to solve all her problems – get closer to Neil, win back Maddie, join the popular clique and shoot a film.

But what she did not expect was her falling for the sweet, understanding and adorable Sahil. What happens to their film and their romance forms the rest of the story in From Twinkle, with love.

Book review

Since I told you all pretty much how I feel about the book already, let us talk about the why part.

I was all excited for this book, because I had had met the author then and she turned out to be actually sweet and friendly. And most of my friends and many from the book blogger world loved it. But that didn’t sway my high expectations from my experience with When Dimple met Rishi. So I started reading with the correct level of expectations but hopeful that I will love it.

After a few initial chapters, I started disliking Twinkle as I found her annoying, self absorbed and hypocritical. As much as she spoke of breaking the barrier between cliches, she was obsessed with being in the popular group. She had a crush on Neil and constantly worried about ‘her connection with him’ even when she was getting closer to his brother, when she had barely spoken with him ever.

And she absolutely didn’t care about what Maddie’s interest in ‘being best friends’ with her. Or how Sahil would feel when he realizes that she is working with him to get to his brother, whose shadows he had lived under all his life. And she doesn’t tell him about meeting N, her secret admirer until he found out. I really wanted to like this book, you guys!

Also her character arc: Her character arc takes a positive change and then a negative so suddenly (and quite unnecessarily) that it had me double check if I were reading it correctly. Yes, she redeems herself at the end but the changes in her didn’t make sense to me.

Why am I talking only about Twinkle?

Because that is all there! From Twinkle, with love is written in the epistolary style with diary/letter entries of Twinkle and chat history of Sahil. The book offers no other character’s perspectives. But how did she write her diary when she was with others? Did she excuse herself for 30 minutes (that is how much long it took to write this review) when she is with others?

I liked the author’s writing style and easy flow. And it would definitely be a good book to start your reading habit even. I liked even the smaller characters like Dadi, Victoria and I wish we had deeper insights into their characters.

Things that worked for me

  • Finally a diverse book with an Indian MC, in a setting that I can personally relate to.
  • I loved Sahil and how understanding and helpful was.
  • Great book to start the reading habit with.
  • I liked the easy narrative flow, despite the epistolary style.

Things that didn’t work for me

  • I completely hated how annoying and cardboard-ish Twinkle was.
  • And her character arc didn’t make sense to me.
  • I wish the other (non lead) characters had more depth and character development.

Bottom-line

Read From Twinkle, with love if you are looking for a fluffy, contemporary high school romance, with desi characters. Many other bloggers have loved it, so you might too.

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The Tattooist of Auschwitz – A book review

Joy luck club, The – A book review

I reading about China in The Joy luck club last year without knowing that I would be spending a month in Macau (a country that is still a part of Chinese government) soon after I finished it! Has this ever happened to you? So how did it fare on my chart? Let us find out.

The Joy Luck Club is culturally and historically rich, even though it plays a bit to the stereotypes or even went to setting those stereotypes in the first place. Have you read this one? #Diversereads #JoyLuckClub Click To Tweet

About the Joy luck club

elgeewrites Joy luck club, The - A book review Joy luck club

Book Name: The Joy luck club

Author: Amy Tan

Genre: Fiction –  HistoricalDrama

Characters: Jing-mei (June) Woo, Suyuan Woo, An-mei Hsu, Rose Hsu Jordan, Lindo Jong, Waverly Jong, Ying-ying St. Clair, and Lena St. Clair

Setting: San Francisco, The United States of America and China

Plot Summary of the Joy luck club

Following her mother’s death (Suyuan Woo), Jing-mei (June) Woo replaces her in the monthly Mah jong game. Suyuan and her friends started this tradition years ago when they moved into San Francisco as way to keep in touch with their Chinese culture and history. Through the years, the four mothers share their festivals, their daughters’ birthdays and achievements during the game.

While the mothers tried to preserve the culture, their daughters chase the American dream and lifestyle. They do not have the patience or interest in knowing their mother’s history and they scoff at the Chinese superstitions. Despite living under the same roof for years, the mothers and daughters live a life separated by their culture and life experiences. 

The harder their mothers are on them, the harder the daughters rebel in their own way, without realizing unwittingly they are following their mothers’ path. They also are quick to leave behind their Chinese culture just like their mothers had. 

During their game, Jing-mei finds out that just before her death Suyuan had traced her two other daughters that she had to leave behind during the World war II. And her mother’s friends urge her to take her mother’s journey to meet her long lost relatives who are still in China. Did she take that journey and find her sisters forms the rest of the story in The Joy luck club.

Book review of the Joy luck club

The Joy luck club is one of those classic cult hit when it was released in 1989. While it does feel a little bit dated, her major themes on mother- daughter relationship and generational gaps, especially between the first and second generational Chinese-Americans still holds good. 

The Joy luck club contains sixteen short stories narrated by four Chinese born mothers and their respective daughters who make it a point not to learn Chinese over half a century! While it was fun to try to read this structure, the truth was it was a little difficult to remember all the secondary characters. 

I loved how the daughters who scoffed at their mothers and their traditions in their childhood and well into their marriages, turn around as they mature and even get closer to them. And how their mothers in turn, learn to adapt into their new roles over the years. To be honest, The Joy luck club made me stop a moment and examine my own relationship with my mother. 

Things that worked for me

  • I loved the friendship/co-dependency between the mothers.
  • The stories about the mothers before coming to the USA were haunting and so historically rich. I loved them.

Things that didn’t work for me

  • Did the author somehow help the strict, cold Asian mothers and absentee Asian fathers stereotypes?  (UPDATE: upon reading other reviews -YES SHE DID, AND FACED A SEVERE BACKLASH)
  • I wish the book’s structure was a bit easier to follow through.

Similar reviews you might like

Bottom-line

The Joy Luck Club is culturally and historically rich, even though it plays a bit to the stereotypes or even went to setting those stereotypes in the first place. If you are looking for a literary / historical fiction The Joy luck club by Amy Tan is a good choice. 

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The Tattooist of Auschwitz – A book review

Red, White & Royal Blue – A book review

I know the times are hard and troubling and we bookworms are trying to escape the pressure of the real world. And so I am here help you do that with a great recommendation. Let us review Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston, shall we?

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About the book

Red, White & Royal Blue

Book Name: Red, White & Royal Blue

Author:  Casey McQuiston

Genre: Fiction – Romance

Characters: Alex Claremont-Diaz and his sister June, Nora Holleran (Alex’s best friend), Prince Henry George Edward James Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, his sister Bea and Pez (Henry’s  best friend)

Setting: Washington DCThe United States of America

The plot

The sons of the first families of The USA and the UK hate each other dislike each other and the world knows it. The first families and their PRs decide to intervene and stage a fake Instagram relationship. 

What starts as a fake friendship between Alex Claremont-Diaz and Prince Henry blossoms into something more. But is coming out as gay worth all the drama in the royal family? And more importantly is their love worth causing a political derailment around the world? You will have to read Red, White & Royal Blue to know more. 

My initial thoughts

Red, White & Royal Blue was highly addictive and hilarious that you cannot put it down once you start. The banter between the leads is witty and adorable. The writing is top notch and Casey McQuiston knows to keep the readers hooked until the end.

Above all, what struck close to me was the lead characters and how much life like they both were. And the sub plots and side characters especially June, Bea and Nora, were as deep as they can be. Oh I loved them all. 

Things that worked for me

  • The writing is fast paced and quite an easy flow.
  • I loved the characters and seriously appreciate how deep their arcs were.
  • The witty banter and the chemistry between the leads is adorable.
  • An extra brownie point for the very diverse cast. 

Things that didn’t work for me

Red, White & Royal Blue is not going to be your gateway to learn every bit of the politics of USA. You get what you see!

Bottom-line

Red, White & Royal Blue is such a cute, sweet and funny LGBTQA romance that will definitely keep your lock down sorrows go away. You need this in your life!

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