I don't know what I expected going into this book, but it wasn't this.

This is an absolutely incredible story, that should be making me feel all the emotions that come with reading a historical fiction book about the Holocaust. And yet, the writing is so bad, that I had the hardest time connecting in any way shape or form to this novel. The writing is so unclear in some spots that I had to keep going back because it felt like I had missed parts, but no, the parts, the transitions, just hadn't been written.

The story focuses so much more on the romance between Lale and Gita that I feel a bit like I've read a romance instead of a historical fiction, which wasn't the genre I signed on for. This story deserved a better author to tell it.

I had to do some googling after finishing it and found out that the Auschwitz Memorial Research Centre claims that it's factually inauthentic. And the book did feel like it viewed Auschwitz and the Holocaust through rose colored glasses. And it felt so damaging to read a story that I believed to be based in fact, but was in fact full of historical inaccuracies. Was it due to Lale's memory? Morris's lack of fact checking? I don't know.

I do want to tack on this article because I can't stand something that says it's based in fact and is in fact, not. And I feel like it covers more than I can in a review.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...

I do want to give props to Richard Armitage who read the audiobook and did a wonderful job with it, despite my problems with the book.

Content WarningsHide content warnings

• Death
• Antisemitism
• Genocide
• Torture
• Sexual Assault
• Rape
• War
• Suicide (off page)