Reviews

Cilka's Journey by Heather Morris

decarr28's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

faith_06's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

cerisecarrot's review

5.0

So sad the life she had.

crystal1ynn's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Rape, and Genocide

maryvdb2024's review against another edition

4.0

4.5 stars. Loved this book as a follow on from “the tattooist of Auschwitz” with its exploration of another terrible inhumane centre of mass incarceration in the Gulag.

An amazing story of resilience and survival against terrible odds and another love story in the most unlikely place . Highly recommend

josiethompson's review against another edition

4.0

Genuinely enjoyed this one. Not that I don't genuinely enjoy other ones, but this was one I got into really quickly. I loved how real the story was and how, compared to the Tattooist of Auschwitz, you could feel what she was feeling and know what she was thinking. I appreciated that insight a lot. The romance and the ending did feel slightly rushed but I still appreciated the closure it brought. Overall a 4.5 out of 5 but there aren't half stars :).

davansa83's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

books_by_blue's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

melissa_bookworm's review against another edition

4.0

This book follows the story of Cilka, a minor character from The Tattooist of Auschwitz, following the closure of the Birkenau concentration camp. It is mentioned in the first book that Cilka is given a privileged position in the camp because of a sexual relationship she has with a commandant (clearly non-consensual though). Looking into this, the Auschwitz Memorial has said that this sort of relationship would not have taken place between an SS officer and a prisoner (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/feb/01/cilkas-journey-the-tattooist-of-auschwitz-heather-morris) but first person accounts refutes this. Due to this accusation, the Soviet Army charges Cilka with fraternizing with the enemy, which result in a sentence of 15 years hard labour in a Russian Gulag.

It is a devastating narrative, to be granted 'freedom' from the Nazi's only to be thrust into another labour camp. There is lots of sad events that happen in the years that Cilka is in the gulag, but there is also small pockets of hope which keeps the book from being overly depressing.

Spoiler

I think it ended a little 'hallmark'-y. Not that I don't like happy endings, it just seemed a little convenient that Cilka and her love interest would find each other so easily

lynne_booksquares's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0