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 … 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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I have to say for a 18-19 year old Cilka is one brave woman. She went from one extreme to another, doing what she needed to survive.
Even though she was looking out for herself, she thought of others close to her as well. Broke my heart knowing she couldn’t have children. I really hope the end where she leaves Russia is true, it seemed like she had a guardian angel. Cilka was kind of an outcast when things were over, just because of how she survived in Auschwitz. She helped saved lives there as well. I guess when you’re not put in that kind of situation you wouldn’t know how awful it truly was. You see Cilka in The Tattooist of Auschwitz, a few times and briefly. Like I mentioned she did help save people there as well. However that isn’t her story. Her story really just continued from that book to this one and it’s really heartbreaking.
Read The Tattooist of Auschwitz before reading this book.
Really enjoyed reading about a character from author’s ‘Tattooist’ book! The journey was compelling and heart wrenching.
I received this book as an unedited, advanced reader copy. There were lots of errors in this version which I hope were fixed when the book was published.
This tells the story of Cecilia Klein (Cilka) after she left Auschwitz-Birkenau. She was briefly in the story of Lale Sokolov (The Tattooist of Auschwitz) but this is her own story. The author used information she received from discussions with Lale for his story as well as his wife, Gita. She also conducted extensive research to fill in some of the blanks.
Cilka was accused of “sleeping with the enemy” and sent to a prison in Siberia. She is in a hut with several other women who become close. Cilka figures out that if she can get certain items it will help her stay safe. She ends up working in the hospital at the prison and is quickly befriended by a female physician there who looks out for her. She starts out as a janitor of sorts, then works her way up to a nurse and then goes out on ambulance calls.
The book was well-written and the story was told well, despite the errors in the text.
Cilka’s Journey is Heather Morris’s second book, she became famous for her debut novel, The Tattooist of Auschwitz. While I enjoyed The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Cilka’s Journey was even better. It was horrific and sad but also hopeful, beautiful, and at times so sweet and heartwarming.
After everything that Cilka endured, she ends up in a Russian Gulag after being released from the Nazi concentration camp. But Cilka stays strong and strives to do good in her new home. She wants others around her to feel love and hope, which is amazing and heartwarming to witness. She even falls in love, something she never thought she’d be able to do after Auschwitz.
There were moments when I wanted to put the book down because the tragedy that Cilka faces was to much, but I couldn’t. I needed to know how it ended for her. I needed to know if her friend Josie would be allowed to keep her daughter. (And I would have felt awful that I couldn’t finish a fictional -although fairly accurate- retelling of the Gulags when people actually had to live the horror). Heather Morris truly made Cilka’s Journey a gripping story, one that I hope everyone reads.
Such a tragic time but important to know
Tragic turn of events for women in prison during the war and instead of being freed she is put in another prison for circumstances she could not control. Friendships made but not always easy.
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.
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 as well.
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.
Once I put it down, I couldn’t wait to pick it back up and continue reading. One of the best books I’ve read.
I decided to read this book after my book club read The Tattooist of Auschwitz and loved it. Cilka’s Journey follows one of the characters of The Tattooist after she leaves Auschwitz. Unfortunately, she finds herself in a Siberian prison camp for “sleeping with the enemy.” As in the Tattooist, Cilka’s Journey is one of heartbreak but also about love and the resilience of the human spirit. Based on a true story, this book ultimately is a story about how love transcends!
I have such mixed feelings about this book because of the controversy surrounding it. I understand this is historical fiction but it was promoted to be “based on an incredible true story”. Cilka’s own stepson is upset about this book citing the impossibility of her being a mistress to two incredibly high ranking officers and stealing medications that were virtually nonexistant. The relationship at the end is completely fictitious as the stepson was so upset he did not give permission to have his father and their love story written about in the book. Even the Auschwitz Memorial condemed the book for its “numerous errors and information, inconsistent with the facts as well as exaggerations, misinterpretations and underatatments”. Other survivors and survivors’ families are upset about the book as they believe it puts Cilka on a pedestal when their stories put her in a less than flattering light. It’s impossible to know the complete truth is as Cilka is not here to speak for herself.
This book was very enlightening as I’ve read much about the horrid concentration camps but not about the post-war Siberian concentration camps that housed those who were accused of collaborating with the enemy. In the book, Cilka was the mistress of a high ranking officer at Auchewitz to save herself and others from being brutally murdered which is the reason she was placed in the Siberian camp. I can’t imagine being released from one hell to go live in another.
I would recommend this book because many, like me, don’t know much about the post war camps but caution the reader to bear in mind it is a work of historical fiction and the main character’s actions and thoughts are mainly the work of the author’s mind.
This book shows that human beings can survive almost anything and then live a normal life. At times, we all wish we had Cilka’s courage to endure. She is a woman I would like to spend an afternoon with and feel her courage and strength.
This book makes one realize how strong the human soul can be and brings to light the terrible suffering that innocent people endured due to evil people being in charge. Eye-opening.
Author Heather Morris introduces readers to Cilka in The Tattooist of Auschwitz. The beautiful young girl is working quietly in the administration building when she is dragged away from her desk by two SS officers and thrown into a room furnished with a bed and dresser where Schwarzhuber, the head of Birkenau is waiting for her. Cilka quickly understands what is expected of her. Resistance would cost her her life. For the remainder of her time in the camp, she is ridiculed by some prisoners as Schwarzhuber’s “plaything,” but all understand the cost of survival. None better than the tattooist himself, Lale Sokolov, who later declared Cilka “the bravest person I ever met.”
When the camp is liberated in January 1945, Cilka’s nightmare does not end. As Cilka’s Journey begins, she has been in the custody of the Soviet Army for several weeks. Only eighteen years old, she is dragged out of the cell block for questioning, but hopeful “they can see that she had no choice but to do what she did in order to survive. No choice, other than death.” She dreams of making her way home to Czechoslovakia. In response to questioning about whether she prostituted herself to the enemy, she says, truthfully, “I was forced, I was raped.” Instead of being treated with compassion, she is transferred to a prison in Krakow where, in July 1945, she is informed she has been convicted of working with the enemy as a prostitute and sentenced to fifteen years hard labor.
Thrust onto a train bound for Vorkuta Gulag, Siberia, with other female prisoners, Cilka’s journey to more suffering begins. She curses herself for indulging “just one moment of hope” and ponders whether punishment is what she truly deserves. She soon discovers that many of the other women are also being punished for “crimes” of survival such as operating a bakery in Poland that sold bread to Nazis. Still, Cilka keeps her past a secret, fearful of being judged and ostracized — or worse — by the other women. She befriends a young girl, Josie, who reminds her of her friend Gita, Lale’s beloved. Just sixteen, Josie is traveling with her grandmother and Cilka knows that the naive teenager needs guidance.
Cilka remains by Josie’s side as they arrive at and are processed into the camp and housed together in a bunker with several other women. They forge a friendship that will forever change both of them. They have been sentenced to hard labor and Cilka wonders if knowing the end date, unlike during her last imprisonment, will make it more endurable. Assuming that she can even believe the end date is accurate. Regardless, she knows from experience that in order to survive she will have to advance her status in the camp, as well as Josie’s, without drawing attention.
Morris relates Cilka’s experiences and details the relationships she develops in the prison, interspersing the current narrative with Cilka’s memories both of her happy childhood with her family and her days in Auschwitz-Birkenau. She is depressed and hopeless, finding herself punished for what she has already endured. But her will to live is strong and will not be diminished. She persists, often letting anger carry her forward. But always guarding her emotions and the truth about her past.
She comes to the attention of Doctor Kalani, Yelena Georgiyevna, who has volunteered to be assigned to the camp hospital in an effort to help improve conditions there. She offers to train Cilka to work as a nurse, and Cilka sees the opportunity as a way to help her fellow prisoners, women with whom she has come to share affection and a bond.
Her benevolence extends to Hannah, who is blackmailing her — demanding that she steal medicine from the hospital in exchange for keeping her secret. She desperately wants to explain that she was just sixteen years old, and the ability to choose was torn from her. “I simply stayed alive.” But she cannot speak of it. In this prison, too, the women must tolerate being abused by men in order to stay alive. Fortunately, Cilka, Josie, and some of the others are selected by a group of men who regularly come to their bunker, viewing them as their property. But at least they ensure that no others do.
Morris’ telling of Cilka’s story is straightforward, unsparing. And difficult to read because it is a work of fiction based upon the life of a woman who actually suffered unimaginable hardship and upon whom unspeakable horrors were visited. But it is also the story of how she did not merely survive. Cilka thrived, because she was determined and resilient, and managed to discover and retain her dignity and humanity. Although she does not believe that she has the capacity to hope or love, Cilka finds herself drawn to those around her who rely upon her strength and leadership.
Lale Sokolov credited Cilka with saving his life and yet again, Cilka’s compassion and love for a fellow prisoner empower her to heroism. She puts her own desire for freedom aside in order for someone else to be liberated. She refuses to elevate her own circumstances until she knows that her friends in the camp are protected. By then, eight long years have passed.
Eventually, for Cilka, the time to live “without fear and with the miracle of love” arrives. Like her friends Lale and Gita, she finds sustaining love in the most unlikely place.
Like The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Cilka’s Journey is a fictionalized, powerful account of one woman’s hardships during the darkest part of the twentieth century. Also like The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Cilka’s Journey is, at its core, a love story. But it is Cilka’s love for life, coupled with her affection for and willingness to sacrifice for others that are the centerpieces of her story. A a result of choosing to live while imprisoned in Auschwitz-Birkenau, Cilka suffers from survivor’s guilt. She constantly questions whether she made the right decision and if she deserves to continue living, to ever be truly free again. But when she despairs and believes that she has no strength left, she always manages to keep going, fueled by resilience and courage that surprises no one more than her.
Cilka’s Journey is a compelling and inspiring story of bravery and friendship, related by Morris with compassion and tenderness, as well as brutal frankness. It is an important story, among many that need to be told and re-told, about those who endured and flourished in the face of atrocity.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader’s Copy of the book.
Cilka’s Journey by Heather Morris is a powerful and heart breaking historical novel with its roots in reality. Lead character Cilka was first encountered in Heather Morris’ previous novel, The Tattooist Of Auschwitz. This book is Cilka’s story.
Cilka’s Journey is set from 1942 to the mid 1950’s. The action is mainly set in the Vorkula Gulag with flashbacks to Auschwitz. It is a heart wrenching novel with a heart of gold at its centre in the form of Cilka. She gives what little she can, whenever she can. Cilka reaches out in kindness.
No one should ever judge anyone who has been in the camps. People did what they did in order to survive. “No one can judge us… There were only two choices: one was to survive. The other was death.” Cilka shows a remarkable strength of character as she detaches her mind from her body. “He can have her body… he cannot have her mind, her heart, her soul.” Serial rape was a weapon of war, used as a form of control by the Nazis and others in authority. There are some hard to read scenes as the weak are overpowered by the strong.
Heather Morris shows the strength of character needed to survive. It is a character that clings to dignity, showing kindness and compassion, and developing loyalty and community. I am full of admiration for Cilka. In her circumstances she did not lose her humanity. “Finding a little hope in the darkness is not a weakness.”
Cilka’s Journey is not a pleasant read. It is hard to witness such cruelty and man’s inhumanity to man. We do need to read it to know what happened and in memory of all the innocents who perished.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.
/ 5
While Cilka’s Journey by Heather Morris didn’t blow me away quite as much as The Tattooist of Auschwitz did, this is still going to be a must read (or listen) if you want to more about Cilka.
I have a physical copy of Cilka’s Journey and I decided to listen to the audio on Scribd as well as read the book which is the same thing I did with Tattooist. I think that is a great way to read this book, and I liked that the audio has a bonus interview with the author which the book doesn’t have. The narrator for Cilka’s Journey is Louise Brealey and she was very good, she really brought Cilka and her surroundings to life for me.
Just like Tattooist, this is a bit of a tear-jerker, but you will marvel at Cilka’s strength and tenacity. I can definitely understand why Lali called her the bravest person he knew, and her story really broke my heart. The book is mostly about her time at the gulag, but it also has flashbacks to her time at Auschwitz. I really liked how Morris did that, and it helped me to understand and get to know Cilka even better.
Song/s the book brought to mind: The Sun Will Rise by Kelly Clarkson
Final Thought: Although I think the book format was good, I would also highly recommend Cilka’s Journey on audio. It added a little something extra for me and if you are a fan of audiobooks like I am then I think you will enjoy it. This book breaks your heart but at the same time will make you feel like you can conqueror anything. Even though I know this is fiction and not everything happened, Cilka’s story will stay with me for a long time and I will forever be thinking about what she had to go through.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy of this book, all opinions and thoughts are my own.
A must read! You will not believe the journey that Cilka takes…
Because she chose to survive a concentration camp, Cilka was punished for living!
I read this right after reading first book, The Tattooist of Auschwitz. This was so sad and so beautifully written.
I have read many books set in this time fame and it never gets easier. I feel reading about the Holocaust history is a way of paying respect to those who were lost and those that survived this awful time.
What a touching, heartbreaking and completely engrossing life, story, and novel.
Throughout Cilka’s entire journey, all I could think was “Could I be as brave as she?” Near the end, I realized her story, as related by Heather Morris, is meant to help us question ourselves, but never to know. We can only hope to be as strong, while living through (and maybe even surviving) the worst that mankind can throw at us.
“Everyone affected by war, captivity or aggression reacts differently, and away from it people might try to guess how they would act, or react, in the circumstances, but they do not really know.”
I’ve recommended this book to many people as I’ve been reading, and most, like my sister, have shied away, stating they couldn’t possibly stomach it. This is exactly why I feel compelled to read these books, because I believe as humans we all need to see, remember, respect and understand, no matter how uncomfortable we may feel. My mere discomfort is so insignificant compared to the atrocities all these people endured.
An engrossing story and a quick read. I found myself wanting to know more abut the real Cilka. The book is fiction based on a real girl who was taken to Auschwitz at the age of 16. After managing to survive three years there she is imprisoned in the Vorkuta Gulag in Siberia for ten years. The fact that she managed to survive 13 years in two of the worst places on earth is testament to her strength and bravery. The fictionalized parts of this story do nothing to dim the facts. An awesome read.