CILKA'S JOURNEY is the continuation of a story begun in THE TATTOOIST OF AUSCHWITZ. However, the book can easily stand alone.
Cecelia Klein, a young Jewish girl, is only sixteen years old when she was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Survival in the horrific situation in which she was placed came with a great price. Her physical beauty made her a target for the sexual gratification of the senior officer, General Schwarzhuber. The book portrays Cilka as an unwilling partner who was raped and forced to endure ongoing sexual abuse for the duration of her time in the camp. In "exchange" for the abuse she endured, she was given some privileges within the camp including additional food, clothing, and a private room . The author makes it clear that Cilka's refusal to engage with the officer would have most certainly meant her own death.
Later, when the Russian army liberated those who had survived Auschwitz-Birkenau, Cilka was not given her freedom. It was determined that her close association with the German officer(s) made her an enemy of the state. She was sent with other political prisoners to a Russian Gulag in Northern Siberia where she was sentenced to endure fifteen years of hard labor. Within that cruel, work camp, Cilka was forced to endure additional rape, lack of adequate food, meager facilities, and the extreme temperatures of the arctic winter. She also had to find a way to live with other prisoners who learned of her background and judged her harshly for her involvement with the enemy. Survival in the Russian Gulag was no less dangerous and heartbreaking than the time Cilka spent in the German concentration camp. The author uses "flashbacks" of memory to share details of Cilka's time in Auschwitz-Birkenau and set up the back story while constructively interweaving that story with her time in the Vorkuta Gulag. Morris also details the personal struggle with various individuals who are intent to either destroy Cilka or use her situation to their own advantage while carefully drawing attention to a network of "sisters" who allow the cruel times they are enduring to draw them close as they join their hearts, intellect, and resources in an effort to survive.
I found this novel a bit more depressing than THE TATTOIST OF AUSCHWITZ. The struggles in both books are sobering and horrifying but the original book's promise of love that survives all was not prominent in the telling of this story. Instead, we follow a very broken woman whose will to live keeps her moving forward under circumstances the reader cannot even begin to understand. With that said, there are some really inspiring portions to the book such as when Cilka chooses to help those who have wronged her or offer a measure of grace to someone undeserving.
I think it's important to remember that both the TATTOIST OF AUSCHWITZ and CILKA'S JOURNEY are works of fiction with elements of truth throughout. The author excellently weaves an engaging story into a historical timeline, offering the reader an entertaining story that opens our minds to the possibilities of good and evil.
I sparingly offer five stars when I review books, but both of the books I have read by Heather Morris have earned five stars from me. I read the audiobook provided through Libby.