Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Auschwitz, 1942: The Nazis have already cut so many lives short, but can a person truly die if their story survives? I have to make it out. The world needs to know what’s happening here…
Stumbling through the terrifying wrought iron gates of Auschwitz, Jewish author Etty Weil longs for her apartment overlooking the Seine, where she used to laugh with friends, her shelves full of records and her beloved typewriter by the wide window.
Now she looks on in horror as a young girl, Danielle, is ruthlessly torn from her sobbing mother. Etty does the only thing she can to help: trapped inside the maze of barbed wire, she befriends fourteen-year-old Danielle and promises to cherish her like a sister.
Every evening, Etty tells Danielle stories, building a beautiful world of imagination and hope to escape into. Soon, Etty realises that the other women in their cramped hut are listening too. She encourages them to share their lives, to talk about their darling children, their love affairs and the beloved family they’ve already lost. Etty knows she must survive this terrible place: if only to keep her promise to these brave women that their stories will not be forgotten.
But the more hope Etty gives Danielle, the more chances the young girl begins to take, rebelling against the brutal SS guards. Etty tries to protect her, risking her own life and the stories she promised to save. But one day, Danielle goes too far… Will Etty stop her in time to save her? Or will Etty pay the ultimate price for the only thing truly worth dying for: love?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of The Storyteller of Auschwitz to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
The Storyteller of Auschwitz is easily the best historical fiction book that I have read so far this year. Nothing else has come close to it and I have a feeling no other book will in the latter half of this year. It is a stunning piece of work that to find the correct words to express how brilliant and what an emotional read this was will be very difficult. Siobhan Curham has outdone herself and written a story that is so powerful and highlights the importance of words, imagery and storytelling. That these traits can sustain you through the darkest of times including oppression, hunger and hard labour. There was the perfect flow to the story with no sections where I felt things were dragged out or paragraphs/chapters that were included just for the sake of it. Every character, every word they speak and every action they take were all essential in having the plot move forward and as you journey with the characters you can’t help but forming a relationship of sorts with them. I know this is only fiction but that’s how the incredible writing from the author made me feel. Etty is a character that you laugh and cry with through the good times and bad and she lives long in your mind once you have reached the final page.
October 1940 and Paris has been under German occupation since June and the effects of their rule are being felt far and wide but little do the residents of the city of Light in particular the Jews know what is around the corner. Etty (Claudette) is a French Jew and has had enormous success writing a series of books centred around a character called Aureile. She is meeting her publisher Anton to tell him about her latest book but she receives the devastating news that he can no longer publish her because she is Jewish. Etty’s world is torn apart and believes that she will lose her career and identity. Writing is all that she knows. It has given her a good life after escaping from a traumatic childhood and it saved her from the darkest of times. Who is she without her writing? She does not observe Jewish traditions and has done her best to forget her roots so why is she being penalised for a religion she does not participate in? But now that her religion is the target of inhumane and unjust laws she feels a sense of loyalty rising up within her. After all, they do say when testing times befall us we do turn back to what we know. ’Perhaps, it was time to reclaim my faith and wear it as a badge of honour’.
How can she no longer write about Aurelie who has been like a loyal imaginary friend, living inside her head for so long? The pit of loneliness at her core grows ever stronger as the days pass and she reaches a point. One which she will not be able to come back from but just at that pinnacle she encounters Tomasz, a Polish Jew, who has been living in Paris for the last seven years to escape the growing anti semitism in Poland. He performs an incredible act for Etty and pulls this passionate woman back from the brink. A connection is formed, a spark tentatively ignited. He tells her ’Our faith is more important now than ever before. It’s not just a source of strength, it’s another way we don’t let the Germans win. We don’t let them erase our identity’.
The pair spend an evening at Etty’s apartment where they talk and advice and words of wisdom are shared and Tomasz makes a very strong impact on her life despite only a few hours in his company. But the wheels of change are constantly turning and after this night there is an awful lot in store for Etty and Tomasz as they are separated and her opinion of him changes. Tomasz was utilised to perfection throughout the book, there when he needed to be but also never forgotten when he wasn’t. He didn’t dominate Etty’s story and she could shine and show her vivid characteristics and qualities at all opportunities and my admiration and affection for her just grew and grew the further I delved into the book.
Life becomes increasingly difficult for Jews living in Paris with more and more laws and restrictions being introduced. The number of people removed from the streets and taken away grows by the day and as Etty visits the Jewish quarter she forms a friendship with Solly who runs a bookshop. Solly is full of knowledge and wisdom and the story he told and the Hasidic tales he shared were just mind blowing, inspirational and on another level to anything I have read before. Etty shares these tales and creates her own at a time when she needs the most strength, courage, grit and determination to survive. I had to stop several times and reread them because I couldn’t absorb everything in one go. Not in a bad way but just that there was so much to take in, analyse and understand from just a few words that they needed the time and respect due to them. I would have loved if the stories could have been written out again in the end notes so I could have referred back to them instead of trying to find them throughout the book when wanted to study them. ‘With every act of kindness the light in the world is increased’. ‘I had learned the vital lesson that whenever you release light, you can’t fail to benefit from the glow’. Oh how these sentiments brought a smile to my face and deeply affected me and Etty remembers these words of wisdom from Solly when she reaches her lowest point.
Through one thing and another Etty ends up being arrested and is transported to Auschwitz. The chapters set here were raw, convincing, forceful and impactful. Etty vows not to let hate get the better of her but when suffering, brutality, fear, humiliation and degradation are all around you how can you stand by this? I won’t detail what she endures there alongside Danielle, a young girl whom she meets on the truck when she is arrested and who in turn goes on to be like a sister to her, for everyone knows what occurred at Auschwitz. Siobhan Curham doesn’t spare any details but what she does is through Etty’s actions provides hope, friendship and guidance to those she is imprisoned with.
Etty creates and tells stories thanks to all she learned from Solly. She shares these with the women of the camp and this is just so heart-breaking and inspirational. ’Sometimes, when we aren’t able to control the events in our lifestory, it can be helpful to rewrite them in our imagination’. Etty and the women retell and share their stories and in doing so turn regret into love and atonement. The women learn to lean on Etty and I don’t know how she retained the strength that she did given all that befalls her. There are no words to accurately describe what a remarkable and exceptional young woman she was.
The Storyteller of Auschwitz is a work of fiction rooted in fact and Siobhan Curham in the end notes details as to how she was inspired by three authors and she also provides the reader with information as to how she went about writing and researching the book which I found fascinating. The power of storytelling as an act of resistance, inspiration and remembrance can’t be underestimated. The subject matter is difficult and emotional to write about and I hate saying this but at times given I read so much historical fiction, I can become immune to the horrors I am writing about and the books don’t hit me the way they are meant to. But here that wasn’t the case at all, my interest and passion for historical fiction was reawakened and it feels like I was taken on an imaginative and sensory journey alongside Etty. That she granted me a window into her soul and to everything she did and it was an utter privilege to be allowed that opportunity. The Storyteller of Auschwitz is a highly impressive read and I hope it finds it’s way to lots of readers as it deserves so much acclaim. I could easily see it being turned into a film for the big screen. Let’s hope that happens in the future. But in the meantime, don’t hesitate at all to pick up this amazing, important and incredible book.
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