Cecilia Klein was sixteen years old when she was sent to Auschwitz- Birkenau. She was an innocent girl. We first meet “Cilka” when Gita starts working in the head office in Auschwitz. She and her hut friends befriend Cilka who is picked to be the focus of sexual desire, and rape, by the head of Auschwitz. The things she goes through is mind numbingly hard to fathom.

After Reading The Tattooist of Auschwitz, I needed more the story didn’t feel complete. I, like so many others, wondered where did Cilka disappear to when she was separated from Gita And Lale during liberation. I mean it was like she just “poofed” out of the camp never to be heard from again.

The poignancy between the “memories” from Auschwitz-Birkenau and Voltuka Gulag added to what we knew from Cilka’s story In The Tattooist of Auschwitz it is a powerful, heart rendering story of strength, bravery and shear will to live.

The story is beautifully written, helping the reader to feel as if they were one of Cilka’s hut-mates. The imagery and the 6 senses that you encounter while reading is vivid, jarring and unexpected. It was emotionally hard at times to read. As a grandniece of a survivor of Auschwitz-Birkenau it cut me to the core with its realistic feel. Lale would be proud of how Ms. Morris tells his friend’s tale,

I am thankful to Heather Morris for giving us Cilka’s story. The heartache of surviving three horrific years at Auschwitz- Birkenau and then being labeled as a spy and an enemy because of her forced upon sexually violent traumatic years there, and knowing so many languages would be terrifying. She goes through all that only to be sent to Siberia is wrenchingly painful. I can’t even imagine, However in true Cecilia Klein Fashion she perseveres.

Thanks, Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book in lieu of an honest review.

I liked, but didn’t love, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, which was Heather Morris’s debut novel. Ms. Morris is a screenwriter, and her prose in the first novel did not move me nearly as much as I expected. The followup novel,
Cilka’s Journey, begins in much the same fashion. At times, it reads more like a screenplay than a novel, noting characters and their surroundings but not delving beneath the surface.

We first met Cilka as a 16-year-old prisoner in Auschwitz-Birkenau, where she is a friend to Gita, who becomes the girlfriend of Lale, the tattooist. Cilka has caught the eye of Commandant Schwarzhuber and is forced into performing sexual favors for him in exchange for her safety. For this, and other privileges she is granted, many of the other female prisoners despise her. The author, who learned of Cecilia “Cilka” Klein in her interviews with Lale Sokolov, says that he called Cilka the “bravest person” he ever met. If Cilka’s Journey comes anywhere close to capturing her experiences and her spirit, I can see why he felt that way!

In this second novel, we see Cilka as she is about to be released. However, she is jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire, as she finds that she is not being freed. Rather than being rescued by the Russians, they have accused her of “sleeping with the enemy” and have sentenced her to an incredibly long imprisonment. Along with others, she is packed into a train once again and forced on a long journey to another camp. She has no idea where, but much later she learns that it is the end of the earth: Vorkuta Gulag in Siberia.

From reading the author’s notes, we learn that although she had the honor of meeting Lale and learning his story firsthand, she only learned of Cilka through him and through others who knew her or knew of her. Much of this account is fiction. The research is well done, however. The descriptions of life in the camp felt truly awful. Many women, as well as the men, were forced to work in the coalmines. Food was scarce. The huts were crude and uncomfortable. The relationships described, while they are the author’s imagination, are quite believable. It seemed to me that Morris did a better job of expressing Cilka’s emotions – her guilt, her compassion, her anger, her regrets, her sorrows – much more so than in her first novel. Cilka uses her intelligence and her social skills to survive. She speaks several languages and manages to obtain a job in the hospital, where she is befriended and mentored by a kind doctor. She learns whom she can trust and whom she must avoid; even here, however, assault and sexual abuse cannot be avoided.

This is the first time I have read anything about the gulags, and it is shocking. If the real Cilka Klein survived anything close to what is depicted in this novel, it speaks of truly incredible perseverance and strength. Vorkutalag was not a death camp, per se, because there were no crematoria, but many prisoners were shot to death by guards. Many others did not survive the difficult conditions: extreme sub-zero cold, back-breaking physical labor, poor nutrition, typhoid fever, violence, and depression.

The author’s Cilka has flashbacks to “the other place”, which she does not name, nor does she speak of it to others in the gulag if she can help it. She knows that she did what she had to do to survive, yet she is ashamed to have others know. In order to keep from losing her mind to despair, she buries herself in her work helping others. When the darkness threatens to overcome her, she thinks back to memories of her childhood when she was a willful, cherished daughter and sister. She imagines reuniting with her best friend from the camp and her friends from the other place, Gita and Lale. Perhaps they found each other and were married. Can she even imagine that for herself someday?

The author follows her story with an afterword that recounts her quest for information about Cecilia Klein, and she was able to find some, but not much information about her life. This novel is Heather Morris’s way of honoring her and the many others who suffered and survived, as well as those who did not. Even if only a fraction of this story is actually true, I have no doubt that Cilka, as well as many like her, was truly a very brave human being.

My thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for allowing me to access Cilka’s Journey as an ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

4 stars

If you liked The Tattooist of Auschwitz then this is a MUST READ. I gave tattooist 5 stars and I liked this book even better. Cilka is such a strong character who has to endure so much pain and still manages to power through it and find ways to do good deeds in a cruel world. She is definitely one of my favorite book characters. The ending felt a little rushed but I still really enjoyed it. I've also never heard of Vorkuta prior to reading this and it was heartbreaking to learn that after escaping such already dark times that they were sent here to endure even more cruelty.

When there is a story whether it’s a work of fiction or non fiction about the Holocaust I have to prepare myself because I know the tears are going to come. You cannot prepare yourself enough for such a story. This was beautifully written, sad and the strength of the women in the camps. Every time I read a book on this topic I just wonder how people just constantly kept a positive attitude and stayed strong willed. Definitely a must read. I’m not going to give a synopsis of the book. Just read it.

This is a very well written read about one woman' harrowing tale. This story is based on the true story of Cecilia Klein, who was first incarcerated in Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp, and then when the camp is finally freed by the allies she finds herself arrested for collaboration with the Nazis, and sent to a Soviet gulag above the Arctic Circle. A compelling read, with a strong heroine, although such a tough subject.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with a copy for an honest review.

Heather Morris exceeded my expectations with Cilka's Journey! Although the story told in The Tattooist of Auschwitz was fascinating, I struggled with the writing. This time the writing is excellent, and the weaving of Cilka's two imprisonments, and memories of her pre-war life, was superb. I also appreciate, once again, the backstory Morris shared about how she came to write this book, and the (added bonus) of a history lesson!

Although the topic is excellent, the execution of this novel leaves a lot to be desired. The prose is flat and austere, leaving out much needed details to give the reader a better sense of location and place, particularly the brutally frigid weather in Siberia, and a better sense of the complex and often heartrending situations of Cilka in the prison. Honestly, the prose felt like it had been written in another language and then translated into English poorly. Now, maybe the prose and lack of detail were purposeful on the author's part to highlight the desolation of Cilka's life or the difficulty of being in prison in another country, hence a lack of detailed communication. Cilka's habit of "going blank" when triggering episodes happened certainly would match up with the lack of emotive writing , but even when the author does bring up Cilka's tormented thoughts, it feels abbreviated and closed off. I read the whole book, and I still feel like I'm missing what Cilka thought and felt deep down; the novel never seemed to go beyond superficial, brief details. I would recommend the book to readers who don't need to bond or relate to the characters to enjoy a book

Although I didn't care for this book, Morris is a popular author, so I ordered it for our University's leased bestseller collection.

Cilka's Journey is a continuation from The Tattooist Of Auschwitz, it can be read as a stand-alone, but I would suggest starting with the first book in the series.

Another great read from Heather Morris. Words can't express how beautifully written these books are. It was wonderful to read more about Cilka and her journey - her courage and strength is absolutely unbelievable. How she survived the horrendous things she went through I will never understand. She is a TRUE survivor.

A must read!!!

Incredible Historical novel. I’ve read many of the genre, but this one is triple layered. To be sent to a concentration camp as a teen is one thing, but to then after being “liberated”and not be released but sent to a gulag because she is mistaken as a spy is way beyond horrifying. This story proves that life could go bad to worse during the punishing WWII era. On the other hand this story is a testimonial for the will to survive and the role love supply’s the fuel. Thank you to Netgallery and St Martens Press for an advance copy of this book.

Cilka’s journey is a beautifully written account of Cilka Klein’s story after her life at Auschwitz. I just can’t comprehend the horrific life she had to endure at the concentration camp and survive the inhumane treatment at the age of sixteen. My heart goes out to Cilka and all other similar regular folks who had to endure such terrible stuff.

It definitely will make the readers cry their hearts out for the plight of Cilka. How Cilka handles the camp and still comes through stronger is truly admirable. But at the end, it shows there is light at the end of the tunnel. It is a tale of such hope which will inspire everyone to keep going irrespective of all the troubles in life. This was a quick, easy read; and I liked the fact the writing was perfectly simple.

I highly recommend reading it.

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the advanced copy!⁣

I usually do not read books that are based on real events. I have found that my knowledge of the event overshadowed the book. I couldn’t help but compare what happened to what was going on in the book. I would almost always end up disappointed in the book. Then I read The Tattooist of Auschwitz, which is the first book in this series. I was taken away by Lale’s story. Cilka was introduced in this book. She was a mysterious and enigmatic character. I wondered what happened to her at the end of the book. What I read in Cilka’s Journey broke my heart.

Cilka was a child when she caught the attention of The Commandant. Which sickened me in the first book. In this book, I was still sickened. What he did to Cilka in those years was heartbreaking. But, it was what happened after Auschwitz was released that broke my heart.

Cilka was found to be a Nazi collaborator because the Russian Army found out that she was sleeping with The Commandant. Instead of earning her freedom, she was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in Siberia. I was outraged when I read that. She was traumatized at a young age, forced to watch friends and family die/killed, and then, instead of being able to heal, she was retraumatized on top of that.

I know that I am making a big deal about Cilka’s age in this book. She was 16 when she was sent to Auschwitz. She was around 20 when she was sent to Siberia. She suffered trauma after trauma in Auschwitz. So, yes, I was shocked when the Russian Army sent her to Siberia. She was forced to do what she had to survive, which mean becoming a camp wife of a soldier. I can’t tell you how that affected me. The abuse shook me. She suffered in both places. There were points where I wanted to hug her, take her away, and get her therapy.

The prison camp in Siberia was as bad as Auschwitz. But, and stress this, the prisoners could leave, if they survived to the end of the sentences. It was an awful place to live. Disease and violence were rampant. To my knowledge, I don’t think that I have read a book that takes place in one. I have heard of them and have seen them mentioned in books.

Cilka’s Journey was not an easy read. There were times I had to put the book down and walk away because I was that disturbed by it. The emotional impact that it had on me lasted days after I read it.

The end of Cilka’s Journey was informative. The author included a note about Cilka and her life after the prison camp. While the characters portrayed in the prison camp were fictional, the camp itself wasn’t. The author explained what happened to it and when it closed down.

Cika's Journey is a well written book with well developed characters. It is a emotional story and it pulls you into it.

I did not read 'The Tattooist of Auschwitz' and can not compare or connect the two books. I don't feel like I needed to have read the other book to understand this one.

This book is called Cilka's Journey and that's exactly what is portrayed- it's a telling of her journey. There is no major plotline, mission, or problem to solve other than recounting the years that Cilka spent in a Russian gulag for her 'crimes.' It is not for the faint of heart. The hardships she endures include rape and violence. It is hard to read, and yet, it is important, whether the author took liberties with Cilka's life or not. I, for one, had not heard of these gulags and was enlightened to millions of lives lost under Stalin's authority, and the kind of inhuman treatment he ordered/allowed.

I don't like giving a three star rating to a book about such tender matters, and it is not given for the story. It's probably just because I've read so many books like this recently that this one just didn't rise above those. The book description indicates there is an aspect of love story, but that doesn't really get started until 80% into the book. It's very much a description of day to day life over the course of her 8 years at the prison. It feels wrong to say that I was bored, but in all honesty, that's what I felt. I typically prefer books that have more of a plot. I'm not sure I'll read The Tattooist of Auschwitz at this point. But if you liked that one, then I'm guessing this one is right up your alley!

When I finished the Tattooist of Auschwitz, I remember wondering what happened to Cilka. I believe it was mentioned at the end that she was sentenced to 15 years in a Siberian labor camp, but I was left wanting and needing to know what happened to her. I'm so glad Heather Morris recognized that in many of her readers and has given us the fictional account of her story.
Cilka's Journey is heart-wrenching in exactly the way I'd expect it to be. Full of pain and hardship, but also blossoming friendships and sacrifices made for others. Cilka was an incredibly woman who endured inexpiable hardship while in Auschwitz, only to them be sentenced as a "Nazi supporter" because she was raped for years by the Nazis. That alone made me furious, but the way she takes that and endures through the Siberian camp, not only surviving herself, but doing her best to help others is commendable. My heart ached for Cilka at so many points, and I am so happy I read this book. It is one that will stay with me for a long, long time.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC!

I’ve sort of sworn off Holocaust books but this interested me because most of it takes place in a gulag after Cilka’s was “rescued” by the Russians and then sentenced for collaborating with the Nazis. Unfortunately, this book just wasn’t for me. I couldn’t stand the wooden writing style - present tense, choppy sentences, overuse of commas (which was very noticeable in the random pauses in the audiobook), lack of description and atmosphere. We were told how Cilka’s felt rather than being shown it. The afterword written by Owen Matthews gave a more vivid picture of the gulags than the novel did. I was also put off by the way Cilka was portrayed. She was not only beautiful but she also knew several languages, excelled at everything she attempted without apparent effort or trepidation, was unfailingly brave and forgave all her tormentors. She was a saint. The subject matter of the book was more compelling to me than its execution.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

This has been described as the sequel to The Tattooist of Auschwitz, a very successful docudrama about Lale and Gita Sokolov, Czech Jews who survived Auschwitz-Birkenau. Cilka (Cecelia) Klein is Gita's best friend and a secondary character in the first book.

This companion book or spin-off book gives us the story of Cilka which, on its own, is harrowing. Cilka is the sole survivor of her family. She has no idea what her father's outcome was. Her mother and sister died in the camps.

Cilka is petite, beautiful, and very, very smart. She also has the instincts of a survivor. This means that, in the hand of the Nazis, she must make difficult decisions. She can go to the ovens or work herself to death, or she can compromise her values and become a tool of the Nazis. She chooses the latter, as did many 0ther prisoners. She takes on the role of a trustee and also succumbs to the advances of two officers, pretending to take in stride the repeated rapes she experiences.

After the war, when she is freed by the Russians, she finds herself imprisoned in Siberia as a enemy collaborator. Her sentence is long and cruel. She is assigned to Siberia, fifty miles below the Arctic Circle. Ten months of the year are cruel and dark. Spring is short and white. he sun never sets and circadian rhythms are not able too adjust to the constant light.

Cilka assigned to a barracks with other prisoners of Stalin. the other women are mostly political prisoners. Only Cilka and one other woman, Hannah, are camp survivors. Only Cilka is Jewish. Again, Cilka is given a position of power. Again she works her way up the chain through hard work and native intelligence to a nursing position where she is mentored by an idealistic doctor. Cilka's deep well of humankindness makes her a natural as a caregiver both to patients and to her companions in the hut.

However, Cilka is being blackmailed and is, once again, forced to use her looks to survive in the Gulag cesspool. The human connections she makes keep her alive and her capability brings her rewards. However, she never forgets the camps or what she had to do to stay alive.

This is a page turner and, while it is easy for readers to sympathize with the life or death decisions Cilka had to make, it still raises the ethical questions of what we are willing to sacrifice of our humanity to survive.

Cilka was a real person however, unlike other Holocaust survivors, Cilka did not do a Shoah testimony or any other record of her time either in Auschwitz or in the Gulag. The author's copious research has resulted in a story of a good person who had to make impossible choices and, while her choices were often the subject of vicious gossip, the author presents Cilka as a victim of history with a will to survive that can only be achieved through compromise and difficult decisions..

This book documents a time less documented than the Holocaust itself, but no less costly to humankind. It is believed that Stalin killed 18 million people, not with German efficiency, but by letting disease, work, and the elements do his work for him.

There is much to discuss in this book and Cilka is a character who will stay with you long after you close the covers. Be sure to read all of the epilogues and additional material. It is important historical background to understand the Russian Gulag system. Highest recommendation.





Reading Progress

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I didn’t know much about this book when I started reading it other than it was the same author who wrote The Tattooist of Auschwitz. I remember Cilka was involved in that book, but it was interesting to read more of her story—both a glimpse of her life inside Auschwitz and her story at the Siberian prison camp.

Sixteen year old Cilka, sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp in 1942, is so beautiful that she is spared hard labor with her fellow captives, only to suffer in an even more humiliating manner. Somehow, she finds the courage to use her beauty and sexuality to her favor, surviving until the camp is liberated. Full of relief and hope and a life of freedom, she is 'condemned' again as a collaborator and sent to a prison camp in Siberia. Based on a true story, Cilka's Journey is affirmation of the strength of individual spirit and strength and even love through the most horrific of circumstances.

This was another five star read by Heather Morris! If you read and enjoyed The Tattooist of Auschwitz, this one is a must read!

The opening pages of this book had me angry. Actually most of the book had me angry and happy and sad and full of all kinds of emotions. I could not believe where Cilka headed after her time in Birkenau. I almost threw my Kindle across the room after the first few pages, but I just had to know how Cilka ended up. She is an extremely strong character.

Heather Morris has quickly became one of my top favorites. She conveys the emotions so well with her words, and everything just seems to flow together and make you want to never stop reading. After finishing the story I kept going to read the acknowledgments and other things at the back of the book to see what else she had to say. I usually never read those, but I just couldn't make myself put this book down. The research and thought that went into this book is amazing.

Hands down my favorite Historical Fiction of the year! Thank you #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for an early copy of #CilkasJourney to review!

Cecilia Klein was just sixteen when she was sent to Auschwitz and nineteen when she was sent to Vorkuta Gulag in Siberia. This book haunted my dreams and kept me awake at night. Definitely a book that I did not want to read, but a book that I needed to read and once I started reading I could not put the book down. I simply had to know what happened to her. The fact that such a young girl could survive so much brutality and still able to care deeply for others.
A brilliant book that broke my heart.

I gave this book 5 stars, it deserves them and more!

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for the uncorrected digital copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review