To think human beings could do the atrocities that were done to other human beings during WWII is sickening and very bothersome. Heather Morris continues in the same vein as with The Tattooist of Auschwitz in her latest novel, Cilka’s journey. I think the only way I could continue reading these books, is with the knowledge that they had both made it through the war and all the abuse inflicted on them under the hands of the Nazis. Cilka knew that to survive the war she would have to become numb to her feelings and do what she was told. When the war was over, her abuse was not. Hopelessness was not in her vocabulary and the hope that she would prevail kept her going. A well written book, in which you will fall in love with the characters and pray that they survive. Thanks to St Martins publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

I loved this book. It was quite a journey in a concentration camp during World War Two. Cilka was a kind person caring for others even in the horrible conditions in which she lived. She found love which kept her going even during her darkest moments. I highly suggest this book
.

Exceptionally well-told story, poignant and empathetic, but not melodramatic or sentimental. Mesmerizing fiction based on real events.

I read The Tattooist of Auschwitz a few years ago and was extremely moved while reading that unimaginable story. I jumped at the chance to read Cilka's Journey. I remembered the name of the character but that was it. Her story starts at the liberation of Auschwitz and I imagined it was going to tell how she rebuilt her live after being a captive in that horrid place. I was SHOCKED to learn she did not gain her freedom and I was engrossed in learning what this human being had to endure. I have read many historical fiction books about this time period and it is always hard to know what to say about such a story. I loved this book, but it doesn't seem right to say I love reading about all of that misery, I enjoyed reading it, but it doesn't seem right to say that either. Heather Morris did a superb job in taking the facts that she knew about Cilka, building her character and weaving a heartfelt telling of human strength and endurance in the face of inhumane, unthinkable evil. I hope Ms. Morris continues to tell these stories.

This is an extraordinary book and I am privileged to have had the opportunity to review it. Cilka's Journey is the story of Cilka Klein, and is both the physical journey from her family, to Auschwitz, to the Vorkuta Gulag in Siberia and finally home to Czechoslovakia. It is also the story of the personal/emotional journey along the way losing family and friends, personal suffering and watching the suffering of others. Cilka is remarkably resilient and survives both journeys but compromises herself along the way to stay alive.

The book is both well written and well researched. I did not read the Tattoist of Ausschwitz before Cilka's Journey, but this book stands well on it's own. I'd have to say that when I have the time, I'll have to go back and read the Tattoist of Ausschwitz to complete the story.

While reading this book, I've come to believe that historical fiction is an important part of our literature. While Cilka's is real, the name of her husband has been changed to protect the identity of his descendants, but the book tells such an important part of our world history during the 40s and 50s. I'd almost rather see the Tattoist of Ausschwitz and Cilka's Journey used in High School History rather than the dry history books that are probably used today.

Many years ago I read Solzhenitsyn's work, remembering mostly Gulag Archipelago and The First Circle. Solzhenitsyn is obviously important to Russian history and Russian literature, with Gulag Archipelago overlapping in time with Cilka's Journey. Although Solzhenitsyn was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, I will always remember Cilka's Journey more for the story it tells of developing the Communist state. Telling the story of one person tells the story of all. Morris has produced one such masterpiece.

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martins and especially the author to read and review this book.

*3.5* stars.
This is a bleak, intense and horrifying account of what it was like to endure and survive for almost 10 years in the nightmare conditions of Vorkuta Gulag in the remote Siberian north.

Cecilia Klein (Cilka) was a friend of Lale and Gita in Auschwitz. In the author’s interviews with Lale (The Tattooist of Auschwitz ) he mentioned Cilka and described her as the bravest person he ever knew. Much research went into her story, but it was difficult to separate true facts from fictional fillers.

Cilka entered Auschwitz at the tender age of 16. Family members perished there. Very early in her imprisonment, she realized she must do as ordered to survive. To do otherwise meant certain death. She became ‘camp wife’ of a German commander, submitting to her rapist in order to avoid serial rapists and gang rapes which other women prisoners were experiencing. She was also put in charge of a section where sick, dying, and women of the 'wrong ethnicity or background' were held on their way to the gas chamber. To fulfill her role she pushed and yelled at those who hesitated in line to their ultimate grim destination. When liberated, she harboured much guilt for her role as camp ‘prostitute’ and in her inability to protect others.

Liberation from Auschwitz was not what she had hoped. She was imprisoned for sleeping with the enemy, which also meant to her accusers that she must be a Spy for Germany. She was sentenced to 15 years in Stalin’s Vorkuta gulag prison in Siberia where she spent almost 10 years. Whereas Auschwitz had its gas chambers, the plan for the Gulags was to get rid of undesirables through hard labour and starvation while they worked in the harshest conditions for the Russian motherland. Freezing temperatures, inadequate clothing, poor hygiene, disease, work-related accidents, and lack of nourishing food made survival unlikely.

Cilka was housed in a cold, badly constructed women’s barracks where most of the women became a substitute family. She dreaded that the women would find out about her past at Auschwitz. Again she gained a favourable position by submitting to one of the German commanders. This rapist fell in love with her.

I found some of the story unbelievable, as we are constantly reminded of her beauty, intelligence and compassion. It may be true that she was beloved by most everyone. A kind woman doctor is so impressed with her that she becomes her protector and trains her to become a leading nurse at the hospital. She is loved by the patients and their families. When sent on ambulance runs, the two male orderlies also fall in love with her. Cilka uses her privileged position to bring extra food from the hospital for the female prisoners and also steals medication for a woman who knows about her past and threatens to blackmail her. She declines favours offered to her in order to request that they be transferred to benefit friends.

When the German commander she was sleeping with is transferred, she is in danger of abuse by gangs of men who prey on other women prisoners. She is moved into the safety of the nurses quarters. While being trained in the operating room of the hospital, she falls in love with a badly beaten patient who is near death.

After her release, she was married for almost 50 years, and the happy couple lived in Czechoslovakia. The author, Heather Morris, travelled widely to research what could be learned about her life.

To learn more about the brutal and deadly conditions and the history of the Gulag prison camps, I urge readers to read the account by Owen Matthews at the end of this novel. He is a British journalist and historian who provides a historical perspective.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this engrossing and heart-wrenching story in return for an honest review.

Wow! This was great. I read the first few pages early in the week and wasn't able to get back to it.
However, after finding myself awake early on a Sunday morning (try 5 am) I decided to pick it back up. I didn't put it down till I finished it.

Cilka's Journey is unlike any Holocaust/ Post World War II story I have read. We all know the horror and terror of Auschwitz-Birkenau, but what happened to the survivors after? Heather Morris takes us through Cilka's journey from Poland to Siberia. While this book is listed as part of a series, you do not need to read the first one to follow the plot.

This book was beautifully written and portrays Cilka's strength as she moves through new challenges and encounters new people, while also confronting the trauma left from her stay in a concentration camp. I really liked this book and will be recommending it to everyone! 4/5 stars!

I get really swept up in Holocause fiction. REAAAAALLLYYY swept up. To the point where in my head I can imagine the places the characters are, and simple details such as the weather conditions reported. Cilka’s Journey had me sobbing and commiserating. While this is fiction, it’s based on a real hero, a champion of the people she loved, who was brave in unimaginable ways. I can’t wait to share this book with my book club and get their opinions on it.

I fell in love with Cilka's character during the Tattooist of Auschwitz and my attachment to her just went up from there. While it may be helpful to read the Tattooist of Auschwitz first it is not necessary.

I literally could not put down this book while reading it. It was so engaging with so many hooks, I had to know what happened next to Cilka and her friends! This book pulled in its reader with how fast passed and how intense it was. Even when you wanted to it to shy away from a topic. I was pleasantly surprised with the flash backs to some of Cilka's time in Auschwitz-Birkenau.

This is a a realistic book about the awful conditions faced by women in the labor camps called the Gulag. Its horrific part of human history. This includes sexual abuse. The author handles this topic well. Sexual abuse is always treated as something wrong and never romanticized. The author notes at the end are a must read!

Cilka's Journey has wonderfully detailed and well rounded characters. There are characters you'll feel emotionally attached to like Cilka, characters you'll hate, characters that you become to love and characters you'll miss when they aren't around for a couple chapters. While you know Cilka is based on a real person, all of these other characters feel real too.

This book is amazing and has earned its spot in my 'must buy immediately' list once it is released! I absolutely loved it!

Thank you so much to Heather Morris and St. Martin's Press for approving my request for this title on NetGalley!

Cilka’s Journey by Heather Morris is highly recommended book. Heather Morris’ characters and plot are richly developed with surprising twists woven in to each of them. You can see through Cilka’s eyes the atrocities she was subjected to, feel the physical and emotional coldness she endured and share her tears in times of grief and triumph.

There is an important message recognized during this journey about others’ perception of you, your inner fear of them believing it and the ability to be true to yourself through all of it.

Cilka’s Journey will become a part of your memories, allowing you to not only remember the places, yet the people inside them and their daily struggle to live.

Heather Morris is an author to share with your family, friends, co-workers and book clubs as a pure voice amidst the rubble.

Oh.my.gosh.
This book...I just finished it and I feel like I have a book hang over. Cilka is a character from The tattooist of Aushwitch. This book was loosely based on her life, taking place mostly after World War 2. I naively did not know about this time in history in the Soviet Union.

It was an incredibly hard read to know that what happened to people after the War. But very important. I highly recommend this book 5 stars. Thank you @netgalley for the ARC. When this becomes an audible, I will be buying it for my husband to listen to.

This book will not leave my thoughts for long time...

This book is a wonderful envisioning if WW2 from a female perspective. Often times, the points of view are mostly male, but given then extreme hardship of the time period, a woman’s view is interesting. This book stands on its own as well as being a companion to the Tattooist of Aushwitz. The book starts slow but picks up and develops a great story of strength and character during the end of the Holocaust.

Cilka’s Journey underscores how strong a human being’s will to survive is, while at the same time showing the violence human beings can do to one another. As I read it, I wondered how anyone could survive the conditions described in the concentration camps of Nazi Germany or the work camps of the Soviet Union. But survive they did and we are lucky to have these historical accounts. Both books by Heather Morris—this one and The Tattooist of Auschwitz-Birkenau—are well researched, well written, and hard to put down.

If you like historical fiction, you will appreciate everything this novel has to offer. I have not read anything that based on the Soviet gulags of Siberia, and it was brutal. Heather Morris’s novel is based on Cilka Klein, a Czechoslovakian Jew who was imprisoned in Auschwitz and transferred to Siberia by the Russians at the end of the war, as a political prisoner. She survived the brutality of Auschwitz only to be sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in the gulags.
At times this story is difficult to read, with the horrific conditions, the back breaking labor, that even women were expected to perform, the lack of food and adequate clothing during the brutal winters. She lives with other women in their dormitories and toil with them during the long days.
This is an extremely well researched book, that is a wonderful history lesson into an era that isn’t as well known as the Nazi camps, as least not to me.
Her characters are well developed and some likable and others, not so much. She demonstrates how women are able to survive the worst conditions, but with support, can make a home.
I received this ARC for my honest review, and honestly, I was awed by it. I thank #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for the opportunity to read this fabulous book.

This is a story that shows the resilience of the human spirit. The book follows Cilka, whom after doing what was necessary to survive in Auschwitz-Birkenau, is seen and charged as a "collaborator" with the enemy and is sent to a prison camp.
Conditions in the prison are different, but contain their own horrors. This is a story of love and survival in a place where there is little hope. It is beautifully written and while some readers may have read of Cilka while reading The Tattooist of Auschwitz (also by Heather Morris) this book stands on its own as a remarkable read.

Cilka’s Journey: A Novel by Heather Morris
Follow up novel to: The Tattooist of Auschwitz

October 1, 2019
St Martin’s Press
Historical fiction
320 pages
Rating: 4/5

I received a digital copy of this ARC from NetGalley and St Martin’s Press in exchange for an unbiased review.

This is a follow up novel to The Tattooist of Auschwitz. It is not a sequel but more of a companion read which makes it a stand alone story. The first novel shines light on the unimaginable “job” as tattooist that a prisoner accepts as a means for survival in Auschwitz concentration camp. In Cilka’s Journey, we learn of another unenviable “job” in order to survive the atrocities of Auschwitz.

Complete review to follow.

Guyssssss. Let’s talk about another 5 star book by the fabulous Heather Morris.

I just love her writing. Both of her books are based off of true stories, this one following the life of Cecilia ‘Cilka’ Klein, a Jewish female taken by the Nazis at the age of 16, and it follows her journey thru Auschwitz and then again thru a Siberian prison camp. We first heard of Cilka in Morris’s first book The Tattooist of Auschwitz.

This book destroyed me just like the first one did. The author takes you thru all the awful things that happen to Cecilia while still leaving you feeling hopeful. She brings to light the horrors of our worlds history while still giving you hope in humanity. The writing it’s beautifully done and she portrays the characters so thoughtfully. I literally read this in a day because I just could not put it down.

A huge shout out to my friends over at @stmartinspress for gifting me a copy!
Out October 1st, 2019!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I received an advanced reader's copy from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. 4.5 stars.

Words cannot even begin to describe how beautiful The Tattooist of Auschwitz is, nor its remarkable ability to restore one's faith in humanity. I will remember Lale and Gita's story for the rest of my life, if not longer. When I saw there was to be a sequel, and then saw that advanced copies were being offered, there was no "if" in my mind.

Heather Morris just has an incredible sense when it comes to balancing realistic dialogue with stunning prose. I read quite a lot of historical fiction (novels in particular), and Morris' writing is some of the best historical work I have come across.

A well-done novel that ventures back and forth from the protagonist's childhood to her time in Auschwitz to her years in the Vorkuta Gulag, this book tells of unimaginable pain and unbelievable courage. What I liked the most about Cilka's Journey, besides for the wonderful writing, was that it told a story that may have been largely lost. That is perhaps the greatest power that historical books have: To preserve the words, stories, and thoughts of those who were unable to do so years ago. Cilka was an amazing person with immense perseverance and selflessness. Her story deserves, more than anything, to be told and heard. So, thank you, Lale, for telling someone about Cilka; thank you, Heather Morris, for telling her story; and thank you, Cilka, for your strength.

This is the story of Cilka Klein. During the holocaust Cilka is chosen by two of the highest ranking SS officers at Auschwitz-Birkenau to be “theirs.” She is continually raped by them, but given more food, and a position of what could be considered power. After the war, Cilka is charged as collaborating with the enemy and sent to a Siberian prison camp. This book follows her time at the prison and her life after Auschwitz.

This would make a fantastic book club book. There is so much discussion to be had surrounding this book and I’m dying for someone else to read it and discuss with me! It’s amazing to think that someone who did what she had to do in order to just stay alive could then be sent to a prison with similar conditions for so many years. This book shows how much suffrage there was even after the end of the war.

Thank you to St Martins Press for my gifted copy of this book!

Wow. I had to really let this book sink in after finishing it. I had so many heavy emotions. Cilka’s Journey is an exceptional piece of WWll historical fiction. It is written as the sequel to The Tatooist of Auschwitz, where Cilka was a friend to two of the characters. This book continues her journey after the camp is liberated and she is wrongfully charged as a collaborator with the Nazis and sent on to another work camp as punishment. This was a unique element, as life in Nazi concentration camps are often written about in stories but not many books go into detail about those who were liberated only to face a trial and be sent back to work camp prisons. I was shocked to realize this horrible act actually happened and heartbroken to read everything she endured. Cilka was resilient, brave, and inspiring as a character. I can’t praise this book enough. I haven’t yet read The Tatooist of Auschwitz, and didn’t need to in order to be impacted and feel connected to this story. However, I will definitely be picking up the first book now. Historical fiction fans, preorder this and make sure to get your copy of Cilka’s Journey when it is published on October 1st! It’s one of my top reads for the year.