This was an ok read for me. I read a lot of concentration camp books. Most are based on true stories. This book although loosely based on real people did not line up with the others I have read. There are things that were said and done that would have caused instant death and yet they were ignored. While I’m sure there were many situations that were expressed in the book that could have happened, I find that reading a book based on true events and real people work much better for me.

Etty is a Jewish author, living in Paris. But when it is declared illegal to publish books written by Jews this won’t be the only way that her life is to change. Soon Etty finds herself in the prison camp of Auschwitz and her ability to tell stories is what will keep the hope in the people's hearts.

Curham writes with passion, power and emotion, a truly heartbreaking story, but one that needs to be told. I am a big mood reader and I have to be in the right place to read these kinds of books, but I cannot fault Curham’s writing style and how the reader is captured in this story from beginning to end,

What a well done, incredible story. Connecting the power of books, storytelling and experiences - both good and bad. The characters were incredible, strong, real and well developed. This book was often difficult to read, as all books about the Holocaust are, but also deeping moving and heartwarming. There is horror, there is loss, but there is also the power of friendship and the family that you build during difficult times. A must read for all historical fiction fans.

Etty Weil was a Jewish author in Paris, until the Nazi's occupied her city. She finds herself in Auschwitz, watching as a young girl, Danielle, is separated from her mother, and taking this young girl under her wing. Through storytelling, Etty finds a world that she, Danielle and the women around them can escape into. Through these stories, Etty finds herself learning more about these women and the lives they left behind. She must survive the horrors they experience every day, if only to share these stories with the world outside. But as time goes on, Danielle starts to rebel against the SS guards, putting herself and Etty at risk.

Thank you Netgalley for my advanced reader copy.

The book was slow to grab my attention and I don’t think the first third to half of the book did justice to the enormity and gravity of the devastating subject matter. I speed read the second half and ironically, after a slow start, it felt rushed at the end. I expected to be punched in the guts, given the setting, but it didn’t quite have the expected emotive effect.

Etty is a successful author. She has published four books and has just completed her 5th book in the installment. Etty finds out thru her publisher that they it is now illegal to publish books written by Jews and as a result of that they will be unable to publish hers. Etty is understandably angry and heartbroken. What she doesn't know yet is that her heartbreak will increase 10 fold and she will find herself amongst others fighting for survival at Auschwitz.

Etty uses her story abilities to help keep spirits up amongst the other women suffering under the autoricites of Hitler. Etty's gift of storytelling helps her forge bonds with other women in the camp and from them they are able to gather strength to go on despite the horrors that met them everyday.

Curham's writing is powerful and emotional. This novel like others about the Holocaust put me in a dark, depressing place but they are important to read and to remember those who died and those who survived. #NeverAgain

Even though this novel is heartbreaking and heartwarming it’s important that stories and our history is told. I know everyone had different experiences and some where beyond what any human should have to endure.

We shall never forget! I have been to Dachau’s and so I know the eerie feeling and we all went through and saw so much and not a word was spoken. Everyone has a story to tell and I appreciated the main characters thoughts.

I don’t give 5 star ratings often, but The Storyteller of Auschwitz by Siobhan Curham deserves it. Etty ran away from an abusive father and became a successful writer in Paris. When the Germans prohibit Jews from being published she begins to write for a resistance paper. She also meets Solly, an old Jewish bookseller, who has a huge influence on her. When Etty, Solly, and other friends are arrested and sent to Auschwitz, Etty uses her stories to brighten the lives of her bunk mates.

This is a story of what one person can do to bring light and hope to those around her. It also shows the power of a story. Great read!

A powerful story.
Stories are how Etty makes a living until the Nazis take over Paris.
Grim descriptions rise up from the pages as Curham reveals how Etty suffered but survived.
The perseverance and determination to not only live but then tell the story of her experience kept her going.
I find these stories, whether true or fiction, to feed the need to keep telling them because it’s vital and necessary.

“As I contemplated giving up, Tomasz’s words echoed back through time to me: ‘When this is all over, you will be able to tell the world what they did to us. You could write it in a book.”
Line 1, Para 2, Prologue, The Storyteller of Auschwitz by Siobhan Curham

When you hear a powerful story, it makes you more thoughtful. But when you read a book like ‘the storyteller of Auschwitz’ that holds a narrative so powerful, that which shakes you from the inside and makes you realise the bigger picture of life, love & death, you know that you have read the Book of the Year!!! Well done @siobhancurham

I am so grateful that I read this one. Thank you @bookouture and @netgalley for this book!! I’m truly indebted!!

From the prologue till the end, this book held me, making me go on an emotional roller-coaster ride. From Etty to Solly to Thomasz to Danielle, every character is a work of perfection. Ofcourse, Solly is my favorite though! Like the many layers of onion, ever page unveils the essence of humanity & the power of determination. Every word written by #siobhancurham is a tribute to the resilience and willpower of all those who went through the traumas of WWII.

Curham’s writing shines through her characters, the accuracy of the World War Two settings and its multi-level effects on Jews, the stories Solly & Etty share with us. This book is a beautiful masterpiece that makes your heart wrench as you read the plight of those in concentration camps. The book is both, thought provoking & gripping and makes you realise how fragile yet resilient are the threads of humanity!

This is a book that holds its readers through the sheer power of storytelling!!

This is a book that deserves to be on the charts for many years to come!

Rating 10⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and more!!!!

I have read many stories about the people and their lives in Auschwitz. This book really touched me. It is so beautifully written. Despite the horrors that are told in the story there is an underlying feeling of determination, power and love.
Etty Weil is an author. She lives looking over the Seine whilst writing her books on her typewriter. But the Germans arrive and the young Jewish woman finds herself discovering the horrors that befell the Jews. In a camp she witnesses the horror of a young girl called Danielle, is wrenched from her mother. Etty takes the young girl under her wing and a beautiful strong bond is formed between the two of them. Never having had a family to call her own, Etty see's herself as Danielle's big sister.
A truly moving story and one i wont forget for sometime.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to see an ARC

Without sounding macabre, I really enjoy reading books about Auschwitz and the learning about the devastating times. It’s a moment in history that seems so farfetched and unreal, that regardless of how many books I read about the tragedy, I still end up being shocked by everything that I read. ‘The Storyteller of Auschwitz was no different, and Siobhan Curham delivered with every single word, every emotion, every little detail. It’s not often I’m speechless.

I cried my eyes out at the end of this book, to the point where I struggled to breathe. The poignancy behind the story was brutal, obviously, given the topic, yet it was so touching how the ladies formed their friendships during a time where nothing was certain. I could feel the pain that Etty felt many times over, yet I could also feel the strength that she tried her hardest to never lose. Its amazing what the power of words can do to someone, just like what this story did to me. My heart may be shattered but my hope meter is full. I urge you to read this book and pay homage to the people who lived and perished through an horrendous time. Without authors like Siobhan Curham, their memories wouldn’t be kept alive, fiction or not.

✡️ 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝘼𝙪𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙯 ✡️
𝖲𝗂𝗈𝖻𝗁𝖺𝗇 𝖢𝗎𝗋𝗁𝖺𝗆
𝖱𝖾𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗌𝖾: 𝖩𝗎𝗅𝗒 13, 2023

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…

It feels like I shouldn’t say that I love reading books about the Holocaust because of all the horrific crimes against humanity that took place, but I also think the message of this book and how it’s our stories that help us live on even after we’re gone, that make books like this important. Durham is also the author of The Paris Network, Beyond the Broken Sky & An American in Paris.

Etty Weil, is an author whose bestselling novels have captivated the hearts of women all over France until her publisher says they can no longer publish her books because she is Jewish. As she struggles to find her purpose she meets an older Jewish man named Solly who shares his wisdom and life lessons with her through stories. Ultimately she can’t evade the Germans forever and ends up at Auschwitz. Trapped within the maze of barbed wire, she befriends Danielle, vowing to protect her as a sister. In the darkness, Etty discovers her gift: the power of storytelling. Each night, Etty shares stories with Danielle, weaving a tapestry of imagination and hope. Little does she know that the other women in their cramped hut are also listening intently, drawing strength from the tales.

This was a really great read and if you are a someone who is drawn to WWII and Holocaust historical fiction, you should definitely check this one out. I loved the idea that even amidst unimaginable horror, the power of love and storytelling can transcend all boundaries. The author’s note mentions that the inspiration for Etty came from the stories of three Jewish writers who were all deported to Auschwitz, two of them died while imprisoned, the third survived. All the background details of the camp are based on true accounts of life in the camp.

Thank you to @netgalley , @siobhancurham & @bookouture for an advanced copy of this book!

#TheStorytellerOfAuschwitz #SiobhanCurham #NewRelease #HistoricalFiction #holocaustfiction #BookReview #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagram #netgalley

A heartbreakingly beautiful story of finding hope and love in the most treacherous place.

SUMMARY
The Storyteller of Auschwitz by Siobhan Curham takes place in Paris: 1942. Famous author Etty Wiel finds herself crowded into a cramped train car headed to a destination unknown. After recently finding out her book publisher can no longer publicize her famous book series, Etty is devastated and makes a drastic move by the Seine. Thankfully, a passerby is around to help her from her bind and through much more.

Once at their destination, Etty befriends fourteen-year-old Danielle, who becomes distraught as guards rip her from her mother's embrace. Etty takes Danielle under her wing, spending her days encouraging her to keep her spirits high by telling Danielle stories each evening in their bunk. She tells beautiful stories, building a world of imagination and hope for Danielle to escape into. With hope also came courage, and one day, Danielle took a courageous feat too far.

When the women inside the cramped bunkhouse saw Etty losing faith, they told her how much her stories brought them hope and peace. Not realizing the surrounding women heard the stories, Etty overcame her sorrow and once again encouraged them to share their lives, stories, dreams, and desires. Etty uses this as motivation to stay alive to keep a promise she had once made to share the story of what she endured so the world would know the terrible things the Nazis did to her.

REVIEW
Wow! I am not kidding when I say this is one of the best books I've ever read! The Storyteller of Auschwitz is gut-wrenching, heartbreaking, beautiful, hopeful, and overwhelmingly powerful. This book is bound to bring forth tears of both sadness and hope.

The way Curham conveys each character is pure brilliance! With a small cast of main characters, each personality shines through in a way that feels like you're next to them, enduring the same horror by their side. The writing is stunning, and though the topics are sensitive, as we trudge through the mud alongside Etty, her stories bring us peace through her imagination, adventure, and creativity.

It was a genuine honor to experience Etty's lowest of lows alongside her because we also had the privilege to encounter her triumph through that.

I am so grateful to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC copy of The Storyteller of Auschwitz in exchange for my unbiased and honest review!

As always with a book of this content, I know it will be a very emotional read. I resigned myself to needing to read these type of books occasionally as they are some of the most inspirational stories around. This novel certainly didn't waiver and it saw me laughing, sobbing and disgusted for what little humanity some people had. It also made me marvel at the hope and inspiration and courage that people generated out of nothing to keep going. I loved the stories told throughout the book and the fact that Etty found herself and her strength with all the ordeals that she went through. Her character shaped up so much from the beginning of the story. I would love to read more of this authors work once my heart heals from the power of this one. Thanks to the author and publisher and Netgalley for a temporary copy in exchange for an honest review.

"Every story worth its salt brings its protagonist to his or her knees in the end". Prologue, The Storyteller of Auschwitz, Siobhan Durham.

Oh how I envy anyone who is reading this book for the first time. To fall in love with the characters. This is a beautiful, heart-wrenching, uplifting, sad and devastatingly powerful story. It will stay with you when you have finished reading. A small cast of main characters experiencing the horrors of Nazi persecution and incarceration in both Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. I was torn between reading it quickly and wanting to savour it at the same time. I highlighted some of the passages and phrases as they were just so perfect. It is definitely something I would recommend to all of my book loving friends to read.

Claudette (known as Etty) Weil is an author living in Paris at the outbreak of war. Etty has abandoned her Jewish faith. She has successfully had five books published in a series about a feisty female character called Aurelie. However, once the Nazi crackdown on the Jewish population starts to bite, her publishers are no longer allowed to publish or sell books by Jewish authors. After meeting with her publisher expecting to hand over her new manuscript for book 6, instead she is treated with the news that it is now illegal to publish it. Later that day she meets Tomasz. This meeting starts a chain of events that lead to her reconnecting with her faith at a very deep level and meeting other Jewish characters along the way who become as close to her as blood family. The story introduces you to Etsy, Tomasz, Solly the elderly Jewish bookshop owner, Danielle a 14 year old girl and Madeleine. Solly's stories and fables from the Hassidic Jewish tradition have a deep and lasting effect on Etty. To help keep up morale and spirits amongst the horrors of Auschwitz she tells stories to the women. Etty is determined to live to write the story of what
really happened to the Jewish people.

This book was astonishing to read. The writing was raw and heartbreaking. I was truly gripped by it. It tells the story of a Jewish author called Etty, who is sent to Auschwitz. This book made me cry, it made my stomach drop in horror, but it also made me angry that it was based on true events. It is a truly barbaric time in history that should never be forgotten. I think it is a testament to Siobhan Curham’s writing that she was able to write about a delicate subject matter in such an effective way. The characters were all fantastic, and I especially loved Danielle, whose sisterly relationship with Etty was so well-written. I’d highly recommend this book because it is truly an important book to read.

I absolutely loved this book. The balance between "everyday" life and in camp life was something fresh and new. The writing was easy to read and the characters made you fall in love with them and never want to let them go.

I don't know if it's the truth that lies within these stories or if the people who write them just have a special kind of magic that enables them to create incredibly beautiful and moving stories stemming from such tragedy and oh wow was this a beautiful tale.

This story begins in Paris, 1940. 25 year old Claudette Weil affectionately known as "Etty" is an author no longer permitted to be published or to write due to Hitlers new laws forbidding Jewish people from doing so. We follow Etty over the course of the next 6 years, having to leave her home, her time spent in Drancy internment camp before being sent to Auschwitz and how she went on with life after the war.

Etty is an incredible character, she is kind, caring, strong and resilient. The kindest soul with the biggest heart. I absolutely loved her and I could not have loved this book anymore, it is so beautifully written, powerful and heart breakingly sad and have I mentioned that I loved it.

I would highly recommend this one to any and all my historical fiction readers, it was wonderful.

I love books about the Holocaust! I have read many books in this genre. I loved the hook of this story. It started with a meet cute that was adorable and moving. However, some things happen that didn't seem realistic for two strangers to do right after they met. The main issue with this book was its pacing. A lot of the big plot points were rushed and brought me out of the story. When some unimportant plot points were dragged on and made me tempted to skim through the story.
The main character was described as brave, but I felt like she was just ignorant and rash with her decisions. She made friends and enemies in a matter of seconds and it was hard for me to believe her choices were real.
I felt like the poetry and quotes littered throughout the book were very heavy handed and got annoying after a while.
I did love that once she got to the camp, she was a source of hope for the other people and used her storytelling in a remarkable way. The story came alive when she got to camp, but it wasn't enough for me to love this book. I felt like it was not digging deep enough into the trauma and turmoil of this time period.
I would recommend this book to younger readers or people who don't read many books about the Holocaust. It kind of skims the surface of the emotional and turmoil of the time period.

"The Storyteller of Auschwitz" immerses you in the depths of the concentration camp, revealing the unimaginable horrors faced by its prisoners.

This captivating book seamlessly blends history and storytelling, making it accessible to all. Curham's meticulous research shines through, offering unique insights into the Jewish experience during World War II. While the subject matter is heavy, moments of humor remind me of the resilience and humanity that can endure even in the darkest times.

However, the blurb may raise expectations that aren't entirely met. The anticipation for a drastic or unbelievable action regarding Danielle, Etty's almost family, is left somewhat unfulfilled. While Etty's connection to Danielle is significant and heartwarming, readers might yearn for a more dramatic resolution or a plot twist that could have elevated the emotional impact of their relationship.

Despite this minor disappointment for me, "The Storyteller of Auschwitz" remains a commendable and inspiring read. Siobhan Curham skillfully weaves a narrative that educates, enlightens, and reminds me of the indomitable spirit of humanity, even in the face of unimaginable cruelty. Ultimately, this book is a testament to the power of storytelling and the importance of remembering history's darkest chapters to prevent their repetition.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bookouture through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you so much!