CSR Book Club
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Every other month, Rabbi Leora Frankel will facilitate interesting discussions over wine, cheese, and other creative snacks as we explore the layers of a novel while connecting them to relevant and relatable Jewish texts.
The next CSR Book Club meeting will take place Thursday, March 14 2019 at 8:00 pm. The Tattooist of Auschwitz: A Novel by Heather Morris #1 New York Times Bestseller and #1 International Bestseller This beautiful, illuminating tale of hope and courage is based on interviews that were conducted with Holocaust survivor and Auschwitz-Birkenau tattooist Ludwig (Lale) Sokolov—an unforgettable love story in the midst of atrocity. “The Tattooist of Auschwitz is an extraordinary document, a story about the extremes of human behavior existing side by side: calculated brutality alongside impulsive and selfless acts of love. I find it hard to imagine anyone who would not be drawn in, confronted and moved. I would recommend it unreservedly to anyone, whether they’d read a hundred Holocaust stories or none.”—Graeme Simsion, internationally-bestselling author of The Rosie Project In April 1942, Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, is forcibly transported to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. When his captors discover that he speaks several languages, he is put to work as a Tätowierer (the German word for tattooist), tasked with permanently marking his fellow prisoners. Imprisoned for over two and a half years, Lale witnesses horrific atrocities and barbarism—but also incredible acts of bravery and compassion. Risking his own life, he uses his privileged position to exchange jewels and money from murdered Jews for food to keep his fellow prisoners alive. One day in July 1942, Lale, prisoner 32407, comforts a trembling young woman waiting in line to have the number 34902 tattooed onto her arm. Her name is Gita, and in that first encounter, Lale vows to somehow survive the camp and marry her. A vivid, harrowing, and ultimately hopeful re-creation of Lale Sokolov's experiences as the man who tattooed the arms of thousands of prisoners with what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust, The Tattooist of Auschwitz is also a testament to the endurance of love and humanity under the darkest possible conditions. Everyone is welcome! Past books include: "Where The Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens "The Subway Girls" by Susie Orman Schnall "Between You and Me" by Susan Wiggs "An American Marriage" by Tayari Jones "Eternal Life: A Novel" by Dara Horn "Sing, Unburied, Sing" by Jesmyn Ward "Waking Lions" by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen Interested in attending? Please RSVP to clergyassistant@comsynrye.org. Have questions? Please email Jacey Taub. |