Publisher: St. Martin’s Press / Macmillan Audio
Published: October 5, 2021
Source: Print – ARC Paperback via Publisher / Audio via library
Summary:
From Heather Morris, the New York Times best-selling author of the multimillion-copy best seller The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Cilka’s Journey: a story of family, courage, and resilience, inspired by a true story.
Against all odds, three Slovakian sisters have survived years of imprisonment in the most notorious death camp in Nazi Germany: Auschwitz. Livia, Magda, and Cibi have clung together, nearly died from starvation and overwork, and the brutal whims of the guards in this place of horror. But now, the allies are closing in and the sisters have one last hurdle to face: the death march from Auschwitz, as the Nazis try to erase any evidence of the prisoners held there. Due to a last minute stroke of luck, the three of them are able to escape formation and hide in the woods for days before being rescued.
And this is where the story begins. From there, the three sisters travel to Israel, to their new home, but the battle for freedom takes on new forms. Livia, Magda, and Cibi must face the ghosts of their past – and some secrets that they have kept from each other – to find true peace and happiness.
Inspired by a true story, and with events that overlap with those of Lale, Gita, and Cilka, The Three Sisters will hold a place in listeners’ hearts and minds as they experience what true courage really is.
My thoughts:
Having read Heather Morris’s previous two books, The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Cilka’s Journey, it was a no-brainer that I would want to pick up her latest one. Once again, this story can be read as a stand-alone, but I’m glad I read the previous two, as it gave me that much-needed background to really put me in the right mind-set.
As I found in the previous two books, I was gutted by this latest story, yet also filled with hope. I loved that these stories are based on real people. This is where reading the author’s note is so important because it fills in the details of where and how the story came to be. While I did not feel the emotional connection with this story that I did with the previous one, I still am glad I picked it up. These stories, as hard as they may be to read at times, as so important to be told and I think the author does such a great job telling them.
This one is about three sisters and the promise they made their father about sticking together through whatever comes next. What I appreciated is how the author handles the survivor’s guilt. These sister’s made it out of Austria and the concentration camps when many did not and that was a hard pill to swallow. Everyone deals with this in their own way and that’s okay.
This is the final book in Heather Morris’s trilogy and I have to say again that these books are so worth the read. One thing I will say, though, is that they all do stand on their own, so you really can pick them up in any order. As hard as they are to read at times, I really do think they are books that need to be read and am glad I had the chance to read all three. I will be curious to see what this author does next…she really is quite a talented author.
Audio thoughts:
I went back and forth between the print and audio version of this book. Finty Williams does a good job with this audio – she was a bit soft-spoken, but it was still a decent listen.
