BrightLights@BookBuddy

I finished reading The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Australian author, Heather Morris, last night, and...it's a touching love story. As a literary romance, it isn't remarkable, nowhere near the opening paragraphs of Wuthering Heights nor The Unbearable Lightness of Being but it was unique in its setting and milieu, that is, the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland, during the Second World War. I decided to read Morris' book because it was, and still is, sliding up and down global bestseller lists. After having read it, I'd also like to propose an alternate title (or subtitle) namely, A Digestible Version of Auschwitz for the Faint-hearted because this was precisely my impression of the book; that it offered readers a diluted and softened view of a brutal Nazi concentration camp. This is Auschwitz: the Valentine's edition. The Tattooist of Auschwitz tells the story of Lale and Gita who had met at Auschwitz and fell in love. Both were Slovakian Jews....

Once upon a time, not very long ago, there lived a brave and clever dog in a village in the Omusati Region of Namibia.  His name was Nashipolo and he lived in a cosy hut  with Mama Alina and little Rakkel.  The hut was surrounded by  omusati trees with high branches covered by green leaves. The leaves looked like the wings of mopane moths.  Nashipolo went everywhere with his family.  He went to church with Mama Alina and Rakkel. He went to the shop with them. He went to the clinic with them. He walked along with Mama Alina, and little Rakkel on her back, to fetch water from the nearby well. Mama Alina gave Nashipolo food and clean water to eat and drink, every day. He was healthy and happy. Nashipolo was important to Mama Alina and Rakkel. He had sharp eyes that could see in the dark. He had a big nose that could smell far. He had big ears that could hear the softest sounds. He had a big, loud bark. He had a long, hairy tail for...