Heather Morris didn’t plan on becoming a New York Times bestselling novelist.
In 2003, she met and befriended Slovakian Jew Lale Sokolov two months after the death of his wife, Gita Furman. Sokolov was imprisoned at Auschwitz in 1942 and worked as a tattooist, a job assigned to him by the concentration camp’s S.S. administrators. He fell in love with Gita, the girl he was tattooing at the concentration camp whom he later married.
For the next three years, Morris interviewed Sokolov until his death in 2006.
Initially, Morris wrote Sokolov’s story as a screenplay, but it subsequently became her debut novel in 2018 called “The Tattooist of Auschwitz.” In 2024, it was adapted into a mini-series of the same name on Peacock. Harvey Keitel (“Pulp Fiction”) played Sokolov.
“I needed to honor (Sokolov’s) trust in sharing his incredible story with me. It took me a while to find a way, but I was only ever going to tell his story. What followed was never planned or expected. I simply met a man who had a story,” explained Morris. “It is very difficult for me to process how Lale’s story became so successful. It was always meant to be a simple tale about a Slovakian man who ended up living in Australia, and what he told me about his survival and his love for a woman named Gita.”
She praised Keitel’s performance, calling it “incredible” and “amazing.”
“He gave me back the Lale I knew in every word spoken, every movement, every painful shake of his head,” said Morris. “I was lucky to spend time with Harvey prior to filming, and he wanted to know every little thing I could tell him about Lale. I also provided him with videos of Lale, and he became Lale Sokolov.”
A fifth-generation native of New Zealand who now lives in Australia, Morris will speak about and sign copies of her latest novel, “The Piano Teacher of Montparnasse” at Literati Bookstore in Ann Arbor on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 6:30 p.m. in Ann Arbor (see sidebar). This ticketed event also marks Morris’ first time in Ann Arbor.
“I have no excuse for not visiting sooner,” she said. “(Author events are) what I love most about being a storyteller – meeting the folks who have invested time and joy in reading my novels. This is the reward for many hours spent alone writing: Meeting and speaking with readers.”
“Piano Teacher” occurs in Paris during World War II, specifically in 1942. At the time, Paris was under strict military law. Armed Gestapo took Jewish families from their homes with little resistance, sending them to concentration camps. When they arrested Ruth and her teenage son Léon, 11-year-old Josie was not on the Nazis’ list to detain for whatever reason. Josie’s mother ordered her to go to the only person she can trust: Her piano teacher named Andrée Levallois.
“I grew up hearing stories of family and friends who fought and, in too many cases, died during World War II. Most were in what we in New Zealand and Australia refer to as our ‘theatre of war,’ the Asia/Pacific region,” recalled Morris. “I was passionately anti-war growing up, a vocal protestor against the Vietnam War, but ended up marrying a Vietnam War veteran. When I started spending time with Lale, I realized how little I knew about the civilians, the so-called ‘spoils of war’ – the victims of assault, rape, and murder – ‘collateral damage’ as they are often referred to – and needed to know more.”
The inspiration for writing “Piano Teacher” came from the family history of Kara Talve, who co-composed the score for “The Tattooist of Auschwitz” miniseries alongside renowned Oscar-winning musician/composer Hans Zimmer (“The Lion King”). Talve’s grandmother was a young girl when the Nazis occupied Paris. Like Josie, she sought refuge with her piano teacher, whose family was involved in the French Resistance. Morris spoke at length with both Talve and the real-life piano teacher’s granddaughter, as well as conducted meticulous historical research to produce this novel.
“Kara told me that she’d composed the score on the piano which had saved her grandmother’s life. I knew I had to learn more about Kara’s grandmother’s story of survival during occupied Paris,” said Morris. “Seeing a video her grandmother made in her 70s, I got to hear in her own words the story of how her piano teacher had saved her life during the occupation of Paris in World War II. When Kara asked me if I would write her grandmother’s story, I didn’t hesitate to say yes and thank her for the honor. I will spend the rest of days, thanking her, along with the others who shared their stories that enabled me to write my books.”
Visit heathermorrisauthor.com.
Literati Presents: Heather Morris
New York Times bestselling author Heather Morris will speak about and sign copies of her latest novel, “The Piano Teacher of Montparnasse” at Literati Bookstore, located at 124 East Washington St. in Ann Arbor.
This event is Thursday, Oct. 29, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tickets for the event cost $36.69, which include a copy of “Piano Teacher.” For questions or more information, contact Literati at (734) 585-5567.
