The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank by Ellen Feldman

[Weave]

The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank by Ellen Feldman

 

Synopsis ~

 

What if the boy in hiding with Anne Frank survived and reinvented himself after the war, as he swore in the diary to do? On February 16,1944, Anne Frank recorded in her diary that Peter, whom she at first disliked but eventually came to love, had confided in her that if he got out alive, he would reinvent himself entirely. This is the story of what might have happened if the boy in hiding survived to become a man. Peter arrives in America, the land of self-creation; he flourishes in business, marries, and raises a family. He thrives in the present, plans for the future, and has no past. But when The Diary of a Young Girl is published to worldwide acclaim and gives rise to bitter infighting, he realises the cost of forgetting. Based on extensive research of Peter van Pels and the strange and disturbing life Anne Frank's diary took on after her death, this is a novel about the memory of death, the death of memory, and the inescapability of the past.

 

A quote from ‘The Boy who loved Anne Frank’ ~

 

‘We have records of what happened to all the inhabitants of the secret annex except Peter’ ~ a tour guide of the Anne Frank House, January 1994.

 

Prior to his death Peter van Pels was a prisoner in Auschwitz along with Otto Frank until Peter decided to take his chances and go on the death to Mauthausen Concentration Camp, the camp’s records show that Peter arrived at the camp on the 25th January 1945. Four days later, he was placed in an outdoor labour group. On April 11, 1945, Peter was sent to the sick barracks. His exact death date is unknown but the International Red Cross designated it as May 2, 1945. Mauthausen was liberated three days later on May 5, 1945 by 23 men from the 11th Armoured Division of the US Third Army. ~ Information source: Wikipedia.

 

‘The Boy who loved Anne Frank’ tells the story of Peter van pels, also known as Peter van Daan in ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ and what if he had survived the war. The story begins with Peter seeing a doctor because he has lost his voice, he does not understand why he has lost his voice but as the story progresses you find out why, as hard as he tries to forget, Peter cannot leave his time in annexe in the past, his experiences following his liberation. Peter struggles with himself, he hides his true self, he will not speak to his wife, as time goes on, the situation becomes worse for Peter, as ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ is released, then to the stage show and finally, the film, Peter begins to question his past, and begins to face it.

 

I had a lot of sympathy for Peter, he was so unhappy, angry, he misses his parents, in some ways he has lost his identify, at times, I wished that Peter would speak to his wife, tell her who he was.

 

I found this book to be very insightful, a lot of research has went into the reactions regards Anne’s diary, the questions raised towards Otto Frank, the family of Fritz Pfeffer, it showed that there is more to the members of the annexe, the lost of so many lives, the ripple effect of loss and the questions raised from it. I found at times the questions concerning Anne where slightly unfair, the people who complained and found problems seem to forget that she was a teenager in unusual circumstances.

 

Highly recommended.

 

[MuggleMagic]

I'm very interested to read this Gyre and I will be putting it right at the top of my reading list. Thank you

 

I have read Anne Frank's diary and I have watched the most recent dramatisation. If only they had all survived!

[SueK]

This sounds interesting but I do, generally have a problem with "what if" books. I've read ones about what would happen if the Nazis had invaded Britain etc, and not sure if I can really accept them (although Fatherland by Robert Harris was an interesting book).

 

Otto Frank, Anne's father, survived the holocaust and he died in 1980 I believe.

 

I do have a copy of Anne Frank's Diary and I pick it up and re-read now and again.

[Weave]

Thanks everyone

[joe]

Will have to order this from the library as it sounds such a good read, thank you

[Fi.]

Great review Paula I've just reserved it at the library so hopefully will get to read it soon!

[joe]

Have just reserved a copy

[Weave]

Enjoy Fi & Joe