Anne Frank

June 29, 2009
In considering the iconic diary of Anne Frank, prolific novelist and critic Prose (Reading Like a Writer
), praises the young writer's fresh narrative voice, characterizations, sense of pacing and ear for dialogue. Prose calls her a literary genius whose diary was a “consciously crafted work of literature” rather than the “spontaneous outpourings of a teenager,” and offers evidence that Frank scrupulously revised her work shortly before her arrest and intended to publish it after the war. Fans of literary gossip will savor how writer Meyer Levin, a close friend of Anne's father, Otto Frank, famously gave the Diary
a front-page rave in the New York Times
and later sued Otto when his script for a play based on it was rejected. Some may conclude that Prose contributes to a queasy-making idolization and commodification of Anne Frank, and that she lets Otto Frank off the hook too easily for minimizing the Jewish essence of the Holocaust, yet the author lucidly collates material from a wide range of sources, and her work would be valuable as a teaching guide for middle school, high school and college students.

Starred review from September 1, 2009
Prose is commanding and illuminating whether shes writing fiction or books about books. In her latest, most capacious and profound adventure in interpretation, she portrays Anne Frank not as a saint or a plucky girl making the most of a horrific situation but, rather, as a literary prodigy excruciatingly aware of the human capacity for evil. In this definitive, deeply moving inquiry into the life of the young, imperiled artist, and masterful literary exegesis of The Diary of a Young Girl, Prose tells the crushing story of the Frank family, performs a revelatory analysis of Annes exacting revision of her coming-of-age memoir, and assesses her fathers editorial decisions as he edited his murdered daughters manuscript for publication. As Prose judiciously assesses the books phenomenal impact and dissects the way the book is taught in schools, she deplores the glossing over of the monstrous realities of the Holocaust and the simplistic, falsely consoling idea of Anne Frank as an endlessly optimistic spirit. Yet, ultimately, Prose finds that she can trust the undeniably humanizing power of Franks indelible book and sees a glimmer of redemption in the fact that Franks dream of success as a writer did come true. Extraordinary testimony to the power of literature and compassion.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)

July 15, 2009
An articulate statement of the enduring power of Anne Frank's original work joined with a brief biography, an analysis of the 1955 play and 1959 film based on the diary, some attacks on Holocaust deniers and a few thoughts on approaches to teaching the work.

Prose (Goldengrove, 2008, etc.) first read The Diary of a Young Girl (1952) when she was a child, and later saw the original production of the play on Broadway. Recently she reread Diary and was even more impressed with its young author's accomplishment. She believes that Frank was an artist, her diary—more accurately a memoir, the author asserts—a work of art. Prose takes us through the text, pointing out its literary merits, generally in convincing fashion, though she is sometimes so insistent and earnest an advocate that she sacrifices just a bit of credibility. The author reviews the history of the Frank family, emphasizing how Anne began as a child diarist and later, in hiding, grew into a more mature, reflective writer, revising and refining with an eye toward postwar publication. Prose properly credits the 1989 Critical Edition of the diary, the volume that first presented Frank's versions of the diary in parallel columns—as well as the overwhelming scientific evidence of the diary's authenticity. The author wrestles with Frank's reputation today, at first uncomfortable with her becoming a symbol of na™ve hopefulness, then forgiving of anything that draws readers to the book. Prose rehearses the internecine, nasty struggle to bring Diary to the stage, and chronicles Meyer Levin's descent into near madness as he sought, unsuccessfully, to be the diary's playwright. The author attacks both the stage and screen versions for their portrayals of Frank, at times, as a dimwit. She also has little good to say about the actresses who portrayed Frank. Prose also blasts the infrahuman Holocaust deniers and ends with some fairly perfunctory, even ordinary thoughts about teaching the book.

A graceful tribute and a touching act of gratitude.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

September 1, 2009
If she had survived, Anne Frank would have turned 80 this year. Prose ("Goldengrove") analyzes her diary in an innovative way, underscoring Frank's writing genius. In viewing the diary from a more literary perspective, Prose examines Frank's life, her original and revised writings, the annex where she hid, Holocaust deniers, and the challenges of teaching the diary. Her discussions of the play and film adapted from the diary are particularly enlightening; these dramatic versions veered fundamentally from the diary, rendering Frank a silly, love-struck teenager rather than the pensive adolescent one discovers in the diary. Prose touches on many subjects, e.g., how Frank's plight has been "universalized" and "Americanized," taking away from the message she tried to convey in her writings. Despite these issues, Prose recognizes that Frank's story can still make an impact and continues to resonate 64 years after her horrific death. VERDICT This riveting book is highly recommended for all readers interested in the enduring legacy of Anne Frank and for literature scholars. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 6/15/09.]Erica Swenson Danowitz, Delaware Cty. Community Coll., Media, PA

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