If I had to ask a random person passing me by, 'who was Anne Frank?', they would reply with confidence: 'The Jewish Girl who died in a concentration camp'. If I had to ask someone else, like a child in primary school (for example), 'What made her famous above all the other Jewish people who died?', that child would reply in confidence: 'The diary she kept whilst In hiding'.
If I had to ask those very same two people about Anne Frank's family, I bet that they would not know much, if anything, at all.
Treasures from the attic: The extraordinary story of Anne Frank's family is a brilliant, in-depth look into the life of the Franks, dating back to the early 1800's and moving down the family tree branches, into the individual families that formed this world famous family.
There have been numerous books and research articles written about Anne Frank. Once you've read one, you've kind of read them all BUT there is so much more to Anne's family than most people know or have bothered to find out.
I would love to be able to write about all of the family's history. Unfortunately, I can't. To try to justify writing a paragraph about them would not be possible. They deserve so much more. Therefore I will write about the actual book and you can decide whether it's worth the read or not.
The book is comprised of excellent accounts and historical facts, masterfully gathered by means of surviving letters, documents and accounts of the surviving family members. Instead of a book written in pure historical fact, the author - Mirjam Pressler - managed to write an actual story as if the reader was there;a piece of furniture or a fly on the wall.
The history, along with the story, fits together like a fascinating puzzle. As the reader, you quickly pick up the hints of the interviews with surviving friends and family, at the time of the author writing this book.
Not only does this book portray the Frank's history, it's comprised of the events and happenings that took place around this family's growth and tribulations. From the early stages of anti-semitism, to Hitler's rise in power and the smaller obstacles that Jews encountered - such as emergency immigration issues, deportations and the cruel inhumane actions these people encountered in a country that they thought was their own.
The best way to describe the style of writing would be to say that it resembles a tree. Starting at the very top branch, with Anne Frank's great grandmother, each family member has a dedicated branch, with smaller branches and leaves - dwelling into their own start and their own finish. Their own families that they started, the experiences, the emotions and their own survival mechanisms throughout WW2.
Anne Frank deserves the utmost respect in all senses, but it was of the largest relief that she was not the prime focus of attention. She is mentioned when she contributed to the early history of her family. He demise in the death camp, Bergen Belsen, takes centre stage towards the end of the book. Her legacy wafts in the background otherwise.
The only thing I did not like about this ensemble, was that the letters, poems and the historical influence can sometimes become tedious, especially when you are tired and you just want to relax with your book. In most parts, it needs concentration and a good deal of attention in which the reader needs to be able to follow the complex situations that unfold.
I feel that I have not been able to do this book any justice. There is just too much to write about, to discuss and to debate. This is the first book in which an information over load remains on the positive front.
There was so little I knew about certain aspects of WW2 before I finished this book.
'We're all living off the past really. The uncertain future wavers before us like a dream, the present and it's demands consume all of our superfluous thoughts, only the past refreshes our spirits. So anyone who has good years behind him and can spin unbreakable threads from his memories of those years, has to count himself lucky' - Otto Frank, father of Anne Frank.
