Book Blurb:
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 realizes 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.
My Review: 4.5 stars
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This is one of the first revisionist history books that I’ve read and I’ve fallen hard for it. Taking a sensitive subject and bringing the revised story to life in such a tender and thoughtful way was amazingly done. Peter’s life, as an American, is going well until his wife is reading Anne Frank’s famously published book, The Diary of a Young Girl. The memories that Peter suppressed from his past come rushing forward. The author deftly allows the reader to reflect on the art of dealing with the past which ultimately permits us to move forward. Well written novel on an interesting topic.
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