Book Review: Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation

Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation adapted by Ari Folman and illustrations by David Polonsky

The Frank family moved from Germany to Holland in 1933 to avoid the rise of the Nazis. As a Jewish family, they saw the beginnings of much bigger persecutions to come. Otto Frank opened a factory that made a stabilizer for homemade jams. The product was popular so the offices and factory were a large building. The building had a secret apartment upstairs in the back, which became their home when the Germans marched into Holland and started sending Jews to concentration camps. Anne had been given a diary on her birthday just before they went into hiding. She used it to chronicle her experiences, thoughts, and emotions as they spent almost two years in the attic apartment. The family was eventually discovered and sent to the camps with only Otto surviving. He set up a trust to publish the diary and use the profits charitably.

This book is an adaptation authorized by the Anne Frank Foundation. The creators have done a great job translating the classic into a graphical format. They obviously could not include everything from the book (much like movie or stage versions have to trim the story down). But they take full advantage of the format to depict her situation and her imagination. Being trapped with almost nothing to do lends itself to interpersonal tension and daydreaming about various things. Anne's annoyance with some of the others and her growing infatuation with Peter, the son of the other family hiding with them, are shown just as much as they are described. The text uses the official translation, occasionally providing large excerpts. It moves along swiftly and gives a good sense of her life and her personality.

Highly recommended--not as good as the original but a very faithful adaptation.

Book Review: Anne Frank by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon

Anne Frank: The Anne Frank House Authorized Graphic Biography by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon

Anne Frank's story of hiding in occupied Amsterdam from the Nazis has had several treatments in several different mediums (all based on the diary that she wrote while in hiding). I was excited to discover this graphic-novel treatment at my local library. While most versions focus on the time hiding in the attic, this book gives a full overview of Anne's life, starting with the marriage of her parents. The story moves at a good pace, describing their life in Germany, their flight to the Netherlands, their hiding from the Nazis in the attic of the father's business. The book also covers the period after their discovery, when the family is sent to the concentration camps where all but the father dies. The last ten pages tell the story of her father's discovery of the diary and how it became famous.

Anne's life story is well told. In addition to the overview of her life, the authors added some "snapshots" which are sidebars describing historic events (like the Nazi rise to power or Kristallnacht) or important information (like a world map showing the Allies, Axis, and neutral countries during World War II). I found this book compelling reading and definitely recommend it.