Book Review: Annexed by Sharon Dogar

Annexed - Sharon Dogar

Synopsis:
Peter van Pels is a Jewish teenager, living in Amsterdam in the 1940s.
With the ever-growing threat of the Nazi invasion, Peter and his parents are reduced to hiding away in the annexe of a factory building. Living with them, in close confines, are the Jewish owners of the building- the Franks- and their two young daughters, Margot and Anne. Pining for his ‘girlfriend’ Liese, who was taken earlier by Nazi soldiers, and wishing he could get out of the annexe and fight the Nazi’s like a man, Peter finds it difficult to adjust to his new life in hiding.
Adding to his frustrations, he finds himself increasingly annoyed by Anne and her constant know-it-all chatter. It gets to the point where his only escape is to sit in the warehouse (on weekends, when no one else is around) and carve wood.
But then Peter starts to notice small changes in Anne, and his tolerance for her grows. Soon, he begins to look forward to the time they spend with each other, and a mutual attraction forms. But does Anne really care about Peter in the way that he cares about her? Is she only spending time with him so that she has something to write about in her precious diary? And when the ultimate betrayal occurs, will he able to live, knowing that Anne is out there somewhere, trying to survive the horrors of the holocaust?
These are Peter van Pels’ (imagined) experiences, dealing with terrible circumstances that will hopefully never be repeated again.

What I gained from reading this book:
There are many themes scattered throughout this novel, but the main ones would have to be about tolerance, love and respect (both of the self, and for others). Peter initially finds it difficult to live in such a small space with people he doesn’t really know or like, but he soon comes to grow fond of his ‘neighbours’. From the start, he shows respect for Mr Frank, and tolerates Mrs Frank and quiet Margot, but he absolutely dislikes Anne. He thinks of her as an obnoxious loudmouth, and constantly compares her to his beloved Liese, a girl who is in all ways opposite to the kind of girl Anne is. It isn’t until he gets to know her, and realise how insecure and afraid she is (and how this shapes her behaviour) that he starts to appreciate Anne’s company. After this, his respect and love for her grows. At the same time, Peter battles with feelings of resentment towards the Nazis and the way that they are treating the Jewish people. He wishes that he could fight them, rather than hide from them, and, already a non-practising Jew, becomes disgusted with the negative status that his religion gives him.
It isn’t until he falls in love with Anne that these feelings gradually fade to the back of his mind, and he has new things to think about.
Readers can learn from Peter’s ability to be more open-minded about his experiences in the annexe, and put those motions into practice in everyday life by being more tolerant of other people.

Positives:
It’s great how the author is able to piece together the Anne Frank story and tell it from Peter’s perspective, putting a different spin on the events that were made so famous in Anne’s diary. Dogar has managed to seamlessly weave real-life facts with fiction, making this novel particularly interesting to read. It makes you want to go back to the original source (Anne Frank’s diary), and read it again.

Negatives:
While it is interesting to read snippets of what Peter experiences in the camps- in between his experiences in the annexe- it can sometimes get a little repetitive reading the same thing over and over. I understand that Dogar is trying to paint a picture of the bleakness that Peter faces in the camps, and is attempting to show the repetitiveness of life for the Jewish prisoners, but it still doesn’t change the fact that reading almost-identical paragraphs at different intervals can get a little tedious.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Genre: Teenage Fiction

Recommended for: People who have always wondered about the relationship between Anne Frank and Peter van Pels, and don’t mind reading a fictional take on events.



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Book Review: Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler

Back When We Were Grownups - Anne Tyler

Synopsis:
From a young age, Rebecca is destined to marry her sweetheart Will Allenby, graduate from college and start a family.
But meeting Joe Davitch changes all of that. Thirteen years her senior, Joe already has three young daughters and becomes smitten with Rebecca after seeing her laugh at a friend’s engagement party, which is being held at his family’s house, The Open Arms.
Within weeks, any future with Will is forgotten as the new couple fall madly in love with one another and marry. It’s not long before Rebecca becomes a part of the Davitch clan, looking after the children and taking control of the festive parties that the Open Arms hosts every week.
However, everything takes a turn for the worse when Joe is involved in a car accident. Rebecca finds herself widowed, juggling the family business, looking after the children and assorted family members, and dealing with the chaos that is her life.
Although she loves her family dearly, she struggles to find her place, and by the age of fifty-three, begins to wonder what her life would have been like if she had never met Joe and instead stayed with Will.

What I gained from reading this book:
This is a novel that very much deals with the question of ‘what if?’
Rebecca, or Beck as she is called by the Davitch clan, wonders whether she would have gradually developed an outgoing persona after being shy for so much of her life, or whether she is only pretending to be so joyous because she knows that is what her family expects of her. She also wonders whether a life with Will would have been as rewarding as her current life or whether she would have fallen into a different kind of bliss. These are questions that many people ask themselves when they find themselves at a crossroad, or even when they are long past the moment and are re-evaluating their life and the place that they hold in it. The characters in this novel are very true to life, in that they too question what could have been, had their circumstances turned out differently.

Positives:
The characters’ arguments and grievances with one another are just as realistic as the harmony that they share. The author is able to portray a strong portrait of the dysfunctional family- one which many people will be able to relate to.

Negatives:
The storyline is a bit slow in some parts and sometimes it is difficult to keep track of who all the characters are, as there are just so many of them (and most are introduced at the same time).

Rating: 6 out of 10

Genre: Family/ Relationships

Recommended for: Fans of Anne Tyler’s novels.

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Book Review: Vittorio, The Vampire by Anne Rice

Vittorio, The Vampire - Anne Rice

Synopsis:
Sixteen-year-old Vittorio di Raniari is part of a wealthy family who live in a Tuscan hilltop castle that is surrounded by warring fronts. Despite the conflicts that border the small village, the people are safe in the knowledge that their Lord, Vittorio’s father, has made strong alliances with Cosimo de Medici and his people in Florence.
But a more sinister threat than war approaches the village one day and it changes Vittorio’s life forever. Without warning, the homes on the outskirts of the village are empty, as people flee a dark force that looms in the forest and only appears in the dead of night. Vittorio’s family remain in the village, but find themselves victims of a bloody and bizarre massacre- one that leaves Vittorio orphaned, alone, and seeking revenge.
Vittorio’s path of vengeance leads him to the bloodthirsty and demonic creatures of the night, to a strange village that seems too perfect, and into the arms of young Ursula, a woman who played a part in his family’s deaths yet appears eternally ‘innocent’. This is the story of how Vittorio lost his innocence and became one of the creatures he despised.

What I gained from reading this book:
In this novel, Vittorio is faced with a nightmare situation, where he sees his brother and sister die in the most appalling way, and hears his family’s screams as they are slain. What’s worse, a young woman who he can’t help but feel attracted to is one of the perpetrators of the massacre, regardless of the fact that she does everything in her power to save him from a fate like that of his family. Thus, who can blame Vittorio for wanting to seek revenge for his loss? This novel is all about vengeance and its many forms, but it’s also a tale about courage, as Vittorio confronts his fears in the face of death and struggles to find justice in a world where humanity is fragile and demons are at the top of the food chain.

Positives:
Readers already know that Vittorio is a vampire, just from reading the title of the book, but what they may not realise at first glance is that this curse was bestowed by those he hated and wanted to destroy. The author is able to turn this tale of vengeance into one of a different kind of torment for her principle character as he struggles to come to terms with his past and his infinite future.

Negatives:
Despite being written in the late 1990’s, the author uses an old style of language to best represent Vittorio and his views, and because of this technique, some people may not enjoy the story as thoroughly.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Genre: Horror

Recommended for: Fans of Anne Rice’s gothic horror stories



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