BOOK REVIEW: 'Annexed'
Moving Historical Novel Captures Daily Routine, Conflicted Feelings of Teen-Aged Boy Hiding with Anne Frank
Reviewed By David M. Kinchen
With "Annexed" (Houghton Mifflin, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Co., 352 pages, preface, author's note, bibliography, $17.00), a novel aimed at young adults that can and should be read by those of all age groups, Sharon Dogar adds another dimension to the events chronicled by Anne Frank in her internationally famed diary, first published in 1947 and always in print in dozens of languages.
"Annexed" is a first person account by Peter van Pels of the events of two years hiding in the secret "annex" of a factory formerly owned by Anne's father, Otto Frank. Peter was 18 years old when he died in the Mauthausen concentration camp, only a few days before it was liberated on May 5, 1945 by American troops. He was three years older than Anne, who was 15 when she died of typhus sometime between February and March 1945 in Bergen-Belsen.
Peter and his father Hermann and his mother Auguste are called the "van Daans" in Anne's diary. Peter's father was the only one of the eight hiding behind the bookcase that concealed the door to the annex who was gassed. All the others -- with the exception of Otto Frank, who survived Auschwitz in died at the age of 91 (Dogar incorrectly says 81) in 1980 -- died of illness and starvation in the camps run by the Nazi German regime.
"Annexed" is divided into two parts: the first and longest deals with the two years shy, awkward Peter van Pels lived in the annex. The second part deals with the events after the eight were discovered in August 1944 and were sent to a variety of concentration camps. Dogar describes both periods with extremely moving and compassionate prose that reflects her background both as a child psychotherapist and her understanding of young adults as an experienced novelist.
Peter was 16 when he joined the group. He quickly befriends Boche, the warehouse cat, who comforts him as only felines can, but he's often annoyed by the 13-year old Anne. It's not quite hatred, but it's pretty close. Anne naturally is amused by Peter's annoyance, and decides to spend more time annoying him. Peter tells Anne he doesn't want to became part of her diary, which may have led to Anne's changing the van Pelt name to van Daan.
In contrast to her quiet, retiring older sister Margot, Anne is an extrovert who has to talk nonstop and be the center of attention. She and Peter are drawn together as Peter questions his Judaism, wondering why simply being Jewish inspires such hatred and persecution by the Nazis and their collaborators in the country they thought would be a refuge from German hatred. Peter is good with his hands and -- despite his conflicted views about his faith -- makes a wooden nine-branched menorah for the group to celebrate the December 1942 Hanukkah holiday. As a cat fancier I was impressed with Dogar's description of Boche the cat's actions Peter carves the menorah:
"The menorah takes me a while to make. By the end of it I'm good good friends with Boche. He watches me carefully, and when I stop working he comes closer. He reaches out a paw and touches the wood. Gently. 'Do you want it?' I ask him. 'How much for it?' Boche stares at me, lifts his head, and stalks away. 'Ah!' I say. 'So you think you're too grand to discuss money.' But he just carries on walking. I get back to work. Soon Boche is back. Watching."
Boche comforts Peter by walking on him when he lies on the floor: "He starts at my feet and balances, one paw after the other all the way up from my feet to my chin. He touches his whiskers to my face, or lifts a paw and taps my eyes." This passage makes it clear to this cat owner/reviewer that Dogar is a cat owner -- or is otherwise very familiar with cat psychology.
I won't spoil the book for the reader by further describing the relationship Dogar imagines for Peter and Anne. All I can do is urge every young adult -- and every older reader, too -- to pick up "Annexed" and read it. I guarantee it will change your life -- and your view of the Holocaust. The author includes a note on what is real and what is imagined in "Annexed."
About the Author
Sharon Dogar is a children's psychotherapist who lives in Oxford, England with her family. "Annexed" is her third novel for young adults. It was published in England by Andersen Press Limited in 2010.
Publisher's website: www.hmhbooks.com