What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank: Stories

Captivating, Ambiguous, Touching

Each story was both specific to being Jewish and universal in the tale it had to tell. Although the characters were strangers I was sure I had met them somewhere in life.

In the first story the four characters get drunk and high together in a very unexpected situation. It felt very real to me and I had to play it over because I laughed so hard in parts.

The book made me laugh and cry. It was moving and sad in many parts. The story The Reader left me feeling empty and longing for the past.

This book moves at rapid pace and each story is just the right length for a workout or a car ride home. You will not want to stop listening even if your workout is over or if you have arched your destination.

This was a poetic mix of short stories, some so different from the others that it was as if they were by different authors, but all held together with a common theme of the tension between the old and contemporary Jewish experiences. As a non-Jew who is interested in and studies Judaism, I wanted a contemporary, literary perspective on Jewish life that included both observant and secular points of view. I got much more than I expected. Some of the stories are light and easy, some dark and troubling, one read as a writing from the Ketuvim, which is to say biblical. A memorable listen, unexpected in its broadness, affecting in its humanness.

Each and every story will hold your attention for a number of reasons. The subject matter of this collection will amaze you. I don't want to give anything away but I thoroughly enjoyed them all. All of these stories will plant a little seed in your brain and for some time after you will recall story themes and continue to be entertained long after your listening is over. Each story has a different reader including one read by the author and each reader is a great match for his or her story. Just listen and you will know what I'm talking about.

Always an insightful and provocative writer, Englander reaches deeply into his subject matter, complex as it is, to new heights as both an observer of his chosen culture and as a writer. The sensitive and intelligent aural telling of each story matches the writing.

While I am not usually the laugh out loud type, even when things ARE funny, I can honestly say I did so while reading this book! Intrigued by the premise, I was eager to read it. The subject, Anne Frank, has been close to my heart since I read the diary at age ll and I thought it might be offensive but it was such a ludicrous idea for a story line that it worked.