Annelies

By: David R. Gillham

Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld, David R. Gillham

Length: 14 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's Summary

“Gillham is a powerful storyteller, and Annelies is marbled with spare eloquence that captures the absurdity of life after the camps.... A novel that reminds the world to remember Anne Frank is most welcome.” (USA Today)

“A haunting what-if.” (Georgia Hunter, New York Times best-selling author of We Were the Lucky Ones)

“Not only a poignant reminder of all that was lost during the war, but a vivid, searching exploration of what it meant to exist in the aftermath.” (Jessica Shattuck, New York Times best-selling author of The Women in the Castle)

From the author of City of Women, a powerful new novel that asks the question: What if Anne Frank survived the Holocaust?

Anne Frank is a cultural icon whose diary painted a vivid picture of the Holocaust and made her an image of humanity in one of history’s darkest moments. But she was also a person - a precocious young girl with a rich inner life and tremendous skill as a writer. In this masterful new novel, David R. Gillham explores with breathtaking empathy the woman - and the writer - she might have become. 

©2019 David R. Gillham (P)2019 Penguin Audio

Critic Reviews

“Gillham is a powerful storyteller, and Annelies is marbled with spare eloquence that captures the absurdity of life after the camps...a novel that reminds the world to remember Anne Frank is most welcome.” (USA Today)

“In this haunting what-if, David Gillham asks us to reflect on the quandary of how one learns - in the unimaginable wake of the Holocaust - to live again, shedding a powerful, human light on the tragedy of lost potential.” (Georgia Hunter, New York Times best selling author of We Were the Lucky Ones)

“To imagine the could-have-been life of Anne Frank, one of the real-life pillars of our understanding of the Holocaust, is a risky undertaking, but David Gilham delivers his story with sensitivity and grace. The result is not only a poignant reminder of all that was lost during the war, but a vivid, searching exploration of what it meant to exist in the aftermath.” (Jessica Shattuck, New York Times best-selling author of The Women in the Castle)

"A tour de force." (Historical Novels Society)

Wow!

I think this book is a great example of what it must be like to have “survivors guilt”. I truly didn’t like the Anne Frank portrayed once she returned to Amsterdam. I thought she was so terrible towards her father but understand how she could feel. One changes during war and when you come home, your life will never be same but people at home don’t know you’ve changed...only you know it so I can totally relate. All in all, great book, I thoroughly enjoyed it.