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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
This book imagines what would have happened if Margot Frank, sister of Anne Frank, had survived the Holocaust and immigrated to America. It's set during the time that the first movie version is released in the States, and Margot, posing as Margie Franklin, is surrounded by her sister's name and face every where she turns. It's a beautiful story about what hiding, both literally and figuratively, can do to a person. It's about embracing who you are, no matter what. It's about sisters, and the intense love/bond that comes pretty naturally to sisters close in age. It's obviously fiction, but the lessons it teaches are all too real. Great book.
Margot is an absorbing "what-if?" story about Margot Frank, the lesser known older sister of Anne Frank, the diarist. What if Margot survived the war, instead of dying of typhus fever at Bergen-Belsen as we had been told?
In this version of Margot's story, she had managed to escape, and now - more than 10 years later - she lives in Philadelphia as Margie Franklin, a Polish Gentile. Margie lives two lives - by day she works as a legal secretary, working hard to hide her Jewish past; while by night she can't stop re-living her teenage years, hiding in the annex and in the concentration camps afterwards. The release of the film version of Diary of Anne Frank, and her growing professional and emotional connection with her boss, a young Jewish lawyer, allow Margie to finally let go of her past and start to live in the present fully.
Despite the 1950s setting -when Margot/Margie is supposedly in her early 30s - the story reads like YA, and, like many YA stories, has themes of identity and belonging at its core. (And I have no hesitation in recommending this book to teens.) Her internal monologues are full of angst and love and grief and sibling rivalry, and it is easy to imagine that her emotional life had died / become frozen when she was 17, and her family was discovered in the annex. Margo / Margie's decision to accept her Jewish identity and "live her true self" is the key to moving on and letting go of her past.
Showing deep respect for the Diary of Anne Frank, this book concludes with an interesting author's note, where she separates the fact from the fiction in this story.
In this version of Margot's story, she had managed to escape, and now - more than 10 years later - she lives in Philadelphia as Margie Franklin, a Polish Gentile. Margie lives two lives - by day she works as a legal secretary, working hard to hide her Jewish past; while by night she can't stop re-living her teenage years, hiding in the annex and in the concentration camps afterwards. The release of the film version of Diary of Anne Frank, and her growing professional and emotional connection with her boss, a young Jewish lawyer, allow Margie to finally let go of her past and start to live in the present fully.
Despite the 1950s setting -when Margot/Margie is supposedly in her early 30s - the story reads like YA, and, like many YA stories, has themes of identity and belonging at its core. (And I have no hesitation in recommending this book to teens.) Her internal monologues are full of angst and love and grief and sibling rivalry, and it is easy to imagine that her emotional life had died / become frozen when she was 17, and her family was discovered in the annex. Margo / Margie's decision to accept her Jewish identity and "live her true self" is the key to moving on and letting go of her past.
Showing deep respect for the Diary of Anne Frank, this book concludes with an interesting author's note, where she separates the fact from the fiction in this story.
This is really a great book. While not at all based in the actual fate of Margot Frank, the narrative is compelling beyond the initial "what if" of the premise. Margie (as she calls herself) is a sympathetic, fascinating character. A vivid portrayal of American life post-war for Jewish people.
I really enjoyed this book, a re-imagining of what if Anne Frank's sister had escaped and survived.
"When I see them together, that way they look when they hold on to each other, I remember again that something is missing from me, something that feels like the phantom weight of a stolen limb or internal organ, something so grossly essential that I'm not quite sure how I remember to keep breathing all the time without it."
In this alternative historical fiction, Margot Frank, Anne Frank's sister, survived the holocaust and escaped to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She goes by the name Margie, says she is a Christian and wears sweaters to cover her tattoo even during the hottest of days. As she walks past a bookstore one day, she is startled to see her sister's face peering back at her in the just published talk of the town. Purchasing a copy she learned that her father survived but she cannot bring herself to contact him, to bring back any part of Margot into her life.
This was heartbreaking on so many levels. Margie struggles to build a life for herself in America that denies all that she used to be while mourning a loss so significant not one of us can comprehend it. The novel also nudges us a little to consider Margot as more than just the quiet sister of Anne. She also wrote a diary, would it have read the same or would things be different through different eyes?
In this alternative historical fiction, Margot Frank, Anne Frank's sister, survived the holocaust and escaped to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She goes by the name Margie, says she is a Christian and wears sweaters to cover her tattoo even during the hottest of days. As she walks past a bookstore one day, she is startled to see her sister's face peering back at her in the just published talk of the town. Purchasing a copy she learned that her father survived but she cannot bring herself to contact him, to bring back any part of Margot into her life.
This was heartbreaking on so many levels. Margie struggles to build a life for herself in America that denies all that she used to be while mourning a loss so significant not one of us can comprehend it. The novel also nudges us a little to consider Margot as more than just the quiet sister of Anne. She also wrote a diary, would it have read the same or would things be different through different eyes?
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Spent too much time on her flip flopping about which man she was in love with instead of delving more deeply into what life as a Jewish person was like at the time. It felt very surface.
This book is fabulous! I was really excited that I had won a copy from Goodreads Firstreads Program as I really enjoy alternative histories and am interested in Holocaust literature. The book centers around this central idea--What if Anne Frank's sister, Margot, had survived the Holocaust, made it to Philadelphia and choose to keep her identity a secret (including privately observing Judaism, but publicly saying she is a Gentile)?
Jillian Castor paints a fascinating and rich portrait of Margot Frank. Castor gives us a Margot who is filled with the guilt of surviving and struggling with with whether or not to contact her father to say that she is alive since he has a brand new life and is promoting his other daughter's diary. We get to see her reasoning behind decisions that may appear obvious to us. (For that reason, I think that it would inspire very interesting discussion in a book club.)
I enjoyed this book because it feel like it may be a very honest representation of what could have been. I also enjoy books about the people in history who tend to be forgotten and I hope that this book stirs up some discussion and interest about Margot Frank. This book while definately make you think about the choices we make, how they impact our lives and how we have to live with what we choose.
Jillian Castor paints a fascinating and rich portrait of Margot Frank. Castor gives us a Margot who is filled with the guilt of surviving and struggling with with whether or not to contact her father to say that she is alive since he has a brand new life and is promoting his other daughter's diary. We get to see her reasoning behind decisions that may appear obvious to us. (For that reason, I think that it would inspire very interesting discussion in a book club.)
I enjoyed this book because it feel like it may be a very honest representation of what could have been. I also enjoy books about the people in history who tend to be forgotten and I hope that this book stirs up some discussion and interest about Margot Frank. This book while definately make you think about the choices we make, how they impact our lives and how we have to live with what we choose.
What if Anne Frank's sister lived? That's enough to hook me into this gem.
This is definitely a page-turner. Once again, I enjoy it when an author takes a historical event and weaves her own "what if" scenario. I thought the story had good character development of someone about whom we knew little, but I didn't feel as though her actions in the story were honest for someone who had gone through so much. Never to contact your father? It just didn't feel organic.
Another criticism is that the story had a happy ending - something that we all wanted for Anne herself and never got. It just didn't seem...right? fair?
Having said that, I enjoyed the ride along with the narrator and, if I ignored that this was Margot Frank, it was an enjoyable plot, almost like a young romantic novel.
Another criticism is that the story had a happy ending - something that we all wanted for Anne herself and never got. It just didn't seem...right? fair?
Having said that, I enjoyed the ride along with the narrator and, if I ignored that this was Margot Frank, it was an enjoyable plot, almost like a young romantic novel.