Anne Frank Remembered

While most are familiar with Anne Frank's diary, fewer remember the courage of the people who helped her family. Otto Frank's employee, Miep Gies, coordinated the hiding place and worked through her own exhaustion and terror to keep the family safe and supplied with food and company. Barbara Rosenblat speaks with Gies's own voice, bringing an impeccable Dutch flavor to her words and flawlessly pronouncing the many proper nouns of that challenging language. She effortlessly conveys Gies's pervading sense of sadness tinged with frustration, anger, and resentment at the horrors inflicted by the Nazi regime. In the author's afterword, Rosenblat captures equally well Gies's acceptance and wonder at the way Anne's story captured the heart of the world. Rosenblat's performance easily captured ours. R.L.L. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

May 1, 1987
Gies, now 78, recalls how during WW II she, her husband and some of her coworkers sheltered her boss Otto Frank, his family and several other Jews in a secret annex of their Amsterdam office building. Unfortunately, California freelance writer Gold's lackluster rendition contrasts sharply with the spirited, penetrating journal kept by Anne Frank, which Gies secreted from the Nazis and which later was published as Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. In Gold's disappointing retelling, Gies proves to be an intensely private person and frugal with words, many of whose observations are hindsights ("I knew that . . . Anne's diary had become her life'') or dwell on externals like Anne's blossoming figure. Nevertheless, Gies's sincerity, humility and courage emerge from this simple testimony and will not fail to inspire readers. Photos not seen by PW. Major ad/promo; first serial to Family Circle; Literary Guild main selection; Reader's Digest Condensed Books selection.

Starred review from May 15, 2009
Together with Gold, who's written several books about the Holocaust, Gies here tells the heartwarming and tragic story of how she and her husband risked their lives to hide the Frank family and four other Jews from the Nazis. Originally published in 1987, the book is now available for the first time on audio. Barbara Rosenblat (www.barbararosenblat.com) delivers a flawless reading, her rich and slightly accented voice conveying Gies's compassion for humanity, her selfless devotion, and especially her delight in her relationship with Anne. Highly recommended. [See Major Audio Releases, "LJ" 1/09; includes a bonus interview with the author; the S. & S. pb won the American Library Association's Best of the Best Award.Ed.]Ilka Gordon, Siegal Coll. of Judaic Studies Lib., Cleveland

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