Notes
Review
★ "[A] stunning, haunting work of art ... The comedy of the Diary—one of the book's most charming and often overlooked aspects - shines in this form ... There are so many wonderful juxtapositions of text and imagery that it feels cruel to focus on only a few, but another consistent standout is the way the graphic novel conveys Anne's fantasies and emotions - so crucial to the Diary ... This graphic adaptation is so engaging and effective that it's easy to imagine it replacing the Diary in classrooms and among younger readers." - The New York Times Book Review
★ "Mr. Folman's has succeeded in capturing the humor and vitality of the diaries - the hilarious sarcasm, the passionate declarations, the contemplative self-reproach - without a trace of retrofitted sentimentality. He owes much to David Polonsky's sublime illustrations. Every one of Anne's flights of fancy finds a thrilling and ingenious visual representation ... A wonderful, full-page composite image of Anne in her many moods - dreamy, snarky, silly, pensive, outraged or lovesick - is a reminder that the diaries are less about a life's senseless destruction than about a brilliant young woman eternally coming into being." - The Wall Street Journal
★ "Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation is a masterpiece. Writer Ari Folman and illustrator David Polonsky have produced a vibrant, sensitive portrait of the icon who hid with her parents, sister and four others for two years in the annex of the building in Amsterdam that housed her father's business. Through text and images of seamless intelligence, Anne emerges as a wryly sophisticated, maturing young lady ... Folman expertly balances Anne's exterior and interior observations. While not minimizing her terrifying circumstances, he focuses more on her wisecracks than on her fears ... Polonsky's extraordinary imagination and draftsmanship propel Anne’s revered diary ... This graphic novel is a valuable extension to all the literature that has emanated from Anne Frank's diary." - Hadassah Magazine
★ "Ari Folman, the Israeli director of Waltz with Bashir, takes the moving words of Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl and, with his Bashir art director David Polonsky, creates an engaging, poignant coming-of-age journey. With its cartoon style, imaginative storytelling and teenage Anne’s wide-eyed mood swings, this adaptation leans kid-friendly." - USA Today
★ "I wanted to dislike Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation because books about Anne usually feel opportunistic or simplistic. But this comic-book version, authorized by the Anne Frank Foundation, is a monumental achievement. In large part that's because it wears its importance lightly ... [I]t captures Anne's teenage-ness: her love of drama, her rabid jealousy of her perfect sister, Margot, her appreciation of the physical comedy provided by the tacky van Daan adults. She feels like a real person, not a symbol. And there's so much humor in these illustrations! Polonsky draws kinetically, varying panel size and bringing in little jokes and references from art history and advertising. He draws Anne with mobile, animated features and huge eyes. Folman nimbly provides historical context the original diary lacks; this version clarifies what was happening in the outside world as Anne was writing. But Folman also includes several full pages of unfiltered, unillustrated diary pages, showing real respect for Anne's writerly voice. In an afterword, Folman says he only used 5 percent of the entire original diary; it feels like much more." - Tablet
★ "Folman and Polonsky have reclaimed Anne Frank in all of her humanity, and they allow us to witness for ourselves her beauty, courage, vision and imagination, all of the qualities that make her life and early death so heartbreaking. And, in doing so, they have elevated the tools of the comic book to create an astonishing work of art." - Jewish Journal
★ "Folman highlights Frank's passionate, almost moral commitment to independence, her anthropologist's eye, her unique psychological insight and her profound understanding that pessimism devalues life ... Above Polonsky's elegant illustration of the adult Frank, Folman's version of Frank's text makes for a piercing epigraph." - The Forward
