Comrade Anna: A Novel of Resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto

Julian Kravetz is a young author attempting to write about the Holocaust. His late parents, Uri and Anna, were both Holocaust survivors, and when he finds their diaries, he learns that his mother was a Communist and a Resistance fighter in the Warsaw Ghetto. He also learns that she was raped by a Nazi named Otto Langner. Langner developed feelings for Anna, bringing her food and sheltering her as best he could. Still, Anna was arrested and taken to Auschwitz. Langner then arranged to be transferred to the camp, and continued to alternate between sadism and tenderness until he began to fully comprehend the humanity of the Jews he was killing. When Auschwitz was abandoned, Anna helped Langner pretend to be a former prisoner, and he resolved to spend the rest of his life making amends. Langer then met Uri Kravetz, who had also been at Auschwitz and recognized him as a guard. Uri took Langner prisoner and later executed him. Uri went on to marry Anna, who was pregnant with Langner's baby. Dorion wants readers to think about redemption, atrocity, and the sanctity of life, but this message is hampered by the flawed structure of his narrative. The framing device of the diaries proves distracting to the central story. And while the novel is poignant and the setting vivid, readers will have trouble staying fully engaged.