**Disclaimer: I have received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**
Gift of Darkness tells the story of a boy who, like Anne Frank, lived in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. Unlike Anne, he was not taken into early hiding, and was thus able to move around the city, even to help serve its Jewish community, and observe first-hand the ominous things that were happening. Robbert Van Santen lived each day not knowing how or when the war would end, not being sure that he would survive, not imagining that as an elder he would articulate his experiences to an American author.
Like millions of people, I read Anne Frank's diary when I was in secondary school and her harrowing story has stayed with me ever since. This is why I found myself immediately attracted to Gift of Darkness and Robbert Van Santen's incredible story. It is actually interesting to note that Robbert went to the same school as Anne Frank, despite being in a different grade.
This story of survival in Nazi-occupied Holland is told from two different perspectives which frequently intertwine throughout the book. One is Robbert's account told in the first person and present tense; the other consists of interviews between the author and the subject of this book.
While I believe that the use of the first person/present tense to tell Robbert's story helped bring immediacy to the narrative, I found the inclusion of interviews and present-day information somewhat confusing and distracting from the main act which, in my opinion, is Robbert's story as told by himself.
Having said that, Gift of Darkness was a very interesting read narrated with honesty and sincerity.
The Bibliovore's verdict ⋆⋆⋆
I would encourage you to read this book if you aim to learn more about this dark period of our history and are looking for a different perspective than that of Anne Frank's. However, I would absolutely urge you to read Anne's diary at all costs.
Like millions of people, I read Anne Frank's diary when I was in secondary school and her harrowing story has stayed with me ever since. This is why I found myself immediately attracted to Gift of Darkness and Robbert Van Santen's incredible story. It is actually interesting to note that Robbert went to the same school as Anne Frank, despite being in a different grade.
This story of survival in Nazi-occupied Holland is told from two different perspectives which frequently intertwine throughout the book. One is Robbert's account told in the first person and present tense; the other consists of interviews between the author and the subject of this book.
While I believe that the use of the first person/present tense to tell Robbert's story helped bring immediacy to the narrative, I found the inclusion of interviews and present-day information somewhat confusing and distracting from the main act which, in my opinion, is Robbert's story as told by himself.
Having said that, Gift of Darkness was a very interesting read narrated with honesty and sincerity.
The Bibliovore's verdict ⋆⋆⋆
I would encourage you to read this book if you aim to learn more about this dark period of our history and are looking for a different perspective than that of Anne Frank's. However, I would absolutely urge you to read Anne's diary at all costs.
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