Cycling through history, this absorbing novel draws connections between a group of high-school theater kids in 80’s greater Chicago as they take on Anne Frank’s Diary as a play. Their teacher is a volatile and dark presence scarring many of the students in direct or tangential ways. Early parts trace the characters’ stories at the school while later portions show these very same characters as adults, living their ordinary lives. Langer draws remarkable connections between worlds and every character is vividly imagined. At times the parallels between Anne Frank and the current-day MAGA “build-a-wall” movement feel forced. Nevertheless, a stunner.
