Title: The Diary of a Young GirlAuthor: Anne Frank
Series: -
Genres: Nonfiction, Classics, Holocaust
Publisher: Bantam
Release: 1993
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 283
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BLURB:
Discovered in the attic in which she spent the last years of her life, Anne Frank's remarkable diary has since become a world classic—a powerful reminder of the horrors of war and an eloquent testament to the human spirit.
In 1942, with Nazis occupying Holland, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl and her family fled their home in Amsterdam and went into hiding. For the next two years, until their whereabouts were betrayed to the Gestapo, they and another family lived cloistered in the "Secret Annexe" of an old office building. Cut off from the outside world, they faced hunger, boredom, the constant cruelties of living in confined quarters, and the ever-present threat of discovery and death.
In her diary Anne Frank recorded vivid impressions of her experiences during this period. By turns thoughtful, moving, and amusing, her account offers a fascinating commentary on human courage and frailty and a compelling self-portrait of a sensitive and spirited young woman whose promise was tragically cut short.
EXPECTATIONS: So I don't know about you but during my whole life this book was always presented as literature miracle, an ultimate guide and of unreachable value. However, as you know I am very wary about books that deal with WWII because of their tendency to paint everything black and white. I just learned too much of history and heard too many people stories to accept Soviet Union as a saver for example and all German people as evil. But I guess that is a problem with history itself. Anyways at some point I talked myself into picking up this book because again, everybody seemed to have read it but me.
THE WORLD: This is a nonfiction book based on true facts. Anne is a daughter of a Jew in Netherlands and she basically writes her diary during war. It is mainly coming of age story, most of text is about hating your parents and liking boys really and only sometimes you hear about fear and hiding itself. Now don't get me wrong, I do think it was horrible what happened and even more horrible that children were robbed of their childhood, of being scared to live simply because they are jews. What Nazis did was horrible, what people wanting to be Nazis did were even more horrible and I think it is important to mention that the fact that so many countries did not allow Jews as refugees is also horrible. Tbh I think we see similar situation today where people are running away from war and death in Syria but nobody really wants to take them in...I guess society doesn't really change much. Anyways back to the WWII times. Or that little hiding place in Netherlands tbh, because this book is very claustrophobic, I guess it captures how Anne felt. Actually in Netherlands you can even visit the house where they were hiding, for some reason called Anne Frank house which kinda indicates that everybody else was not important there but okay...but please do not kiss there like characters in Falt in Our Stars did...it is not the place for it and just really disrespectful!
CHARACTERS: Anne Frank is very young when she starts writing her diary but of course because war does not end in one day we see her grow up. This book is considered as the best book of coming of age. And now don't get me wrong, I think what Anne went through was horrible but when it comes to literature value I am not sure if it is really that great. I think it is same problem that we have with all classics, there is nothing else available from that time, at least I am not aware of other people's memoirs in captivity during war so I think as memoir itself it is invaluable but for me personally Anne was not a genius writer as it is marketed today. As of complete honesty I think Anne was not even a very likable person, you pity her for the horrors she has to face but as of personality I think she is a bit self centered and that whole part of hating her parents...I think every growing person goes through that state, does not make it necessary true.
ROMANCE: There is much...way too much in comparison to what expected. And I must comment on this even I might have hate comments but really when I look at the photo of Anne...she is not as pretty as she described herself. From the way she talks and how all boys fall in love with her...hmm maybe just different opinion on what is pretty. Anyways when it comes to romance I really thought on if it was real love Anne felt or just because they were always in one closed place. I mean you do get attached to people who are always there and going through same things you do.
GOOD: I think it is of a huge value from historical side, the inside in what it really meant. Nowadays we are so used to the stories of war that we don't really stop and think what they mean and so Anne with her diary really puts you in her shoes sometimes. After all Jews were killed simply because they were Jews, how horrible is that? But yet today we still discriminate people based on race and their nationality...USA even puts an immigration ban...so it makes you really ask how much world has changed. I think today everybody should read this book and think if what we are doing is okay.
BAD: I still have my issue with the literature value as a coming of age book. If you read analysis of this book on internet...I do not agree with many things when it comes to pure literature side.
OVERALL: As I already mentioned a few times it is a very important book that allows you to really look at what war means and what discrimination means. In the world of today everybody should read or re-read it and think on how we are behaving and where it all is going...
What do you think about A DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL?
