The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

The Diary of a Young Girl
Synopsis:

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.

Review:

The Diary of a Young Girl is a hard book for me to write a review for. It is a book that is significant because of the context. Honestly without the surrounding events and circumstances this probably wouldn't be as famous as it is. While I did enjoy reading it some of the times, the beginning and ending were interesting, the middle sections really were quite tedious for me as it is the same thing again and again, the disagreements between the people in the Annex. I still had the context in the back of my mind that makes it interesting, but it was just okay to read. I mean it is a diary written by a young teenage girl. I understand why it is important, but that doesn't mean I loved reading it all the time. Still an interesting read.

Anne, her family and another family (and eventually another guy) went into hiding in 1942 to try and escape the Nazis. They lived in the Annex for two years and this book is Anne's diary. It is interesting to read of Anne growing up some in the Annex, cut off from her friends and everyone. Some sections I really enjoyed and they just really made me think about what it would be like to be stuck in a building for years, waiting and hoping for the war to end so you could get back to living.

Some sections however I found tedious. There was a lot of conflict amongst everyone, which I would expect in such a situation, but most of it just seemed like arguing for the sake of arguing. It got a bit repetitive, but then after that you can see how Anne grows while reading it and the last sections were really interesting. It is just the middle part that I didn't care much for. It is interesting to read Anne and her thoughts and feelings and how she reacts to things and how that changes over time. Anne definitely has a lot of life in her. The thing that really stood out for me throughout the entire book was how positive Anne seems to stay. She never really seems to get depressed or stir crazy or anything. She seems to deal with her situation remarkably well. I don't know that I would have held up and stayed so normal if I were in her place. It really was remarkable. It was an interesting read especially given the context with a slow part through the middle.

Rating: ★ ★ ★1/2

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