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Tag Archives: Anne Frank

‘The Diary of A Young Girl’ by Anne Frank

19 Sunday Sep 2010

Posted by mywordlyobsessions in 50 Books A Year, Book Review, Rory Gilmore Reading List

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Anne Frank, Anne Frank House, book review, Diary of a Young Girl, Holocaust, Jews, Margot Frank


The Diary of a Young GirlThe Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“12th June 1942: I hope I will be able to confide everything to you, as I have never been able to confide in anyone, and I hope you will be a great source of comfort and support…”

Written on her thirteenth birthday, this fateful phrase marks the beginning of Anne Frank’s diary. What follows are witty, humorous sketches of daily life, petty arguments and numerous school-girl crushes that quickly turn into a vivid account of survival, doubt and hope. This opening sentence has haunted many readers who have come to know Anne through her candid confessions. The multi-faceted irony of it has a prophetic ring, as Anne was blissfully unaware of the cruel passage of time that would add a ten-fold weight to its meaning. It was also a powerful pact, as Anne kept her promise right until the end to record everything that happened.

The diary is a great source of comfort to its spirited owner, as she turns to it (sometimes daily) to pour forth the turmoil in her heart, of her tentative hopes and fears for the future, and to map out and ponder her ever-growing questions of love, self and family.

As I read on, I realised the book was more than just an unusual perspective of the war. It is at once a snap-shot of awkward adolescence, a record of one persons growing social conscience and political awareness as well as an example of human endurance. Especially during the last months of the diary, Anne did a lot of soul-searching, trying to make sense of the situation she was in. What emerged was a startling voice that is as mature as it is full of the spirit of defiant youth.

“We’ve been strongly reminded of the fact that we’re Jews in chains, chained to one spot, without any rights, but with a thousand obligations. We must put our feelings aside; we must be brave and strong, bear discomfort without complaint, do whatever is in our power and trust in God… We can never be just Dutch, or just English, or whatever, we will always be Jews as well. And we’ll have to keep on being Jews, but then, we’ll want to be.”

Anne’s sharp prose is peppered with clever, off-hand comments about the various ill-tempered residents of the secret annexe. Apart from her own family (father Otto, mother Edith and sister Margot) there are the van Daans and the dentist Albert Dussel. For two years Anne makes it her business to record the chemistry of the eight people living in the annexe. Her most eye-opening accounts are those that capture the domestic arguments and the increasingly unbearable atmosphere of having to live with others at such close quarters. Indeed, a teenagers worst nightmare is lack of privacy, and it’s here where Anne suffers most, often yearning for solitude and finding her diary to be her only consolation. Among the many talents that Anne hones during her confinement, is an eye for relationship dynamics. The following is an especially witty account of how to get along with annoying neighbours:

“You can win Mr. van Daan over to your side by agreeing with him, listening quietly, not saying much and most of all… responding to his teasing and his corny jokes with a joke of your own. Mrs. van D. can be won over by talking openly to her and admitting when you’re wrong. She also frankly admits her faults, of which she has many.”

As time goes by, the reader witnesses Anne growing up, becoming more independent in her views of herself and others. This bright young girl takes us into her confidence, as she complains unashamedly about her mother and sister. Ever ‘Daddy’s little girl’, she casts her father in a favourable light often comparing everyone to him, only to find them fall short. Then there’s also the tentative love affair between her and Peter van Daan that also fills up most of her thoughts and becomes a great source of excitement. In these moments however, I have found that Anne comes across as a highly opinionated brat that is often very quick to pass judgement on others with little thought to her own shortcomings. This is most evident when she writes about her mother, Edith, belittling her in ways that made it uncomfortable to read. But even Anne sees the error of her ways.

“This morning, when I ha nothing to do, I leafed through the pages of my diary and came across so many letters dealing with the subject of ‘mother’ in such strong terms that I was shocked. I said to myself, ‘Anne, is that really you talking about hate? Oh, Anne, how could you?”

I think the most heartbreaking thing about reading Anne’s diary is that we know that all those in the annexe will inevitably be betrayed, caught and sent to various concentration camps. As I drew closer to the end my mind began drifting to thoughts of an Anne that did survive the war, imagining her as a journalist, a writer or a human rights lawyer. I could see her as a career woman, a leading example to her sex. And when I’d finished the diary, I had already made up my mind that Anne was far from dead.

“I don’t want to have lived in vain like most people. I want to be useful or bring enjoyment to all people, even those I’ve never met. I want to go on living even after my death!”

I remembered this short passage she wrote (again, ironic in its prophetic undertone) and realised that her wish had come true. Throughout her diary, Anne writes to her imaginary friend ‘Kitty’. But Kitty long since ceased to be a mere writers’ placebo. For over 66 years every one of Anne’s readers have become ‘Kitty’, including me. By reading this journal I have re-discovered the joys of autobiographies, because no personal account as ever moved me as much as Anne’s. I felt like I was in the presence of a special literary talent. Had she lived, Anne Frank would have gone on to be successful in writing, as her personality alone shows that she was a force to be reckoned with. For sure, she would still have been the voice for every Jew who suffered during the war.

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Teaser Tuesday | Anne Frank’s Fragile Hopes

14 Tuesday Sep 2010

Posted by mywordlyobsessions in 50 Books A Year, Meme, Rory Gilmore Reading List

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Anne Frank, meme


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Today’s teaser comes from ‘The Diary of a Young Girl’ by Anne Frank. According to my edition, there are 3 versions of the diary at present. Version A is the original unedited edition, version B was edited later my Anne herself which includes extended passages, and version C was edited by Otto Frank, Anne’s father to protect the identity of others (and exclude unflattering passages about the family). I currently hold the text based on the B version of the text from where this excerpt is taken.

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

“Not being able to go outside upsets me more than I can say, and I’m terrified out hiding place will be discovered and that we’ll be shot. That, of course, is a fairly dismal prospect.”  

I’ve read up to page 60 so far, and finding Anne’s account of life undercover fascinating. As I read I’m aware that she did go back and smooth out a lot of her mistakes, probably omitting entries that were a bit too personal, because she intended to publish her diary after the war. Unfortunately that wasn’t to be, as she and her family (except for her father) died at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in August 1944, shortly before the British gained control of it in April 1945. One of the officers who came to read Anne’s diary was affected by her story so much that he said, ‘I was too late to save Anne’.

If you haven’t read this work yet, I suggest you do. Anne comes across as a bright, clever girl that I am growing to like. I am dreading her final entry even now.

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? (13/09)

13 Monday Sep 2010

Posted by mywordlyobsessions in 50 Books A Year, Meme

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Anne Frank, Cara Lopez Lee, Cheri Laser, gustave flaubert, hubert selby jr, Its monday what are you reading?, meme, Robert Rankin, ursula le guin


It's Monday! What are you reading this week?

Another Monday, another post! Okay, so this time there’s been some ‘movement’ in the way of reading. I’ve managed to finish one book, but I have another four lying about. This bumps my 50 books a year to a total of 47. It gets harder and harder as I get to the end! But I did have a weird week… in fact it got so bad I did a little rant about it.

Other bookish news include the fact that two bloggers I admire are getting their books published this year. That makes me very happy. Cheri Laser’s ‘The Truth About Cinnamon’ is currently on Amazon.com. You can check out her blog on the link provided. It’s pretty unique, as she’s been using it to track her road to becoming a published author. The insight she gives is invaluable to people who are also looking to follow that rocky path.

Another fabulous author is Cara Lopez Lee with her memoir ‘They Only Eat Their Husbands’. It’s about a journey around the world and ultimately to the centre of one’s being. It’s coming out from Ghost Road Press and Cara’s going to be doing some book signings too. You can find out more from her website.

I met these lovely ladies through the blogosphere. Their generosity with their experiences have inspired me to take up the pen yet again. hopefully this time I’ll follow through and be like them. I wish them every luck in the future.  

OK, so here’s the rundown folks. The titles are familiar now to everybody. You could recite them in your sleep!

1. ‘Madame Bovary’ by Gustave Flaubert – (evil little book! Very good, but refuses to be finished!)

2. ‘Diary of Anne Frank’ by Anne Frank – (Just started after I finished ‘Lavinia’. So far so good.)

3. ‘Retromancer’ by Robert Rankin – (Should have had this finished 2 weeks ago. After it fell on the floor in a hospital, I didn’t pick it up again.) 

4. ‘The Room’ by Hubert Selby Jr. – (I want to finish Bovary before I get onto this. I need totally concentration!)

The book I finished was ‘Lavinia’ by Ursula K. Le Guin.

That’s it from me. Nothing exciting as of yet, but I might have something coming up in the following weeks. Fingers crossed :).

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