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The Diary of Anne Frank: The Definitive Edition
Information from the Foreword
There are three main versions of the Diary: Version A, as originally written by Anne Frank; Version B, as edited by Anne Frank herself; and Version C, as edited and abridged by her father Otto Frank. Version C is the one that is best known; however, all three versions were published in The Critical Edition. This ‘Definitive Edition’ is for general readers that has been compiled by Mirjam Pressler from Version C, supplemented with approximately 30% additional material from Versions A and B as well as material from five pages that were discovered in 1998.
Among the most powerful accounts of the Nazi occupation, "The Diary of Anne Frank" chronicles the life of Anne Frank, a thirteen-year old girl fleeing her home in Amsterdam to go into hiding. Anne reveals the relationships between eight people living under miserable conditions: facing hunger, threat of discovery and the worst horrors the modern world had seen. In these pages, she grows up to be a young woman and a wise observer of human nature. She shares an unparalleled bond with her diary, which holds a detailed account of Anne's close relationship with her father, the lack of daughterly love for her mother, admiration for her sister's intelligence and closeness with her friend Peter. Anne Frank's account offers a compelling self-portrait of a sensitive and spirited young woman who turns thoughtful and learns of the many terrors of the world.
There are three main versions of the Diary: Version A, as originally written by Anne Frank; Version B, as edited by Anne Frank herself; and Version C, as edited and abridged by her father Otto Frank. Version C is the one that is best known; however, all three versions were published in The Critical Edition. This ‘Definitive Edition’ is for general readers that has been compiled by Mirjam Pressler from Version C, supplemented with approximately 30% additional material from Versions A and B as well as material from five pages that were discovered in 1998.
Among the most powerful accounts of the Nazi occupation, "The Diary of Anne Frank" chronicles the life of Anne Frank, a thirteen-year old girl fleeing her home in Amsterdam to go into hiding. Anne reveals the relationships between eight people living under miserable conditions: facing hunger, threat of discovery and the worst horrors the modern world had seen. In these pages, she grows up to be a young woman and a wise observer of human nature. She shares an unparalleled bond with her diary, which holds a detailed account of Anne's close relationship with her father, the lack of daughterly love for her mother, admiration for her sister's intelligence and closeness with her friend Peter. Anne Frank's account offers a compelling self-portrait of a sensitive and spirited young woman who turns thoughtful and learns of the many terrors of the world.
276 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 1, 2018
About the author
Anne Frank
201 books4,911 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank was a Jewish girl born in the city of Frankfurt, Germany. Her father moved to the Netherlands in 1933 and the rest of the family followed later. Anne was the last of the family to come to the Netherlands, in February 1934. She wrote a diary while in hiding with her family and four friends in Amsterdam during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II.
She lived in Amsterdam with her parents and sister. During the Holocaust, Anne and her family hid in the attic of her father's office to escape the Nazis. It was during that time period that she had recorded her life in her diary.
Anne died in Bergen-Belsen, in February 1945, at the age of 15.
Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank was a Jewish girl born in the city of Frankfurt, Germany. Her father moved to the Netherlands in 1933 and the rest of the family followed later. Anne was the last of the family to come to the Netherlands, in February 1934. She wrote a diary while in hiding with her family and four friends in Amsterdam during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II.
She lived in Amsterdam with her parents and sister. During the Holocaust, Anne and her family hid in the attic of her father's office to escape the Nazis. It was during that time period that she had recorded her life in her diary.
Anne died in Bergen-Belsen, in February 1945, at the age of 15.
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August 10, 2019
Even if you know how the story ends, The Diary of a Young Girl will still get to you...
December 9, 2015
Foreword
--The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition
Afterword
The Legacy of Anne Frank
--The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition
Afterword
The Legacy of Anne Frank
May 16, 2015
I started reading Anne Frank's Diary, after nearly twenty-five years of procrastination, and also in the later years due to the feeling of it being overhyped.
I was wrong …, way too wrong .
What mesmerized me most during its reading, is the metamorphosis of a thirteen year young girl into a fifteen year young woman. The contents of the diary start off with almost mundane topics of day-to-day life in the Secret Annexe. And in twenty-six months of her writing, the transformation that is observed in the way she expresses her thoughts, provides the feeling of what she truly was.
She was a person capable of deep thought at the age of 15.
Usually when I read prose, I live within the book; 'it' becomes my world, or rather I become a part of 'it'; in other words, the book and my self become one. As a result, this time (although this was a diary) I was living with the Franks, the van Daans, Mr. Dussel, and the others who worked at 263 Prinsengracht, Amsterdam, through the eyes and the thoughts of Anne Frank.
Having lived for two years and two months in her thoughts, and only within the confines of the building, was depressive, but which gave way to insights which are hard to come by considering a person of her age. Anne was an aspiring writer (and she definitely was good at it), the way she writes her diary was certainly good, and at times very much unique (although of course this one was translated into English). Being inside Anne's own self, also made me look within my own self, which was to me of one of the highest importance of reading the contents of her writings to Kitty.
When I started reading the book, I could think of giving it a 3-stars … it was good no doubt, but by the end it had to become what it is!
Her topics range from her school friends, family, and her diary Kitty, to all the ways in which they lived and survived within the two years of hiding. She writes an Ode to her lost Fountain Pen; on Suffering and Beauty; on Puberty and Adolescence; on Longing for anything new; on Talking, and Solace; about how "The grown-ups are such idiots!"; on Writing and Doing things; about the Jews; on Wars; Anti-Semitism in Holland (at the time); about Nature; on Injustice towards Women; Racism, Discrimination, and Human Rights; Living a Happy life; on Work; her own Self-awareness; Contradictions; etc.
The copy I read was the Definitive Edition, which had additional 30% of previously unreleased material (only in editions after 1995).Along with a Foreword and an Afterword, included was a 10-page essay on "The Legacy of Anne Frank" by Clare Garner. The essay describes how Otto Frank (Anne's father) got the book to be published, how he felt when he got his daughter's diary in his hands and started to read it bit-by-bit (after having survived the holocaust and returning to Amsterdam), and about the use of films and Broadway plays to keep Anne's legacy moving. Otto Frank later also helped in saving the Secret Annexe (which was supposed to be demolished), and which is now the Anne Frank House (it also includes a few objects that remain from the 'times') hosting international conferences and training workshops to highlight all forms of persecution, apart from being a museum. Visitors here also learn of human rights, discrimination, and racism, apart from the holocaust, while promoting Anne as a symbol of tolerance.
So what did I feel personally after the completion of the book? :)
Well, for one, let me confess, this was the first book that brought me tears (literally). No other book ever, has actually made me cry! This did not happen to me during the actual reading of the diary, but while reading one of Otto Frank's quoted feelings in his response to not attending the Broadway play based on the diary which opened at New York's Cort Theatre in October 1955. What he felt, was a quick reflection of the contents of Anne's Diary, and for me.
I also felt, if Anne had not died, she could have played one of those major roles of being the world-changers in her future. What a waste, … her and many others who were just washed off the face of the earth. RIP to them all.
I was wrong …, way too wrong .
"You only really get to know a person after a row. Only then can you judge their true character."
"Mums had a hard time combing her hair because the family comb has only ten teeth left."
What mesmerized me most during its reading, is the metamorphosis of a thirteen year young girl into a fifteen year young woman. The contents of the diary start off with almost mundane topics of day-to-day life in the Secret Annexe. And in twenty-six months of her writing, the transformation that is observed in the way she expresses her thoughts, provides the feeling of what she truly was.
She was a person capable of deep thought at the age of 15.
"We were talking about the picture of a film star I'd once given him, which has been hanging in his room for at least a year and a half. He liked it so much that I offered to give him a few more.
'No,' he replied, 'I'd rather keep the one I've got. I look at it everyday, and the people in it have become my friends.'"
"As long as this exists, this sunshine and this cloudless sky, and as long as I can enjoy it, how can I be sad?"
Usually when I read prose, I live within the book; 'it' becomes my world, or rather I become a part of 'it'; in other words, the book and my self become one. As a result, this time (although this was a diary) I was living with the Franks, the van Daans, Mr. Dussel, and the others who worked at 263 Prinsengracht, Amsterdam, through the eyes and the thoughts of Anne Frank.
"Oh, when will we overcome all these difficulties? And yet it's good that we have to surmount them, since it makes the end that much more beautiful."
"…, things are only as bad as you make them."
Having lived for two years and two months in her thoughts, and only within the confines of the building, was depressive, but which gave way to insights which are hard to come by considering a person of her age. Anne was an aspiring writer (and she definitely was good at it), the way she writes her diary was certainly good, and at times very much unique (although of course this one was translated into English). Being inside Anne's own self, also made me look within my own self, which was to me of one of the highest importance of reading the contents of her writings to Kitty.
"It's hard enough standing on your own two feet, but when you also have to remain true to your character and soul, it's harder still."
When I started reading the book, I could think of giving it a 3-stars … it was good no doubt, but by the end it had to become what it is!
"I'm left with one consolation, small though it may be; my fountain pen was cremated, just as I would like to be some day."
Her topics range from her school friends, family, and her diary Kitty, to all the ways in which they lived and survived within the two years of hiding. She writes an Ode to her lost Fountain Pen; on Suffering and Beauty; on Puberty and Adolescence; on Longing for anything new; on Talking, and Solace; about how "The grown-ups are such idiots!"; on Writing and Doing things; about the Jews; on Wars; Anti-Semitism in Holland (at the time); about Nature; on Injustice towards Women; Racism, Discrimination, and Human Rights; Living a Happy life; on Work; her own Self-awareness; Contradictions; etc.
"I don't believe the war is simply the work of politicians and capitalists. Oh no, the common man is every bit as guilty; otherwise, people and nations would have rebelled long ago! There's a destructive urge in people, the urge to rage, murder and kill. And until all of humanity, without exception, undergoes metamorphosis, wars will continue to be waged, and everything that has been carefully built up, cultivated and grown will be cut down and destroyed, only to start all over again!"
"What I condemn are our system of values and the men who don't acknowledge how great, difficult, but ultimately beautiful women's share in society is."
The copy I read was the Definitive Edition, which had additional 30% of previously unreleased material (only in editions after 1995).Along with a Foreword and an Afterword, included was a 10-page essay on "The Legacy of Anne Frank" by Clare Garner. The essay describes how Otto Frank (Anne's father) got the book to be published, how he felt when he got his daughter's diary in his hands and started to read it bit-by-bit (after having survived the holocaust and returning to Amsterdam), and about the use of films and Broadway plays to keep Anne's legacy moving. Otto Frank later also helped in saving the Secret Annexe (which was supposed to be demolished), and which is now the Anne Frank House (it also includes a few objects that remain from the 'times') hosting international conferences and training workshops to highlight all forms of persecution, apart from being a museum. Visitors here also learn of human rights, discrimination, and racism, apart from the holocaust, while promoting Anne as a symbol of tolerance.
"There's only one rule you need to remember: laugh at everything and forget everybody else! It sounds egotistical, but it's actually the only cure for those suffering from self-pity."
So what did I feel personally after the completion of the book? :)
Well, for one, let me confess, this was the first book that brought me tears (literally). No other book ever, has actually made me cry! This did not happen to me during the actual reading of the diary, but while reading one of Otto Frank's quoted feelings in his response to not attending the Broadway play based on the diary which opened at New York's Cort Theatre in October 1955. What he felt, was a quick reflection of the contents of Anne's Diary, and for me.
I also felt, if Anne had not died, she could have played one of those major roles of being the world-changers in her future. What a waste, … her and many others who were just washed off the face of the earth. RIP to them all.
May 12, 2022
I rarely read non fiction, but I have been planning on reading this book for a very long time, because the setting is during WWII, one of my favourite topics.
I had no expectations and I avoided all reviews.
I have only read the synopsis: “In 1942, with the Nazis occupying Holland, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl and her family fled their home in Amsterdam and went into hiding. She recorded daily events, her personal experiences and her feelings in her diary for the next two years.”
I’m glad that I have finally decided to read it.
I was immediately hooked.
But I do believe that this edition was heavily edited. I couldn’t see a young teenager girl being so eloquent. It almost felt like a work of fiction. Perhaps I should praise the translator.
Regardless, I put myself in prospect.
I was able to infiltrate into Anne’s head and see her world through her eyes and absorb her feelings.
It was quite remarkable.
I don’t think that I could have kept my sanity at that age, if I had no other choice but to live with 7 other people, hidden in a confined space for at least 2 years, like she did.
She was even able to have some positive perspectives during that time!
The situation really impressed me.
I don’t think that I would have appreciated this book, if I had read it during my teens. I would probably have considered it to be boring, after all it is a slow read and some parts are a bit repetitive, especially her infatuation with the boy, Peter, one of the occupants.
In this book you will not see the gory details of the Holocaust, but you may be able to feel the tension and the constant fear while living in hiding.
She missed out what we all have taken for granted.
P.S.: after finishing the book I found a foreword on a different edition saying that Anne’s writing was edited to correct errors in grammar and spellings, but since this one is a translated version, I will praise the translator and/or editor.
I had no expectations and I avoided all reviews.
I have only read the synopsis: “In 1942, with the Nazis occupying Holland, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl and her family fled their home in Amsterdam and went into hiding. She recorded daily events, her personal experiences and her feelings in her diary for the next two years.”
I’m glad that I have finally decided to read it.
I was immediately hooked.
But I do believe that this edition was heavily edited. I couldn’t see a young teenager girl being so eloquent. It almost felt like a work of fiction. Perhaps I should praise the translator.
Regardless, I put myself in prospect.
I was able to infiltrate into Anne’s head and see her world through her eyes and absorb her feelings.
It was quite remarkable.
I don’t think that I could have kept my sanity at that age, if I had no other choice but to live with 7 other people, hidden in a confined space for at least 2 years, like she did.
She was even able to have some positive perspectives during that time!
The situation really impressed me.
I don’t think that I would have appreciated this book, if I had read it during my teens. I would probably have considered it to be boring, after all it is a slow read and some parts are a bit repetitive, especially her infatuation with the boy, Peter, one of the occupants.
In this book you will not see the gory details of the Holocaust, but you may be able to feel the tension and the constant fear while living in hiding.
She missed out what we all have taken for granted.
P.S.: after finishing the book I found a foreword on a different edition saying that Anne’s writing was edited to correct errors in grammar and spellings, but since this one is a translated version, I will praise the translator and/or editor.
February 5, 2019
A minha memória não é exemplo para ninguém, já estão carecas de saber, no entanto, lembro-me perfeitamente da primeira vez que li este livro. Tinha 12 anos e devia estar doente, porque estava a ler na cama (que é uma coisa que simplesmente não acontecia), numa casa onde só vivi cerca de um ano ou dois. Na altura fiquei muito impressionada com a escrita madura de uma miúda que era pouco mais velha que eu quando começou a escrever o diário que eu tinha na mão.
Eu, que naquela época enchia o meu diário com as minhas peripécias e desamores da minha primeira grande paixão! Ver um diário escrito de forma tão observadora, tão colocada...
Reler este livro enquanto adulta foi uma experiência completamente diferente da que guardava na minha memória. Sim, a Anne era observadora, mas também era muito crítica, típico da idade, talvez? Daí que na altura eu não tenha reparado quão duras as palavras dela eram para com as pessoas com quem partilhava o Anexo, talvez?
É um livro fabuloso, mantenho a opinião de a miúda ser muito madura, pelo menos em relação aos miúdos de há 20 anos, definitivamente em relação aos miúdos de agora. É certo que enquanto adulta me apeteceu dar-lhe um abanão aqui e ali, por parecer ser muito injusta, por vezes. Mas a verdade é que nunca vamos saber se foi injusta ou não, porque nunca teremos as perspectivas das pessoas que partilharam o espaço com ela e que viveram 24/24 sem terem grande sítio onde se refugiarem para um pouco de tempo só. E penso que todos sabemos o que acontece quando não temos espaço para esse tempo solitário tão precioso!
Acima de tudo, a importância de um diário de uma miúda adolescente como documento histórico, escrito não só na primeira pessoa, como à medida que as coisas iam acontecendo, é tremenda! Nunca uma releitura me tinha feito manter pesquisas constantemente ao longo das páginas!
Eu, que naquela época enchia o meu diário com as minhas peripécias e desamores da minha primeira grande paixão! Ver um diário escrito de forma tão observadora, tão colocada...
Reler este livro enquanto adulta foi uma experiência completamente diferente da que guardava na minha memória. Sim, a Anne era observadora, mas também era muito crítica, típico da idade, talvez? Daí que na altura eu não tenha reparado quão duras as palavras dela eram para com as pessoas com quem partilhava o Anexo, talvez?
É um livro fabuloso, mantenho a opinião de a miúda ser muito madura, pelo menos em relação aos miúdos de há 20 anos, definitivamente em relação aos miúdos de agora. É certo que enquanto adulta me apeteceu dar-lhe um abanão aqui e ali, por parecer ser muito injusta, por vezes. Mas a verdade é que nunca vamos saber se foi injusta ou não, porque nunca teremos as perspectivas das pessoas que partilharam o espaço com ela e que viveram 24/24 sem terem grande sítio onde se refugiarem para um pouco de tempo só. E penso que todos sabemos o que acontece quando não temos espaço para esse tempo solitário tão precioso!
Acima de tudo, a importância de um diário de uma miúda adolescente como documento histórico, escrito não só na primeira pessoa, como à medida que as coisas iam acontecendo, é tremenda! Nunca uma releitura me tinha feito manter pesquisas constantemente ao longo das páginas!
January 19, 2021
Um livro de leitura obrigatória! Não é um livro arrebatador nem de leitura compulsiva. É um livro que nos faz pensar e ainda mais na fase em que estamos a passar. Quando estamos a passar por um confinamento, em que em “regra geral “ não passamos fome, não temos de nos esconder, podemos até ir passear o cão, faz-nos pensar e agradecer que aquilo porque estamos a passar seja “apenas um confinamento”. É uma obra escrita por uma menina de 14 anos , que escrevia muito bem para a idade dela. Pensava na vida e refletia muito, sem no entanto, deixar de ser uma adolescente e passar por todos os dramas de um adolescente 😉.
September 11, 2018
I feel like a right twat. Somehow I've reached the age of 30 without reading a single page from this book. I started reading yesterday at lunch, and finished this evening.
I'm astounded at my ignorance. I always expected that this would be a very simple book, encompassing a couple of months and written very plainly and matter-of-factly. I was dead wrong. I have no doubt that if Anne had lived to adulthood she would have become an important author. Even when writing about typical teenage fare, her words, structure and pacing were well beyond her years. She was remarkably eloquent.
I cried, of course. I can see why this is such a renowned work. It's so easy to feel like you know Anne, and so easy to imagine yourself in her place. Considering this was written by someone so different to me (female, teenage, religious, 70 bloody years ago) it's so relatable, and that's what makes it so heartbreaking.
I'm angry that her life was cut short, and I'm grateful that her father worked so tirelessly to tell her story to the world. Here's hoping we don't need to teach a similar story to younger generations in the future.
I'm astounded at my ignorance. I always expected that this would be a very simple book, encompassing a couple of months and written very plainly and matter-of-factly. I was dead wrong. I have no doubt that if Anne had lived to adulthood she would have become an important author. Even when writing about typical teenage fare, her words, structure and pacing were well beyond her years. She was remarkably eloquent.
I cried, of course. I can see why this is such a renowned work. It's so easy to feel like you know Anne, and so easy to imagine yourself in her place. Considering this was written by someone so different to me (female, teenage, religious, 70 bloody years ago) it's so relatable, and that's what makes it so heartbreaking.
I'm angry that her life was cut short, and I'm grateful that her father worked so tirelessly to tell her story to the world. Here's hoping we don't need to teach a similar story to younger generations in the future.
June 25, 2020
I always thought I had an obligation to read this, a chore to honor the dead by reading what I expected to be a stuffy, prissy, cardboard saint sort of a book. Boy was I dead wrong. What an amazing writer and observer. Balanced between observation, humor, biting wit, recording events, the backdrop of the war, evolving feelings, and more. Imagining life in a Secret Annex surrounded by fear with the occasional distant events of the Holocaust recounted would make it an obligatory record of a historical moment. And all of that is there. But it is much more interesting as a girl's evolving relationship with her parents, her sister, the boy that is living with her, and her wry and humorous observations about how all of them get together. And an amazing real-time record of the maturation of her writing and observation as it is written from when she was 13 through 15. Over the course of the book Anne talks about what she is reading and studying, her passion for mythology, and more, all of which shows in the way she constructs and understands her own story.
It makes her fate all the more cruel, I would love to read everything else she wrote over the course of a lifetime. Sadly it is just this and Anne Frank's Tales from the Secret Annex: A Collection of Her Short Stories, Fables, and Lesser-Known Writings which I'll be reading very soon, if not next.
It makes her fate all the more cruel, I would love to read everything else she wrote over the course of a lifetime. Sadly it is just this and Anne Frank's Tales from the Secret Annex: A Collection of Her Short Stories, Fables, and Lesser-Known Writings which I'll be reading very soon, if not next.
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August 20, 2021I’m not rating this book as I feel strange doing so for a historical document. I read it at this time because it is one of the 45 books on the TIME 100 Best Young Adult Books list (August 2021) that I haven’t read, and I’m proceeding through these 45 titles in chronological order. Please note that this edition is the Definitive edition and has approximately 30% more content than the version typically handed to kids, some of which is of sexual in nature. I’m so happy to have waited until this exact moment, at this exact age to read this exact version of Anne’s diary. I’m humbled by her optimism and bravery and horrified at how little humanity has changed since then. I ache at how saddened young Anne would be at seeing 2021.
January 11, 2020
Can’t believe I’ve never read this before.
September 20, 2022
I had avoided reading this my entire life as I am the premier anti-Pollyanna. Life is too rough, hard and scary to constantly think things will always turn out ok, as oftentimes they do not, and even if they do in the end, that does not preclude an enormous amount of suffering and loss. Was I wrong !!!!!!!! This is no Pollyanna diary. All the sexual bits and pieces nearly knocked me off my perch as Anne Frank's diary was the last place on earth I would have thought to find descriptions of female genitalia !!!!
Fantastic, moving and real. A++++++++++++
Fantastic, moving and real. A++++++++++++
May 14, 2023
Reread in preparation for my visit to the Anne Frank Museum next month
February 27, 2018
Leitura obrigatória, detestando ou adorando. Ler aquela experiência não faz sentido; aliás, arrisco dizer que não encontraria alguém naquela faixa etária com tanta lucidez e capacidade para organizar as ideias em textos tão descritivos. Tempos distintos, educações bem diferentes.
Pois bem: o Diário de Anne Frank é, provavelmente, o livro mais conhecido sobre a WWII. E com isso chegam expectativas bastante elevadas. Há sempre mais um pormenor, mais uma informação que nos tinha passado ao lado daqueles que apreciam história. Porém, não é um livro sobre guerra. É um livro sobre crescimento pessoal, em circunstâncias duríssimas, sobre humildade, sacrifício e harmonia por um bem comum.
O desfecho só deixa espaço para especulação. Que ser humano seria Anne Frank!
Pois bem: o Diário de Anne Frank é, provavelmente, o livro mais conhecido sobre a WWII. E com isso chegam expectativas bastante elevadas. Há sempre mais um pormenor, mais uma informação que nos tinha passado ao lado daqueles que apreciam história. Porém, não é um livro sobre guerra. É um livro sobre crescimento pessoal, em circunstâncias duríssimas, sobre humildade, sacrifício e harmonia por um bem comum.
O desfecho só deixa espaço para especulação. Que ser humano seria Anne Frank!
April 2, 2018
Constantly found myself in the contradiction of wanting to read more while at the same time can not read too much within one day. I knew the end, but not until I reached “Anne’s diary ends here” at the end, I still had a tiny hope that they can finally get over the war.
May 12, 2021
I have been wanting to read this for ages. So pleased to listen to this on audio with narrator Helena Bonham Carter.
January 3, 2022
Lido em 2020
June 27, 2019
7/11/42: Not being able to go outside upsets me more than I can say, and I’m terrified our hiding place will be discovered and that we’ll be shot. That, of course, is a fairly dismal prospect.
I read The Diary of a Young Girl when I was 13. That version of her diary was brief and edited to remove both references to sex and negative comments about the other seven residents of the Annex. The Diary of Anne Frank, The Definitive Edition is 30% longer than Young Girl and includes material that her father had removed from the first book; it also calls the other members of the Annex and their helpers by their real names. Her helpers deserve credit for what they did.
In this reading, I was most interested in Anne's response to being imprisoned for 26 months in the Annex. Anne and her family were "safe" and relatively privileged in the Annex – although unable to open windows, flush toilets during the day, or step outside. According to her, the adults tended toward argumentative, judgy, and selfish. She was, as she later described herself, "a pleasant, amusing, but superficial girl, who has nothing to do with me." (3/7/44)
Over the course of her stay in the Annex, Anne went from superficial and avoidant of intimacy, while blaming that on others, to empathic, thoughtful, insightful, and searching for real intimacy.
1/22/44: I want to reexamine the van Daans and decide for myself what’s true and what’s been blown out of proportion. If I wind up being disappointed in them, I can always side with Father and Mother. But if not, I can try to change their attitude. And if that doesn’t work, I’ll have to stick with my own opinions and judgment. I’ll take every opportunity to speak openly to Mrs. van D. about our many differences and not be afraid — despite my reputation as a smart aleck — to offer my impartial opinion. I won’t say anything negative about my own family, though that doesn’t mean I won’t defend them if somebody else does, and as of today, my gossiping is a thing of the past.
Anne's interests are not typical of most young teens – she was 14 here:
5/16/44: Shorthand in French, English, German and Dutch, geometry, algebra, history, geography, art history, mythology, biology, Bible history, Dutch literature; likes to read biographies, dull or exciting, and history books (sometimes novels and light reading).
Anne's sunny optimism and witty response to misfortune makes her a fun read, even when we know the outcome:
6/2/44: I also have a brand-new prescription for gunfire jitters: When the shooting gets loud, proceed to the nearest wooden staircase. Run up and down a few times, making sure to stumble at least once. What with the scratches and the noise of running and falling, you won’t even be able to hear the shooting, much less worry about it.
We tend to think that trauma destroys people. People like Anne Frank remind us that trauma can transform. That transformation is not a passive process, but requires determination, courage, and a sense of meaning and purpose, even when those qualities seem not to make sense.
7/15/44: It’s a wonder I haven’t abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.
My 12-year-old granddaughter downloaded both The Diary of Anne Frank and The Tattooist of Auschwitz to my kindle account without asking. She raced through both. How can I complain, when these are her choices?
I read The Diary of a Young Girl when I was 13. That version of her diary was brief and edited to remove both references to sex and negative comments about the other seven residents of the Annex. The Diary of Anne Frank, The Definitive Edition is 30% longer than Young Girl and includes material that her father had removed from the first book; it also calls the other members of the Annex and their helpers by their real names. Her helpers deserve credit for what they did.
In this reading, I was most interested in Anne's response to being imprisoned for 26 months in the Annex. Anne and her family were "safe" and relatively privileged in the Annex – although unable to open windows, flush toilets during the day, or step outside. According to her, the adults tended toward argumentative, judgy, and selfish. She was, as she later described herself, "a pleasant, amusing, but superficial girl, who has nothing to do with me." (3/7/44)
Over the course of her stay in the Annex, Anne went from superficial and avoidant of intimacy, while blaming that on others, to empathic, thoughtful, insightful, and searching for real intimacy.
1/22/44: I want to reexamine the van Daans and decide for myself what’s true and what’s been blown out of proportion. If I wind up being disappointed in them, I can always side with Father and Mother. But if not, I can try to change their attitude. And if that doesn’t work, I’ll have to stick with my own opinions and judgment. I’ll take every opportunity to speak openly to Mrs. van D. about our many differences and not be afraid — despite my reputation as a smart aleck — to offer my impartial opinion. I won’t say anything negative about my own family, though that doesn’t mean I won’t defend them if somebody else does, and as of today, my gossiping is a thing of the past.
Anne's interests are not typical of most young teens – she was 14 here:
5/16/44: Shorthand in French, English, German and Dutch, geometry, algebra, history, geography, art history, mythology, biology, Bible history, Dutch literature; likes to read biographies, dull or exciting, and history books (sometimes novels and light reading).
Anne's sunny optimism and witty response to misfortune makes her a fun read, even when we know the outcome:
6/2/44: I also have a brand-new prescription for gunfire jitters: When the shooting gets loud, proceed to the nearest wooden staircase. Run up and down a few times, making sure to stumble at least once. What with the scratches and the noise of running and falling, you won’t even be able to hear the shooting, much less worry about it.
We tend to think that trauma destroys people. People like Anne Frank remind us that trauma can transform. That transformation is not a passive process, but requires determination, courage, and a sense of meaning and purpose, even when those qualities seem not to make sense.
7/15/44: It’s a wonder I haven’t abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.
My 12-year-old granddaughter downloaded both The Diary of Anne Frank and The Tattooist of Auschwitz to my kindle account without asking. She raced through both. How can I complain, when these are her choices?
September 13, 2017
Honestly, I struggled a lot to finish the book, it took me more than two and half months to finish it although it’s not that big! It’s about a whiny young girl hovering around the idea of “Everything is against me!” and “No one understands me!”
I know it’s considered one of the bestselling books of the 20th century and 21st century but I believe it’s overrated. There are many brilliant books and films talk about the Holocaust but not this one! It’s a waste of time!
I know it’s considered one of the bestselling books of the 20th century and 21st century but I believe it’s overrated. There are many brilliant books and films talk about the Holocaust but not this one! It’s a waste of time!
April 27, 2022
My first time reading this and I highly recommend it to everyone. Don’t let the fact it is “the diary of a young girl” put you off. Anne was very thoughtful and bright at a very young age. She lived through horrible times, and suffered greatly. This is a learning experience for us all.
February 6, 2016
Simplesmente .... sem palavras...
Contudo, opinião em breve...
Contudo, opinião em breve...
June 22, 2020
Note: No longer in ISO but you know what? It’s good to mark this as part of my COVID-19 reads anyway. #COVID-19 #IsoLife2020
Before we move any further, Anne Frank, may your soul rest in peace.
I finished reading this last night and I was so devastated after finding out what came of the people that lived in The Annexe that I actually didn’t get much sleep. It still haunts me even now, 24 hours later. And I think it will haunt me for a long, long time to come.
I have a very strong feeling that I am sitting in the very small minority of the reading community that has not read this until now. But you know, I’m glad I read it now. If I read it earlier in my life, I think it would have still impacted me but reading it now has made that impact so much stronger? I think it’s because it’s not just the sympathy that plays on me now, but the humanity of it all. The humanity of all of them. The 8 people that lived in The Annexe and everyone around them.
It also wasn’t that long ago when I watched Life is Beautiful for the first time. If you haven’t watched that, I highly recommend you find it and rent it or buy it and watch it. This book started exactly like Life is Beautiful. You get introduced to these characters that have the warmest and liveliest of personalities and you get to know them through Anne’s eyes and sharp-witted writing style.
That’s kind of where the similarity ends, though. While Life is Beautiful builds up for something I won’t spoil, Anne’s diary entries waste no time being real about the situation she and her family were in. The Nazis are hunting Jews. They escaped to The Annexe with the help of some people her father knew and hid there for more than 2 years. How they managed to physically do this insurmountable task is still beyond me. With our current COVID-19 lockdowns, it made me appreciate so much that a visible Reaper really has a stronger effect on people and families – it makes you act faster and it makes you literally scared of your every move – rather than an enemy you can’t see like this virus pandemic we’re going through right now, which some people don’t seem to be taking seriously.
Let’s go back to basic here first. The one thing I am in absolute awe about all of this is Anne’s ability to write. I know I read a translated version but my God, this girl’s eloquence and vocabulary. Even the Beyonce (fiancé) thought that she was an old lady (because shamefully, even he doesn’t have that kind of vocabulary haha!). It is the most tragic thing, that you think a writer is telling you all these things – someone detached from the world Anne was in but when you remember that she’s writing all of this from her own eyes and experiences, it really is a very sobering experience.
Secondly, I found it fascinating that the humanity of all her companions was so prevalent in all her stories. Even in hiding, these people showed their true selves. When they are upset, they are not afraid to show it, even if that means it’s in front of everybody. They tease. They laugh. They cry. They got ugly. They were kind and understanding. They reconciled. Personally, I felt that living in such a confined space like that has tested the limits of these 8 people. They were probably lonely and missed the outside world or the rest of their families and friends who are out there but had to keep it together. And I believe that Anne wrote their best attempt at keeping it together.
Thirdly, Anne Frank was your typical teenage girl. She was shitty. She was rebellious. She hated her parents. She was jealous of her sister. She was curious. She was in love – crushes on multiple people at the same time. She was confused about her love. Seriously, at her age, who didn’t do any of these things? Her and I were like kindred spirits reading her most intimate thoughts like this. She was like the best friend I never had.
I have to admit though, that Anne Frank, in my view, was a bit of a conceited child. But again, who wasn’t at her age? All we thought about was us. How we were right. How everyone else was wrong. How precious we were and therefore should be paid attention to at all times but at the same time should be given independence.
And lastly, no matter how you read the situation: everything was just so dire for them. World War II was real, there was absolutely no denying it. What made it worse are things that Anne has written.
I mean, doesn’t that just break your heart, hearing a 13-year old girl write that?
Helpless yet they chose to fight. What Anne Frank and her family did is pure courage not a lot of us will probably choose to do these days.
Before we move any further, Anne Frank, may your soul rest in peace.
I finished reading this last night and I was so devastated after finding out what came of the people that lived in The Annexe that I actually didn’t get much sleep. It still haunts me even now, 24 hours later. And I think it will haunt me for a long, long time to come.
I have a very strong feeling that I am sitting in the very small minority of the reading community that has not read this until now. But you know, I’m glad I read it now. If I read it earlier in my life, I think it would have still impacted me but reading it now has made that impact so much stronger? I think it’s because it’s not just the sympathy that plays on me now, but the humanity of it all. The humanity of all of them. The 8 people that lived in The Annexe and everyone around them.
It also wasn’t that long ago when I watched Life is Beautiful for the first time. If you haven’t watched that, I highly recommend you find it and rent it or buy it and watch it. This book started exactly like Life is Beautiful. You get introduced to these characters that have the warmest and liveliest of personalities and you get to know them through Anne’s eyes and sharp-witted writing style.
That’s kind of where the similarity ends, though. While Life is Beautiful builds up for something I won’t spoil, Anne’s diary entries waste no time being real about the situation she and her family were in. The Nazis are hunting Jews. They escaped to The Annexe with the help of some people her father knew and hid there for more than 2 years. How they managed to physically do this insurmountable task is still beyond me. With our current COVID-19 lockdowns, it made me appreciate so much that a visible Reaper really has a stronger effect on people and families – it makes you act faster and it makes you literally scared of your every move – rather than an enemy you can’t see like this virus pandemic we’re going through right now, which some people don’t seem to be taking seriously.
Let’s go back to basic here first. The one thing I am in absolute awe about all of this is Anne’s ability to write. I know I read a translated version but my God, this girl’s eloquence and vocabulary. Even the Beyonce (fiancé) thought that she was an old lady (because shamefully, even he doesn’t have that kind of vocabulary haha!). It is the most tragic thing, that you think a writer is telling you all these things – someone detached from the world Anne was in but when you remember that she’s writing all of this from her own eyes and experiences, it really is a very sobering experience.
Secondly, I found it fascinating that the humanity of all her companions was so prevalent in all her stories. Even in hiding, these people showed their true selves. When they are upset, they are not afraid to show it, even if that means it’s in front of everybody. They tease. They laugh. They cry. They got ugly. They were kind and understanding. They reconciled. Personally, I felt that living in such a confined space like that has tested the limits of these 8 people. They were probably lonely and missed the outside world or the rest of their families and friends who are out there but had to keep it together. And I believe that Anne wrote their best attempt at keeping it together.
Thirdly, Anne Frank was your typical teenage girl. She was shitty. She was rebellious. She hated her parents. She was jealous of her sister. She was curious. She was in love – crushes on multiple people at the same time. She was confused about her love. Seriously, at her age, who didn’t do any of these things? Her and I were like kindred spirits reading her most intimate thoughts like this. She was like the best friend I never had.
Now I’m back to the point that prompted me to keep a diary in the first place: I don’t have a friend.
I have to admit though, that Anne Frank, in my view, was a bit of a conceited child. But again, who wasn’t at her age? All we thought about was us. How we were right. How everyone else was wrong. How precious we were and therefore should be paid attention to at all times but at the same time should be given independence.
Little children, such as Anne, must never, ever correct their elders, no matter how many blunders they make or how often they let their imaginations run away from them.
And lastly, no matter how you read the situation: everything was just so dire for them. World War II was real, there was absolutely no denying it. What made it worse are things that Anne has written.
I’m left with one consolation, small though it may be: my fountain pen was cremated, just as I would like to be some day.
I mean, doesn’t that just break your heart, hearing a 13-year old girl write that?
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.
Helpless yet they chose to fight. What Anne Frank and her family did is pure courage not a lot of us will probably choose to do these days.
January 9, 2023
Quem não conhece a história de Anne Frank!?
Eu já mas nunca tinha lido o diário todo. Aqui temos a visão daqueles que viveram escondidos durante anos mas através de uma menina de 13 anos. Os dilemas, o crescimento, a sexualidade, a moldagem da personalidade estando fechada tanto tempo com as mesmas pessoas, é muito interessante. A maneira como eles se organizavam para faltar o menos possível e todas a pessoas que os ajudaram independentemente dos riscos que corriam.
Este é um bom livro para os jovens conhecerem um pouco da realidade do que foi o Holocausto... Leitura obrigatória!
Eu já mas nunca tinha lido o diário todo. Aqui temos a visão daqueles que viveram escondidos durante anos mas através de uma menina de 13 anos. Os dilemas, o crescimento, a sexualidade, a moldagem da personalidade estando fechada tanto tempo com as mesmas pessoas, é muito interessante. A maneira como eles se organizavam para faltar o menos possível e todas a pessoas que os ajudaram independentemente dos riscos que corriam.
Este é um bom livro para os jovens conhecerem um pouco da realidade do que foi o Holocausto... Leitura obrigatória!
August 5, 2022
Este é um daqueles livros intemporais. Diria até, obrigatório e indicado para todas as idades
Presumo que todos conhecem a história de Anne Frank, que se tornou um símbolo da segunda guerra mundial. Personificando todas as crianças que sofreram com esta guerra e todas aquelas que sofreram e sofrem com os conflitos dos adultos.
Anne era uma menina, uma criança como qualquer outra. Dotada de uma imaginação incrível, usou o seu diário como um porto seguro, onde podia libertar as suas mágoas, as suas alegrias, os seus sonhos, as suas frustrações..
Neste diário, que foi publicado pela primeira vez há 75 anos, pelo seu pai, Anne, descreve os tempos passados num minúsculo anexo, durante 2 anos, enquanto ela e a sua família se escondiam dos nazis. Escreve também sobre coisas normais para uma adolescente da sua idade. Sobre amor, sobre a família, sobre o futuro.
Futuro que lhe foi roubado tão precocemente, de um modo tão cruel, tão violento. Mas nestas páginas não vão encontrar as agruras que sofreu no campo de concentração. Infelizmente não teve tempo para reportar o que lhe aconteceu. Não sobreviveu, não cumpriu o seu sonho de ser jornalista…mas tornou-se escritora do diário mais famoso de sempre.
Este é um livro que vou recomendar sempre, pela sua importância e pelo seu simbolismo.
Já o leram? Se ainda não o fizeram ponham na lista. A porto editora lançou esta edição especial ampliada para celebrar os seus 75 anos e outra de capa dura lindíssima.
Presumo que todos conhecem a história de Anne Frank, que se tornou um símbolo da segunda guerra mundial. Personificando todas as crianças que sofreram com esta guerra e todas aquelas que sofreram e sofrem com os conflitos dos adultos.
Anne era uma menina, uma criança como qualquer outra. Dotada de uma imaginação incrível, usou o seu diário como um porto seguro, onde podia libertar as suas mágoas, as suas alegrias, os seus sonhos, as suas frustrações..
Neste diário, que foi publicado pela primeira vez há 75 anos, pelo seu pai, Anne, descreve os tempos passados num minúsculo anexo, durante 2 anos, enquanto ela e a sua família se escondiam dos nazis. Escreve também sobre coisas normais para uma adolescente da sua idade. Sobre amor, sobre a família, sobre o futuro.
Futuro que lhe foi roubado tão precocemente, de um modo tão cruel, tão violento. Mas nestas páginas não vão encontrar as agruras que sofreu no campo de concentração. Infelizmente não teve tempo para reportar o que lhe aconteceu. Não sobreviveu, não cumpriu o seu sonho de ser jornalista…mas tornou-se escritora do diário mais famoso de sempre.
Este é um livro que vou recomendar sempre, pela sua importância e pelo seu simbolismo.
Já o leram? Se ainda não o fizeram ponham na lista. A porto editora lançou esta edição especial ampliada para celebrar os seus 75 anos e outra de capa dura lindíssima.
August 12, 2017
Oh, it's so hard, the eternal struggle between heart and mind. there's a time and a place for both, but how can I be sure that I've chosen the right time?
والله، كان من المبهر متابعة التطور الواضح في شخصيتها و أسلوبها مع كل صفحة، وكأنني أرى عقلاً حياً ينضج أمام عيناي. أثار هذا الكتاب اهتمامي و إعجابي من عدة نواحي. دُوِنت المذكرة من قِبل فتاة في ريعان حياتها، أثناء الحرب العالمية الثانية. كتبت عن ما فُرض عليها كيهود��ة في تلك الفترة الزمنية من معاملة دنيئة، كتبت عن المعاناة، عن أحلامها، عن ما كان عليه الوضع آنذاك، و عن مخبئهم الصغير. تحدثت كثيراً عن رغبتها في الحرية، عن البؤس، عن الأمل، عن الإكتئاب، و عن الكتابة. كتبت، و كتبت، و كتبت، و كم أنا سعيدة لأنها فعلت، فكما قالت هي "الورق أكثر صبراً من البشر". و لو أنها كتمت كُل المشاعر في جوفها، لكانت كقنبلة موقوتة متنقلة على قدمين، قد تنفجر في أي لحظة. كلماتها المختارة في وصف ما تحس به كانت مذهلة بالمقارنة بسنها، حتى أنني في لحظة من اللحظات، ظننتني معها، في المخبأ، أجلس ساكنة على السرير، أخاف أن أصدر صوتاً، أخاف أن يسمعنا أحدهم، فننكشف. لن أكذب، بعد قراءتي للكتاب، بحثت أكثر عن أحداث الحرب، و عن "الإبادة الكاملة" أو ما يسمى بال
holocaust.
و كم أحب الكتب التي تدفعني للبحث و التفكير.
إن أكثر ما هز مشاعري، هو معرفتي أن آن، بعد كل ما كتبته عن الحرية و رغبتها برؤية الطبيعة مجدداً وجهاً لوجه، دون نوافذ أو زجاج، توفت قبل أن تقوم بذلك، توفت أسابيع قليلة قبل تحرر منطقتها من حفلة الموت الصامتة.
آسفة حقاً يا آن لبشاعةِ البشر.
والله، كان من المبهر متابعة التطور الواضح في شخصيتها و أسلوبها مع كل صفحة، وكأنني أرى عقلاً حياً ينضج أمام عيناي. أثار هذا الكتاب اهتمامي و إعجابي من عدة نواحي. دُوِنت المذكرة من قِبل فتاة في ريعان حياتها، أثناء الحرب العالمية الثانية. كتبت عن ما فُرض عليها كيهود��ة في تلك الفترة الزمنية من معاملة دنيئة، كتبت عن المعاناة، عن أحلامها، عن ما كان عليه الوضع آنذاك، و عن مخبئهم الصغير. تحدثت كثيراً عن رغبتها في الحرية، عن البؤس، عن الأمل، عن الإكتئاب، و عن الكتابة. كتبت، و كتبت، و كتبت، و كم أنا سعيدة لأنها فعلت، فكما قالت هي "الورق أكثر صبراً من البشر". و لو أنها كتمت كُل المشاعر في جوفها، لكانت كقنبلة موقوتة متنقلة على قدمين، قد تنفجر في أي لحظة. كلماتها المختارة في وصف ما تحس به كانت مذهلة بالمقارنة بسنها، حتى أنني في لحظة من اللحظات، ظننتني معها، في المخبأ، أجلس ساكنة على السرير، أخاف أن أصدر صوتاً، أخاف أن يسمعنا أحدهم، فننكشف. لن أكذب، بعد قراءتي للكتاب، بحثت أكثر عن أحداث الحرب، و عن "الإبادة الكاملة" أو ما يسمى بال
holocaust.
و كم أحب الكتب التي تدفعني للبحث و التفكير.
إن أكثر ما هز مشاعري، هو معرفتي أن آن، بعد كل ما كتبته عن الحرية و رغبتها برؤية الطبيعة مجدداً وجهاً لوجه، دون نوافذ أو زجاج، توفت قبل أن تقوم بذلك، توفت أسابيع قليلة قبل تحرر منطقتها من حفلة الموت الصامتة.
آسفة حقاً يا آن لبشاعةِ البشر.
September 11, 2019
"Anne's diary ends here."
It's a special kind of sad when you know the end of a story but you still have an inch of real hope that it might end differently nonetheless. Stories like this is why I work in the humanitarian field - I must do what I can to ensure happier endings in the future.
It's a special kind of sad when you know the end of a story but you still have an inch of real hope that it might end differently nonetheless. Stories like this is why I work in the humanitarian field - I must do what I can to ensure happier endings in the future.
October 9, 2017
First published at: http://www.meexia.com/bookie/2017/10/...
I visited Anne Frank's House in Amsterdam back in 2011, the first time I came to Europe, and had been meaning to read the book since. I finally did, thanks to audio book. I listened to the 70th anniversary edition above, read by Helena Bonham Carter, and it was perfect. I really liked her reading.
As a side note, I recently just got into a series of audio books through audible. I tried listening to audio books in the past but but couldn't get into it. This time I found a way that works for me, which is listening while reading the actual paper book. Might sound a bit odd for a lot of you, but for me I feel like I miss too much with just listening, and listening the words being spoken while reading makes the reading more interesting and lively. I don't this for every book, but it worked great for this book. And because this book is a series of diary entries that are not too dense, I wasn't too strict about the listening and reading combo, and sometimes just continued listening while walking.
Anyway it was a long winded way for me to say that this audio book was the perfect way to "read" it. Though I loved many aspects of the book, it is after all a diary of a young girl (Anne Frank was 13-15 years old at the time of writing), and I can see how reading diary entries of a young girl could be... tiresome? I myself wrote diary when I was her age, in a style that is not unlike her. In fact the diary reminded me so much of my own, that at times I was embarrassed for both of us, especially on subjects like boys, and all the assertions to be independent from our parents. Funny how a lot of young girls are alike, no matter where you are and which culture you are born into.
Obviously the similarities ended there, as Anne Frank's circumstances were so extraordinary. The diary spans more than two years living in hiding, in such close confined space, with the same eight people. I can't imagine it. On top of that she was at the age in which you begin to yearn exploring the world outside your home, to be independent away from your immediate family. Instead you are forced to be living 24/7 under the adults. How frustrating it must've been, and it shows in her diary.
The paperback that I read was given by a friend many years ago (the brown paperback). Reading while listening gave me an extra insight into the different versions of the diary. According to the introduction of the audio book, there are sort of 3 different versions of the book. To simplify, my paperback is an edited version of the diary, while the audio book contains extra content.
You might already know that Anne Frank, her mother, and sister, and in fact everyone living in the secret annex did not survive, except for Anne's father. The father found the diary after the war ended, and published it eventually as a book. In the first version he did edit out some parts that have anything to do with sex talks, and those that criticize or speak harshly about Anne's mother in particular. The translations of the two editions are also slightly different, and I think the new translation is superior - more reason to choose the 70th anniversary edition.
Though some parts of the diary might be a bit boring than others, I'm thinking it's impossible to read this book on its own merits, outside the context it is written in. It is an extraordinary testimony of a time and place, and of the life of a young girl living in it. There are millions of Jews suffered and died in that period, but there's only one diary that survives and lives. Surely that speaks volume. Anne was articulate, witty, and thoughtful. She spoke of the future. I dreaded every chapter, the closer I came to the end, because I knew what awaits. Knowing the ending, I was slightly surprised how incredibly sad I was at the end. The diary ended abruptly, and the afterword gave a brief closure to the fate of everyone in the secret annex. I could hardly sleep the first night, and I thought about Anne for days afterwards. The thing that hit me the most is that they all died alone, away from each other, in stark contrast from living together in such close quarter for a long period of time. Dying alone seems the worst. It's too sad, I have no word for it.
On a somewhat brighter note, Anne achieved what she wanted:
And so does she go on living after her death. She's been immortalized through her diary and people from all over the world reading her writing. If only she knew..
I visited Anne Frank's House in Amsterdam back in 2011, the first time I came to Europe, and had been meaning to read the book since. I finally did, thanks to audio book. I listened to the 70th anniversary edition above, read by Helena Bonham Carter, and it was perfect. I really liked her reading.
As a side note, I recently just got into a series of audio books through audible. I tried listening to audio books in the past but but couldn't get into it. This time I found a way that works for me, which is listening while reading the actual paper book. Might sound a bit odd for a lot of you, but for me I feel like I miss too much with just listening, and listening the words being spoken while reading makes the reading more interesting and lively. I don't this for every book, but it worked great for this book. And because this book is a series of diary entries that are not too dense, I wasn't too strict about the listening and reading combo, and sometimes just continued listening while walking.
Anyway it was a long winded way for me to say that this audio book was the perfect way to "read" it. Though I loved many aspects of the book, it is after all a diary of a young girl (Anne Frank was 13-15 years old at the time of writing), and I can see how reading diary entries of a young girl could be... tiresome? I myself wrote diary when I was her age, in a style that is not unlike her. In fact the diary reminded me so much of my own, that at times I was embarrassed for both of us, especially on subjects like boys, and all the assertions to be independent from our parents. Funny how a lot of young girls are alike, no matter where you are and which culture you are born into.
Obviously the similarities ended there, as Anne Frank's circumstances were so extraordinary. The diary spans more than two years living in hiding, in such close confined space, with the same eight people. I can't imagine it. On top of that she was at the age in which you begin to yearn exploring the world outside your home, to be independent away from your immediate family. Instead you are forced to be living 24/7 under the adults. How frustrating it must've been, and it shows in her diary.
The paperback that I read was given by a friend many years ago (the brown paperback). Reading while listening gave me an extra insight into the different versions of the diary. According to the introduction of the audio book, there are sort of 3 different versions of the book. To simplify, my paperback is an edited version of the diary, while the audio book contains extra content.
You might already know that Anne Frank, her mother, and sister, and in fact everyone living in the secret annex did not survive, except for Anne's father. The father found the diary after the war ended, and published it eventually as a book. In the first version he did edit out some parts that have anything to do with sex talks, and those that criticize or speak harshly about Anne's mother in particular. The translations of the two editions are also slightly different, and I think the new translation is superior - more reason to choose the 70th anniversary edition.
Though some parts of the diary might be a bit boring than others, I'm thinking it's impossible to read this book on its own merits, outside the context it is written in. It is an extraordinary testimony of a time and place, and of the life of a young girl living in it. There are millions of Jews suffered and died in that period, but there's only one diary that survives and lives. Surely that speaks volume. Anne was articulate, witty, and thoughtful. She spoke of the future. I dreaded every chapter, the closer I came to the end, because I knew what awaits. Knowing the ending, I was slightly surprised how incredibly sad I was at the end. The diary ended abruptly, and the afterword gave a brief closure to the fate of everyone in the secret annex. I could hardly sleep the first night, and I thought about Anne for days afterwards. The thing that hit me the most is that they all died alone, away from each other, in stark contrast from living together in such close quarter for a long period of time. Dying alone seems the worst. It's too sad, I have no word for it.
On a somewhat brighter note, Anne achieved what she wanted:
"I want to get on; I can't imagine that I would have to lead the same sort of life as Mummy and Mrs Van Daan and all the women who do their work and are then forgotten. I must have something besides a husband and children, something that I can devote myself to! I want to go on living even after my death! And therefore I am grateful to God for giving me this gift, this possibility of developing myself and of writing, of expressing all that is in me."
And so does she go on living after her death. She's been immortalized through her diary and people from all over the world reading her writing. If only she knew..
August 5, 2016
I got this book from the Anne Frank House Museum in Amsterdam which I was lucky enough to find. The museum offers a self guided tour which contained so much information. Not to mention that the house was extremely narrow and cramped, a trait not unusual in Amsterdam but it was a sobering experience. I highly recommend it.
Anne Frank didn't want to be thought of as a young girl, but readers can't help but acknowledge this fact. It is enough of a challenge to fear for your life, but to also endure the problems of adolescence stuck in a crowded space is very tricky.
I was not aware that the Frank family was in hiding with the van Daans, or another man. There were moments in the book that infuriated me. For example, when the adults were slamming doors and making noise because they were angry, or if they went to parts of the building they were instructed to stay away from for safety purposes. It's easy for me to write this, but obviously I can't know what it really is like to be put in as terrifying a situation as that.
Anne was mature beyond her years but was forced to stifle her oncoming independence because of the situation. She was strong-willed, highly intelligent, very optimistic, and self aware. It is incredible that a girl so young was able to keep it together under such stress. The anxiety and tension seemed to affect the adults on a larger scale.
Anne Frank didn't want to be thought of as a young girl, but readers can't help but acknowledge this fact. It is enough of a challenge to fear for your life, but to also endure the problems of adolescence stuck in a crowded space is very tricky.
I was not aware that the Frank family was in hiding with the van Daans, or another man. There were moments in the book that infuriated me. For example, when the adults were slamming doors and making noise because they were angry, or if they went to parts of the building they were instructed to stay away from for safety purposes. It's easy for me to write this, but obviously I can't know what it really is like to be put in as terrifying a situation as that.
Anne was mature beyond her years but was forced to stifle her oncoming independence because of the situation. She was strong-willed, highly intelligent, very optimistic, and self aware. It is incredible that a girl so young was able to keep it together under such stress. The anxiety and tension seemed to affect the adults on a larger scale.
October 18, 2021
After recently visiting the Secret Annex in Amsterdam, where this was penned, I decided I wanted to revisit the book and ended up reading the definitive edition which encompasses much more than the abridged one I read in my youth.
This book remains a must read. We must never forget and we must never allow this to happen again.
This book remains a must read. We must never forget and we must never allow this to happen again.
April 9, 2020
Este é, sem dúvida, um livro que deveria estar presente em todas as estantes, nomeadamente na dos amantes do tema de Auschwitz.
Para além de ter uma escrita fácil e acessível é de leitura fácil é "viciante".
Para além de ter uma escrita fácil e acessível é de leitura fácil é "viciante".
March 19, 2022
Demorei a escrever uma review porque realmente o que se pode dizer sobre um livro como este? Tão pesado. Enquanto leitora, e sabendo o desfecho desta triste realidade, é um vazio gigante ler todas as passagens deste livro, especialmente porque Anne era uma adolescente esperançosa.
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