Anne Frank : The Diary of a Young Girl

Rating:
Summary: A warning against the evil of Anti- Semitism
Review: This diary has done great good. The story of one young Jewish girl's living in hiding, and surviving with her family during the Holocaust has perhaps been read more than any other diary in history. The story is not only of survival in everyday life, but of the growing pains of one young adolescent girl. This girl is however a person of remarkable, insight, intelligence and spirit. That she was among one of the more than million Jewish children whose lives were taken from them before they had a chance to live suggests how incomparably great this loss was and is. Anne Frank has become a symbol of humanity's contending with evil, and at the same time retaining its humanity. Her faith that in the end ' people are good at heart' in the face of the experience she knew can be an inspiration to all of us who looking at the evils of the world today , need to hope that a better world and a kinder humanity will be our future.
It is horrible to know that the monstrous Nazi European anti- Semitism which took the life of Anne Frank has now become a major element in the anti- Western Jihad which a part of the Islamic world is now engaged in.
Would that the lesson of Anne Frank's life and loss be that instead of hating each other we all learn to be kinder and more considerate towards our fellow human beings.


Rating:
Summary: moving first-person account of Jews in hiding
Review: Unlike many others, I somehow never had to read this book in school. So I read it as an adult. This powerful book is the personal diary of a 13 year old girl who was in hiding in an attic (for 2 years) during the Holocaust.

If you are in Amsterdam you can visit the attic that they hid in - it is now a museum. I toured it, and what shocked me was how very small the area was that they all lived in...(The diary described their small living quarters, but it didn't seem real to me until I saw it for myself.) As per Anne's diary, it was very challenging and frustrating for a group of people to live in such close quarters. They had to be quiet and still during the day (when other people were in the building), but at night they could move around a little more freely.

I also visited Bergen Belsen in Germany - the concentration camp where Anne and her sister died. There is a special memorial to them there.

Anne was just a young girl and parts of her diary are about silly "young girl stuff"...And parts are a little dull because it is just about the everyday routine of life in the attic. But, overall it is an exceptional first-person account of what it was like to be Jews in hiding during WWII. As you read, you can relate to Anne's fears, struggles, hopes and dreams...dreams that were never fulfilled because of the horror of the Holocaust. I recommend this book to students and adults alike.

Rating:
Summary: Anne Frank
Review: While reading over these reviews, I'm surprised no one mentioned the fact that this was the "Definitive" edition. And make no mistake, that's not just another fluffy adjective affixed on the end to sell more books - it serves a purpose! This is not the original Anne Frank that sold so many books over the past decades. The "Definitive Edition" includes entries originally omitted in the original book - passages on sex, hatred for other family member, her side comments on entries, etc. Apparently it constitutes 30% more material, so even if you've read the original book before, you'll find new stuff here.

As for the book - what can you say? It's a girl's diary, so how can you criticize? You can't call it too "boring" because it was her life. And you can't really call it excessive because it's the "Definitive Edition".. so it's SUPPOSED to include everything.

I did find myself frequently getting bored with the book, though. What can you expect? She spends 2+ years of her life in an attic. The true interest of the Holocaust happened in the concentration camps, not while in hiding. Yes, it's a tragedy that she died - but that shouldn't automatically assume 5 stars. In fact, I think had she lived, this book would not be regarded as highly as it is.

Even as a "holocaust" book, it's fairly weak. There's not as much historical influence as we'd like. The book doesn't have much of a logical flow, either. It starts off very slow (and very dull), but all of the sudden jumps into the topic of Peter out of nowhere. Not to mention, there are two Peters in her life, which she doesn't separate until later in the book. Quite ridiculous (and quite confusing)!

I appreciate the fact that they released these withheld passages, as they do help to shape Anne as more of an "imperfect" person. I think, though, given the audience they're trying to reach, they could have cut a lot of unnecessary stuff out. For the die hard fans, there will always be the "Critical" Edition.. and I think this one tried too hard to be a companion.

Nevertheless, at the very core, this book represents the optimistic attitude of so many people during the war. It's worth a read, at least once, even to realize you don't like it. Historically, it makes us realize just how similar we truly are, despite nationality and time periods.