BOOK RECOMMENDATION AND REVIEW: THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK

 Hello dear readers and fellow bloggers! Thank you for all your kind messages on my last post. As anticipated, I was discharged from the hospital Monday and I'm doing alright. Life goes on. Today I will share a review of a very special book. It's one of best known and widely read autobiographies: Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl (as it is sometimes known in English translation) or simply The Diary of Anne Frank.  You can read her diary online here.  If you want to find out more about Anne Frank, there is a lot of information and research that can be found easily on the Internet. What I will share today will be my own review of this famous and celebrated (rightfully so!) diary. I've been meaning to read this book for years, but someone I've never got around to it. I've been wanting to buy a copy for quit some time and one where funds would be donated to a good charity. I finally found it being sold on behalf of a charity for visually impaired  last March, so I bought my copy. I'm so happy to have a copy of my own and I'm contemplating buying more copies. Anyhow, I read the book one Sunday, last March ( in one sitting) and I vividly remember being blown away by it. It was everything I expected but it was also so much more. Certainly, I had high expectations for this book, but nothing could have prepared me for how amazing it was. I know some potential reader are worried that this book might depress them or that it is too sad. It is definitely not a light read, but at the same time, personally I found the bravery and the humanity in this book very uplifting. I truly believe, this is a book that has so much to teach on so many levels and I would recommend it to everyone.

MY SHORTER REVIEW AS POSTED ON GOODREADS BACK IN MARCH: 

I remember finishing reading Ann's journal and feeling completely overwhelmed with her strength, talent and maturity. It took me a few days to process it. In some ways, this diary is emotionally exhausting to read but in other ways it is comforting and uplifting. Anne's ability to look into the souls of others is almost uncanny. However, what is truly inspiring is her ability to find beauty within, to continue believing that people are essentially good at heart. The Diary of Anne Frank was the best book I read last March- and one of the best books I've ever read. I think Anne's father said it best when he explained the popularity of this book- it's a book in which everyone can find something for themselves. People of all ages can find something in it to admire and many lessons to learn. What personally amazed me the most was the depth of Anne's thinking. Anne was incredibly lucid and mature when she discussed the events of her time, the social themes, politics and the war. She reveals herself as quite an independent thinker and a true intellectual. At the same time, she is a very sensitive and emotional young girl. Her portrayal of a hard life in hiding and isolation is very real and touching. Anne had an immense talent for writing and observation. This book is a wonderful insight into her beautifully delicate soul. Do you ever think of what Anne Frank could have become if Nazis didn't kill her? I'm sure she would have grown up to be an amazing woman....and now scroll bellow for more talk about Anne's diary.

The diary opens up so innocently on June 14th, 1942. Anne's first words in the diary are light and easy. She describes her birthday presents and other pleasantries. Her style of writing is in accordance with her age, but at the same time, one can sense maturity in her writing. This will only increase as the novel progresses. Undoubtedly, when she wrote those opening paragraphs, she had no way of knowing how influential her diary would be or that it will become the best know diary of all times. 

SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 1942 


I'll begin from the moment I got you, the moment I saw you lying on the table among 

my other birthday presents. (I went along when you were bought, but that doesn't 

count.) 

On Friday, June 12, I was awake at six o'clock, which isn't surprising, since it was 
my birthday. But I'm not allowed to get up at that hour, so I had to control my 
curiosity until quarter to seven. When I couldn't wait any longer, I went to the dining 
room, where Moortje (the cat) welcomed me by rubbing against my legs. 

A little after seven I went to Daddy and Mama and then to the living room to open 

my presents, and you were the first thing I saw, maybe one of my nicest presents. 

As light as the opening paragraphs are, to the reader reading this diary,  Anne's writing talent is quickly revealed. Anne writes about her reasons for starting and maintaining a diary and her words ring  clear and honest. Anne starts her diary because she feels like she doesn't have a true friend to confide in. Anne was extremely popular girl among her peers. It is evident not just in her journal, but other historical information confirms it. However, Anne often felt alone. Reading her diary one learns more about her complex personality. Even before her family was forced to run and hide for their life, Anne journal reveals a serious streak in her. Something not seen by others, to whom she appeared a cheerful young teenager. Reading these lines made me ponder about how often we neglect the young and the children, not taking their feelings into consideration. When Anne's father read her diary (after her death), he was surprised by how serious and mature work of writing it was. He said he never dreamed that there was such a complex world hiding into his daughter- even if they were really close. Anne often wrote in her diary how she loved her father and felt he understood her better than her mother. Still, even he didn't know how rich her inner world was. I think that is often the case. We simply do not take the young seriously enough. As society, we often dismiss the feelings and the thoughts of children and young teenagers. Maybe reading books like this can change that and show us the importance of respecting everyone's inner world, no matter their age. Anyhow, bellow is a quotation from diary note written on June 20th, 1942, that shows this inner complexity hiding in Anne. This is where she explains her need for a true friend and her decision to call her diary Kitty. As the diary progresses, her writing evolves more and more. Anne speaks of a variety of topics and does it with great fluency. Sometimes her tone is light and sometimes serious, sometimes meditative and someone humorous. At times, Anne writes like a journalist documenting war events, at other times she turns into a psychologist studying her family and herself. Anne takes so on so many roles in her diary. Some paragraphs are filled with good and useful advice, others written to vent our some emotion or mood. To Anne, her diary is perhaps many things- and so it becomes to its readers. 

SATURDAY, JUNE 20,1942 

Writing in a diary is a really strange experience for someone like me. Not only 
because I've never written anything before, but also because it seems to me that later 
on neither I nor anyone else will be interested in the musings of a thirteen- year- old 
schoolgirl. Oh well, it doesn't matter. I feel like writing, and I have an even greater 
need to get all kinds of things off my chest. 

"Paper has more patience than people." I thought of this saying on one of those days 
when I was feeling a little depressed and was sitting at home with my chin in my 
hands, bored and listless, wondering whether to stay in or go out. I finally stayed 
where I was, brooding. Yes, paper does have more patience, and since I'm not planning 
to let anyone else read this stiff-backed notebook grandly referred to as a "diary," 
unless I should ever find a real friend, it probably won't make a bit of difference. 

Now I'm back to the point that prompted me to keep a diary in the first place: I don't 
have a friend. 

Let me put it more clearly, since no one will believe that a thirteen year-old girl is 
completely alone in the world. And I'm not. I have loving parents and a 
sixteen-year-old sister, and there are about thirty people I can call friends. I have a 
throng of admirers who can't keep their adoring eyes off me and who sometimes have 
to resort to using a broken pocket mirror to try and catch a glimpse of me in the 
classroom. I have a family, loving aunts and a good home. No, on the surface I seem 
to have everything, except my one true friend. All I think about when I'm with friends 
is having a good time. I can't bring myself to talk about anything but ordinary 
everyday things. We don't seem to be able to get any closer, and that's the problem. 
Maybe it's my fault that we don't confide in each other. In any case, that's just how 
things are, and unfortunately they're not liable to change. This is why I've started the 
diary. To enhance the image of this long-awaited friend in my imagination, I don't want to 
jot down the facts in this diary the way most people would do, but I want the diary 
to be my friend, and I'm going to call this friend Kitty. 

Not long into the diary, the events take a drastic turn. Anne's family is forced to go into hiking. Anne describes the events  taking place with great accuracy and detail. What is impressive is not just her calmness but also her optimism. Anne is forever looking for ways to make things better, always looking for a silver lining. Under the circumstances, this would be a remarkable characteristic in a mature adult and obviously it is even more admirable in one who is so young. Indeed, it is easy to see why so many people love this book. It is not just a valuable historical diary, it is also one written by a talented and wonderful person. If you're interested in history or autobiographies, this is a must read. It is a fascinating insight not just into a historical period, but into private lives of those living through it. 

SATURDAY, JULY 11, 1942 
Dearest Kitty, 

Father, Mother and Margot still can't get used to the chiming of the Westertoren 
clock, which tells us the time every quarter of an hour. Not me, I liked it from the 
start; it sounds so reassuring, especially at night. You no doubt want to hear what I 
think of being in hiding. Well, all I can say is that I don't really know yet. I don't 
think I'll ever feel at home in this house, but that doesn't mean I hate it. It's more 
like being on vacation in some strange pension. Kind of an odd way to look at life in 
hiding, but that's how things are. The Annex is an ideal place to hide in. It may be 
damp and lopsided, but there's probably not a more comfortable hiding place in all of 
Amsterdam. No, in all of Holland. 

Up to now our bedroom, with its blank walls, was very bare. Thanks to Father — 
who brought my entire postcard and movie-star collection here beforehand — and to 
a brush and a pot of glue, I was able to plaster the walls with pictures. It looks much 
more cheerful. When the van Daans arrive, we'll be able to build cupboards and other 
odds and ends out of the wood piled in the attic. 

Margot and Mother have recovered somewhat. Yesterday Mother felt well enough to 
cook split-pea soup for the first time, but then she was downstairs talking and forgot 
all about it. The beans were scorched black, and no amount of scraping could get them 
out of the pan. 

Last night the four of us went down to the private office and listened to England on 
the radio. I was so scared someone might hear it that I literally begged Father to take 
me back upstairs. Mother understood my anxiety and went with me. Whatever we do, 
we're very afraid the neighbors might hear or see us. We started off immediately the 
first day sewing curtains. Actually, you can hardly call them that, since they're nothing 
but scraps of fabric, varying greatly in shape, quality and pattern, which Father and I 
stitched crookedly together with unskilled fingers. These works of art were tacked to 
the windows, where they'll stay until we come out of hiding. 


The building on our right is a branch of the Keg Company, a firm from Zaandam, and 
on the left is a furniture workshop. Though the people who work there are not on the 
premises after hours, any sound we make might travel through the walls. We've 
forbidden Margot to cough at night, even though she has a bad cold, and are giving her 
large doses of codeine. 

I'm looking forward to the arrival of the van Daans, which is set for Tuesday. It will 
be much more fun and also not as quiet. You see, it's the silence that makes me so 
nervous during the evenings and nights, and I'd give anything to have one of our 
helpers sleep here. 

It's really not that bad here, since we can do our own cooking and can listen to the 
radio in Daddy's office. 

Mr. Kleiman and Miep, and Bep Voskuijl too, have helped us so much. We've already 
canned loads of rhubarb, strawberries and cherries, so for the time being I doubt we'll 
be bored. We also have a supply of reading material, and we're going to buy lots of 
games. Of course, we can't ever look out the window or go outside. And we have to 
be quiet so the people downstairs can't hear us. 

Yesterday we had our hands full. We had to pit two crates of cherries for Mr. Kugler 
to can. We're going to use the empty crates to make bookshelves. 

The passage above mentions the arrival of the family that will hide together with that of Anne. What is remarkable is that there were the ones looking for it, how they were willing to share the little they had with people who were practically strangers to them. There will be some tension described in some parts of the diary between the families and that's human. Humans beings crowded in a small place in unnatural confinement- there is bound to be some pressure and stress. However, more than anything what one finds in this diary is the bravery of human spirit. That goes not just for Anne, but for other individuals sharing the same space with her. They are all inspiring in the way they were trying to do their best. It was truly touching to see how they tried to cheer one another or prepare small presents (like writing songs for one's birthday).  Later on in the journal, it will be described how they will accept another man in the crowded space. Maybe it is true what they say. Sometimes war brings the worst in humans and sometimes the best. It seems that for Anne and her family, the war brought out the best- or rather they rose to the challenge and kept their humanity.

I was so inspired by Anne that I drew a couple of portraits of her, re-imaging her as an adult, wondering what kind of women she would have grown up to be. What she shows us in her diary is really remarkable writing, examining not only her soul, but those of other family members. Anne never forget everyone and her writing feels touching and honest, as for instance when she remembers her late grandmother: 

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1943 

I was very sad again last night. Grandma and Hanneli came to me once more. 
Grandma, oh, my sweet Grandma. How little we understood what she suffered, how 
kind she always was and what an interest she took in everything that concerned us. 
And to think that all that time she was carefully guarding her terrible secret. * 
[*Anne's grandmother was terminally ill.] 

Grandma was always so loyal and good. She would never have let any of us down. 
Whatever happened, no matter how much I misbehaved, Grandma always stuck up for 
me. Grandma, did you love me, or did you not understand me either? I don't know. 
How lonely Grandma must have been, in spite of us. You can be lonely even when 
you're loved by many people

One of my favourite parts of this diary is when Anne says she is accountable only to herself. What a spirit! Moreover, Anne is sometimes quite a philosopher. Take for example this passage, where she meditates on human happiness and our need to earn it: 

We're all alive, but we don't know why or what for; we're all searching for happiness; 
we're all leading lives that are different and yet the same. We three have been raised 
in good families, we have the opportunity to get an education and make something of 
ourselves. We have many reasons to hope for great happiness, but. . . we have to 
earn it. And that's something you can't achieve by taking the easy way out. Earning 
happiness means doing good and working, not speculating and being lazy. Laziness may 
look inviting, but only work gives you true satisfaction. 

Anne is quite an independent thinker. I was often impressed with her thought and views, wondering how someone so young could ever think so deeply. That's the thing. We often underestimate the young. Take a look at this quote that shows what Anne thinks about position of women in society: 

I don't mean to imply that women should stop having children; on the contrary, nature 
intended them to, and that's the way it should be. 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. 

or this one where she comments on the cause of war: 

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 re- 
belled long ago! There's a destructive urge in people, the urge to rage, murder and 
kill. And until all of humanity, without exception, undergoes a 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! 

Despite everything, Anne remains an optimist: 

I'm young and have many hidden qualities; I'm young and strong and living through a 
big adventure; I'm right in the middle of it and can't spend all day complaining because 
it's impossible to have any fun! I'm blessed with many things: happiness, a cheerful 
disposition and strength. Every day I feel myself maturing, I feel liberation drawing 
near, I feel the beauty of nature and the goodness of the people around me. Every 
day I think what a fascinating and amusing adventure this is! With all that, why should 
I despair? 

I've included a number of long quotes and passages in this review. This is because I believe Anne's words are in one sense the best indication of what this book is like. This diary, after all, is all about her: her thoughts, feelings, musings and medications. For my final quote, I selected this passage in which Anne speaks about herself and her personality.  I love how sincere she is here, with herself and with us as readers. Anne is often hard on herself, but that is because she always searches for truth. She truly was a remarkably brave soul!

As I've told you many times, I'm split in two. One side contains my exuberant 
cheerfulness, my flippancy, my joy in life and, above all, my ability to appreciate the 
lighter side of things. By that I mean not finding anything wrong with flirtations, a 
kiss, an embrace, an off-color joke. This side of me is usually lying in wait to 
ambush the other one, which is much purer, deeper and finer. No one knows Anne's 
better side, and that's why most people can't stand me. Oh, I can be an amusing clown 
for an afternoon, but after that everyone's had enough of me to last a month. Actually, 
I'm what a romantic movie is to a profound thinker — a mere diversion, a comic 
interlude, something that is soon forgotten: not bad, but not particularly good either. I 
hate having to tell you this, but why shouldn't I admit it when I know it's true? My 
lighter, more superficial side will always steal a march on the deeper side and 
therefore always win. You can't imagine how often I've tried to push away this Anne, 
which is only half of what is known as Anne -to beat her down, hide her. But it 
doesn't work, and I know why. I'm afraid that people who know me as I usually am will discover I have another side, 
a better and finer side. I'm afraid they'll mock me, think I'm ridiculous and sentimental 
and not take me seriously. I'm used to not being taken seriously, but only the 
"lighthearted" Anne is used to it and can put up with it: the "deeper" Anne is too 
weak. If I force the good Anne into the spotlight for even fifteen minutes, she shuts 
up like a clam the moment she's called upon to speak, and lets Anne number one do 
the talking. Before I realize it, she's disappeared.  ANNE FRANK 

Thank you for reading and stopping by. Have a nice day!