Before I begin with the book review, let me ask a question,
“What makes any book a ‘good’ book?” or “What are those criteria which determine the quality of the book?”
The answer can vary from person to person but one thing is certain it can never be the sale. I mean yes, a good book can be a best seller but it’s not the other way round. You can’t judge the quality of the book by its sale. I’ll not hang the question that I posed on the cliff as I’ll try putting some answers toward the end. Till then, you can come up with your opinions in the comment section.
Title: The Diary of a Young Girl
Author: Anne Frank
Publisher: Fingerprint Classics
Genre: Coming- of an-age novel (epistolary novel)
Pages: 328
Price: $9.99 (MRP) Got for 109/- bucks on amazon. Click here to view/buy.
For a change, I picked this novel lying unattended for quite some time. It’s an epistolary novel- written in the form of letters, here in the form of a diary entry. It was second in my collection in that genre after The Colour Purple by Alice Walker.
Whenever we write a diary, we scribble our deepest and most intimate feelings without embellishing them with flowery language. At the same time, we try to be honest and true to heart- the reason is that it’s a personal entity and no one is going to judge us. It’s more confessional in nature. Amongst several other reasons to write a diary, the two prominent ones are, the first one is that we want to free ourselves from something, perhaps the thoughts plaguing us. The second is that you need a friend whom you can trust and tell them the happenings throughout the day on a regular basis. There is a third reason as well- to keep the record of the time. With Anne, I feel the first and second cases were more true while the third is in the backdrop. Hence, her diary is one of the beautiful accounts of her time blending her personal feelings in the backdrop of the holocaust.
Anne’s diary starts on June 12, 1942, when she was 13 years old and culminates on July 21, 1944, when she turned 15. For a period of two years, her diary takes us on a roller-coaster ride, detailing her experiences when she along with her family and four more people have to go into hiding to evade from Nazis in Amsterdam. It’s a ‘coming-of-the-age novel’ as it deals with growing up of Anne and her curiosity related to male and female genitals, periods, love and kisses. A large part of the novel focuses on her daily routine and relation with the other members while in hiding at the place which she names as ‘Secret Annexe’.
You might be thinking about what the novel has to offer when It’s confined to a singular place. It must be boring. However, that’s not the case. Kudos to the ‘writing style’ of Anne. Moreover, to peep into someone’s life from this close is itself an exciting exercise, that too, coming from a girl who has just crossed the threshold of a teenager. The maturity displayed by 13 years 13-year-old girl is simply astounding. Who would’ve imagined that her diary would become world famous someday?! Not even Anne, I believe. The credits also go to her father ‘Otto H. Frank’ who is also one of the editors.
The mystery lies in the ‘afterword’ part of the book which I won’t be discussing here as you might become sad and can lose interest as well.
In response to the question which I posed above, I think I’ve answered in the above paragraphs. Try finding out.
I recommend this book to everyone who is looking forward to reading an autobiographical piece set during World War II. Wrote by a teenager, this book is a perfect gift for them.
-Shashank
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