Pages turn, a cadence to a young girl’s dreams that echoed through the silent storm of adversity.
The Diary of A Young Girl is a memoir about the suffering brought by the Holocaust. It gives a glimpse into terrifying times, great atrocities, and heartbreaking tragedy through the eyes of a young teenage girl, as she and her family try to stay hidden and alive amidst the Nazi Regime along with four others.
In 1942, thirteen-year-old Anne Frank, her parents, and sister Margot were forced to hide in her father’s old office building in Amsterdam. They were followed by another family the Van Daans and later joined by a dentist called Albert Dussel. This group of eight people with different personalities and temperaments persevered through hunger, boredom, confinement, constant fear of discovery, and the looming threat of death. Anne going through this turmoil turns to her diary and confides in it her thoughts, frustrations, fears, and dreams thus documenting everything. The diary was found and published shortly after the family was arrested.
Anne writes articulately about her experiences as a teenager, and her frustrations with adults, often criticizes her companions, and writes about the everyday struggles of living in hiding. She makes mistakes and learns from them. We journey with her as she develops as a person and comes to terms with who she is as a person.
When I started reading this book, I expected a gloomy and dark account of the holocaust but this book is quite the opposite. Anne had a wicked sense of humor and despite their conditions, everyone tried to remain cheerful and positive. It was motivating and incredibly sad at the same time to read about their wishes and desires for after the war.
Even though I am all for not spoiling the book this one quote had my heart
” It’s difficult in times like these: ideals, dreams and cherished hopes rise within us, only to be crushed by grim reality. 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”
– Anne Frank, The Diary of A Young Girl
It is incredibly bittersweet, This young girl who most definitely had a bright future in front of her, was forced to grow up so fast, her innocence was snatched from her. Still, she clung on to hope and believed that there was still humanity left. She died all thanks to the prejudice and cruelty of fellow humans.
Anne writes and I quote “I want to go on living after my
death!”. Not only does she
live, she and her work are one of the most powerful reminders of the human
disaster that was Hitler’s Regime.
Anne’s father was the only one to have survived out of the
group of eight.
I highly recommend reading this book. There will be moments
when you won’t agree with Anne, and There will be moments where you will feel scared,
annoyed, or angry but you will see how she grows, how her opinions and her ways
change.
It is a classic, it has romance, it makes you think, it makes you feel and most importantly it is real.
Yours,
A Fellow Bookworm
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