Anne Frank's Diary

[Katie]

Has anyone ever read Anne Frank's diary? I read it very recently and enjoyed it, especially because of the fact that it was the diary of a real young Jewish-German girl who lived during those terrible years of WWII. Actually, her diary itself does not contain any deep details of the horrible things that went on, but there is an "AFTERWARDS" section that is not part of her diary that they include in the book. It tells more about the terrors of it all... just warning you in case you don't like reading that kind of thing. Especially if you are a very young reader, you will not want to read that section. :)

Has anyone read it before and did they enjoy it?

[Gyre]

Hi Katie...

I have lost count how many times I have read Anne Frank's Diary and I have enjoyed and been saddened by it, it is a wonderful story, more so because it is true. You are correct there are not a lot of deep details, its just the world according to Anne, a world in which she hopes that the war will end soon. It is always saddens me when I read the last entry and then a few days later Anne's family, The Van Pels, and Mr Pfeffer were all captured, then you find out what happened to them all. The way Anne's life ended and the rest of them (apart from Mr Frank) was a waste of life.

:readingtwo:

[Liz]

I haven't read it myself, but I would like to. Quite a few of my friends have read it and they all said that they had enjoyed it. It's one of those books that I'm sure I'll read one day, just not sure when.

[Gyre]

I think you would enjoy it Liz...

:readingtwo:

[Liz]

Yeah, from what people have said about the book, I think I would like it. I heard quite a bit about it, most of it being positive. Sounds like a good book.

[Katie]

Hi Katie...

I have lost count how many times I have read Anne Frank's Diary and I have enjoyed and been saddened by it, it is a wonderful story, more so because it is true. You are correct there are not a lot of deep details, its just the world according to Anne, a world in which she hopes that the war will end soon. It is always saddens me when I read the last entry and then a few days later Anne's family, The Van Pels, and Mr Pfeffer were all captured, then you find out what happened to them all. The way Anne's life ended and the rest of them (apart from Mr Frank) was a waste of life.

:readingtwo:

Have you ever read her short stories and the diary entries that her father had edited out when he got it published?

I didn't find her stories quite as interesting as her diary, though. They were very juvenile, most of them. But still, I find it interesting that they were written by her own hand while she was in hiding in the annex. ;) It's interesting to read things like that, things that inform you on the life of a real person.....

You should read the book, Liz! :readingtwo:

[Gyre]

Have you ever read her short stories and the diary entries that her father had edited out when he got it published?

I didn't find her stories quite as interesting as her diary, though. They were very juvenile, most of them. But still, I find it interesting that they were written by her own hand while she was in hiding in the annex. ;) It's interesting to read things like that, things that inform you on the life of a real person.....

You should read the book, Liz! :readingtwo:

I haven't, no...but I will certainly be on the look out for them. I guess I like the diary because it was true and Anne was a typical teenager which at times I found funny, even with the situation she was in, she still had the odd 'rant'...:readingtwo:

[princessponti]

I read 'By the Moon and Stars' by Eva Hayman, which is a similar thing, written by a Jewish teenager at the time, diarising events in her life (difference being that she was evacuated and separated from her family). I really enjoyed reading this so much that I thought I would pick up Anne Franks diary. I don't know if it's simply because I read it first, but I preferred 'by the moon and stars'; saying that, Anne Franks diary is incredibly moving by virtue of the fact that it is real and these events were not imagined but actually happened. I think everyone in the world should read this book, and books like it, in a bid to learn from this horrendous period in history.

[Katie]

It was a horrendous period in history, truly. And you are so right, we should definintely learn from it, princessponti!

And Gyre, you should be able to find the stories of Anne Frank easily, if anything you could get your local library to borrow it from somewhere else. ;)

[Sofia]

I read this in middle school...I loved it....I am actually hoping to pick up the book for my daughter when she is a bit older.

[Katie]

How old is your daughter, Sofia? :)

[Sofia]

she is 9 and loves books...but I think she needs to be just a bit older to really understand it:)

[Katie]

Probably...;)