Author: Anne Frank
No. of Pages: 344
Publisher: Aakar
Year of Publication: 2009 (originally published in 1949)
About the Book:
This is going to be the shortest review that I have ever written. The Diary of a Young Girl is exactly what it says it is- a diary- of a young girl. There is nothing more to it. The setting ofcourse arouses curiosity as Anne Frank and her family are in hiding for saving themselves from being sent to a Concentration Camp. Another family, and subsequently, a guest joins them in their hiding place. They have little contact with the outside world and they are perpetually rationing everything. It is commendable how the family survived for so long in such trying circumstances. In some ways, it is surprising how the diary describes everyday events in a very matter of fact fashion. Most days infact are uneventful and the diary is filled with descriptions of the mundane. After about a hundred odd pages, you start to wonder if there is anything left to read. It is repetitive, monotonous and too detached. Ofcourse, this is not the writer’s fault as she was merely writing a diary, not trying to write a bestseller. The trouble is that as a reader you approach the book with huge expectations of reading how terrible life would have been for her. And in some ways the book tells you that it was. But in a terribly boring way.
Favourite Quote: Probably there were some good ones. But I don’t remember and I am not picking up that book again!
Final Analysis: If you are extremely patient, and what to know what the fuss is all about, please dive in. Otherwise, just give it a miss. I would suggest you read other reviews as well because I am sure there are people who like it.