I really don't know where to start from with the review of this book. The first thing that comes in mind is that it was a truly unbelievable journey and an unexpectedly powerful read. It managed to "suck me in" and transfer me to the time and place of the events; half way through the book I was already googling for details about the house, the historical events, or the family, so that I could get a better understanding of everything. Having finished the book, I can definitely say that I have learnt so many more things and that I still want to learn more about this tragic era and the people that suffered during this time period.
To start with, this book is not fiction and it's not written by a professional writer, it is a diary of a teenager and it involves real events and real people. This means that it cannot possibly be perceived or judged as any other book. The writing is flawed, because that's how 13 year old girls write and some parts are slow, because that's how life is; some days are just boring and nothing really happens - even if you live during WWII. We cannot expect this book to be a thrilling ride with fast pace and perfect plot, we have to view it as what it is; a diary of a young girl. It's a very interesting documentary by a young girl, a recording of events - some of them more and some others less interesting - concerning these people who are victims of this war. Anne's entries vary from prices of products to actual bombings or attacks happening close to them. Her relationships with her parents and the rest of the people in the annex is one of the main subjects. It's a unique book and being able to read it so many years after the events have taken place is very educational.
The Diary itself has its own two different sides - much like Anne herself - not just because of the personality of the writer, but also because of the nature of their life and the events they had to endure. On the one side there is Anne's beautiful journey from childhood to adolescence; her development from a happy child to a much more mature, conscious and self aware teenager, her progress both mentally and psychologically, and her emotional evolution. These were the parts that made me smile for a while and feel closer to the families, the parts that helped me bond with Anne, start to like her and support her and her family. On the other side - which is also the more prominent and significant of the story - there is the horrible face of the war; the transition from their normal, happy life before the war to a life of deprivation and isolation. They are forced to survive, hiding, excluded from the world and the society, with very few resources and with very little contact with the outside world. Their hunger, exhaustion and despair is more obvious in each page that passes and it made me feel both compassion for what they were going through, and admiration for managing to stand it for so long. Thinking of the war's darkness, the victims and the unbearable tragedy of these years, makes it even more painful to read, especially since the ending is defined and well known beforehand. It was sad reading about Anne dreaming to go back to school in September, when I knew that she would be arrested in August, it was awful reading about how much she wanted to become an accomplished writer, when I knew that she wouldn't even make it to her adulthood. So tragic and so real...
To cut the long story short, I enjoyed it very much, especially the second year of entries - I have to admit that I found the first one a little tiring, but I think it must be because of Anne's young age when she was writing it. Towards the end it gets much better as a read, but so much more tragic and sad as a story. I would like to finish with something positive that this book left me though, which was the curiosity and eagerness to learn more about this particular story and about other stories like this and to find out more details about this historical time and about particular events (which is what I will be doing the following days).
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