At the beginning of the year, I set a goal to read ten "school" books (meaning books that I either did read in school, could have read in school, or should have read in school). I got a good start, and then I completely forgot I was doing this. Then I remembered and got back on track with my latest book, Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl.
I originally read Anne Frank in junior high, when I was Anne's age (Anne kept her diary between ages 13-15). I don't remember much about the book from that first reading other than Anne's curiosity about sexual things. When you read anything about sex surrounded by classmates and your ancient teacher (because when you're young, all adults are a hundred years old), you definitely remember!
I listened to the audiobook this time, narrated by Selma Blair. I didn't care for the narration in the beginning. I thought Selma's voice was too old for Anne, and I felt like the narrator should have a German accent. But as Anne matured through the diary, Selma's voice became more appropriate for her.
One thing I really love about Anne Frank's diary is that you really can see her growth over those three years. She was ever learning from her life's experiences.
Even though Anne was in very traumatic circumstances as a Jew hiding in the annex, she was also a very normal teenage girl. In so many ways, she was every girl. She fought with her mom. She crushed on a boy. She felt picked on. She wanted to figure out her body. She wanted to be treated like an adult. She had big dreams.
One of her dreams was to write a book. She expressed many times in her diary how much she loved writing and how it was therapeutic for her. It became her wish to have her diary published someday. Unfortunately, the diary ended quite abruptly when the annex was raided, and Anne was taken from her refuge - never to return. She and her sister Margot are believed to have died from typhus in a concentration camp.
Since I was listening to the audiobook and didn't have a visual cue to see when the book would end, I was taken aback. It was actually quite emotional to hear the last line of Anne's writing and have the narrator indicate that's where her diary ended.
Anne's father, Otto, was the only member of her family who survived. Anne's diary was found and kept safe by his secretary, and it was Otto who saw to it that Anne's wish was fulfilled, and her diary was published.
Anne was quite a good writer and used far more articulate words than I ever would have used at her age. Of course, children of that era had a very different vocabulary than children of today, so I don't know if her wording is common for that time period or if she was just especially gifted in her use of language. I suspect a combination of the two.
It was great to go back and read Anne Frank's diary from an adult perspective. I understand so much more about history now, but I also have a greater perspective on adolescent development. I see so much of my teen self in Anne (and even my adult self).
I will definitely be adding Anne Frank to my dinner party guest list. We have much to discuss.
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