'Anne Frank: The diary of a young girl' addresses the horrors of war. The story speaks for all such children in the Middle-East and elsewhere. The only difference being that Anne and her family lived as prisoners in a secret hideout whereas the Palestinians continue to live like that in their own country.
The book chronicles the daily life of a teenager against the backdrop of World War II. It spans a period of little over two years, which Anne's family along with one other spent in a 'secret annexe'.
The diary tells us how ordinary lives are transformed in extraordinary times. Books and radio suddenly become a luxury. A 'slice of liver sausage, and jam on dry bread' is a great weekly attraction. You sleep with the smell of lavatory all around. The sunshine is the last thing you would want to risk. In a nutshell you are living as ghosts.
You also get to know a young and ambitious girl who dotes on her father but fails to connect with her mother. Her mood swings from resigning to her fate, to making plans for a better post-war future. In between the only boy in the house becomes her object of desire.
Anne Frank's little book questions the futility of wars. It is also an ode to the human spirit.
Anne wished 'to go on living' even after her death, and to attain more than her mother. She loved history too. Today she is part of that history, thanks to her diary!
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