Anne Frank’s Diary (the graphic novel) adapted by Ari Folman, illustrated by David Polonsky

“How wonderful is it that nobody needs to wait a single moment before starting to improve the world”

Thank you @aaKnopf for sending the book!

#theguywiththebookreview presents Anne Franks Diary : Graphic Adaptation.

The biggest tragedy with reviewing this book is I don’t remember if I’ve actually read the original version as a kid or not. I think I have, but my memory fails me once again.

Nevertheless, I picked it up and a couple of days later I realized that it has been one of my most surreal experiences with a book.

As with all graphic novels, the focus is on the illustrations but I was happy to see that several pages worth of original texts were copied to it as well.

If you didn’t know Anne and her family with a few other people were hiding from the Nazis in an Attic in Amsterdam. They hid for 2 years.

Anne starts writing in her Diary (she names it Kitty) The book is full of her diary entries or ‘conversations’ with Kitty.

She is brutally honest and questions whatever she can. She is rebellious as well as thoughtful. It’s a book which shows how the human spirit can break and did break during under the Nazi regime.

What I didn’t remember was how the book ended, and ended it did with a lot of emotion. I had almost forgotten that this book is not fiction and was written not by an adult but a teenage girl coming to terms with life and how hers isn’t normal.

I’m pretty sure there is not much I can add without repeating other readers, I don’t think I need to review characters or pace either. This books isn’t about them, but it still somehow excels in them! The hardships of having to live in hiding isn’t just the claustrophobia but also the several impossibilities to life which includes getting enough food to eat, medical attention and simply fresh air.

I think this graphic version might make it a perfect stepping stone to reading the full version.l, especially for teenagers.

You can buy the book here