Anne Frank: The Book, the Life, the Afterlife

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Anne Frank: The Book, the Life, the Afterlife

3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 · rating details · 650 ratings · 126 reviews

In June 1942, Anne Frank received a red-and-white- checked diary for her thirteenth birthday, just weeks before she and her family went into hiding in an Amsterdam attic to escape the Nazis. For two years, with ever-increasing maturity, Anne crafted a memoir that has become one of the most compelling documents of modern history. She described life in vivid, unforgettable d...more In June 1942, Anne Frank received a red-and-white- checked diary for her thirteenth birthday, just weeks before she and her family went into hiding in an Amsterdam attic to escape the Nazis. For two years, with ever-increasing maturity, Anne crafted a memoir that has become one of the most compelling documents of modern history. She described life in vivid, unforgettable detail, explored apparently irreconcilable views of human nature--people are good at heart but capable of unimaginable evil--and grappled with the unfolding events of World War II, until the hidden attic was raided in August 1944.

But Anne Frank's diary, argues Francine Prose, is as much a work of art as a historical record. Through close reading, she marvels at the teenage Frank's skillfully natural narrative voice, at her finely tuned dialogue and ability to turn living people into characters. And Prose addresses what few of the diary's millions of readers may know: this book is a deliberate work of art. During her last months in hiding, Anne Frank furiously revised and edited her work, crafting a piece of literature that she had hoped would be read by the public after the war.

Read it has been. Few books have been as influential for as long, and Prose thoroughly investigates the diary's unique afterlife: the obstacles and criticism Otto Frank faced in publishing his daughter's words; the controversy surrounding the diary's Broadway and film adaptations; and the claims of conspiracy theorists who have cried fraud, along with the scientific analysis that proved them wrong. Finally, Prose, a teacher herself, considers the rewards and challenges of sharing one of the world's most read, and most banned, books with students.

How has the life and death of one girl become emblematic of the lives and deaths of so many, and why do her words continue to inspire? Anne Frank: The Book, The Life, The Afterlife tells the extraordinary story of the book that became a force in the world. Along the way, Francine Prose definitively establishes that Anne Frank was not an accidental author or a casual teenaged chronicler, but a writer of prodigious talent and ambition.

How has the life and death of one girl become emblematic of the lives and deaths of so many, and why do her words continue to inspire? Anne Frank: The Book, The Life, The Afterlife tells the extraordinary story of the book that became a force in the world. Along the way, Francine Prose definitively establishes that Anne Frank was not an accidental author or a casual teenage chronicler, but a writer of prodigious talent and ambition.(less)

Hardcover, 322 pages

Published September 29th 2009 by Harper (first published September 16th 2009)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Anne Frank: The Best Books to read about her life and diary

5th out of 20 books — 24 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 1,640)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Mar 06, 2012 Teresa rated it 4 of 5 stars

How helpful is a review when the reviewer is already predisposed to the subject? From the time of my first reading of Anne Frank's diary when I was a young girl, I've been fascinated by its author's voice and by the fact that the diary even exists, surviving against the odds.

From my adult reading of the so-called definitive edition of Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, I arrived at some of the same conclusions Prose did. Though I never actually articulated to myself, though Prose does, that...more How helpful is a review when the reviewer is already predisposed to the subject? From the time of my first reading of Anne Frank's diary when I was a young girl, I've been fascinated by its author's voice and by the fact that the diary even exists, surviving against the odds.

From my adult reading of the so-called definitive edition of Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, I arrived at some of the same conclusions Prose did. Though I never actually articulated to myself, though Prose does, that Anne's book is not truly a diary (Anne herself wanted her book to be called 'Het Achterhuis,' meaning "The House Behind."), but a memoir, and that it is the work of a true writer, I did wonder after reading the definitive edition what all the fuss was about over her father supposedly editing out unflattering things about the family from her work -- he didn't, it's all there -- in fact, he put back some things Anne herself had edited out while she was writing her draft from her early diary entries.

So, while there was not a lot new to me in Prose's book, it was nice to have my ideas 'validated' by her. Her common sense cuts through so much of the rhetoric Anne's book (and her father, who had suffered so much already) had to endure. (Why criticize the diary for not being a Holocaust (meaning not being about life in the concentration camps) document? Critique it for what it is, and much of it is about living in constant fear and terror of being found by the police, not to mention the early descriptions of the increasing restrictions on Dutch Jews before they started to be rounded up.)

The new-to-me stuff -- the behind-the-scenes wrangling (including the watering-down of Anne's intelligent voice) of the stage play and the movie (which I saw a long time ago on TV) -- while unfortunate, was not surprising, considering this is Broadway and Hollywood we're talking about. But even that has had its upside, as it's led some back to the original source material.

Prose also has a chapter on the Holocaust-deniers who believe Anne's diary is a hoax. None of that is new to me either, though her paragraph about some of these sick people in internet chat rooms hits hard. Alas, there must be constant battles against this kind of ignorance and hate.(less)

9 likes · like · see review

Oct 26, 2009 Emily rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

I was so pleased to be a first reads winner of this book, and am happy to report that it is indeed a worthwhile and absorbing read, one I would not hesitate to recommend to anyone who wants to learn more about Anne, the context in which her diary was created, and the social history of the cultural phenomenon the diary has become.

Francine Prose states clearly her belief that Anne Frank was a genius, and she makes a convincing case. Most interesting to me was the section on the writing of the diar...more I was so pleased to be a first reads winner of this book, and am happy to report that it is indeed a worthwhile and absorbing read, one I would not hesitate to recommend to anyone who wants to learn more about Anne, the context in which her diary was created, and the social history of the cultural phenomenon the diary has become.

Francine Prose states clearly her belief that Anne Frank was a genius, and she makes a convincing case. Most interesting to me was the section on the writing of the diary, which she tells us Anne was consciously writing and revising with intent to publish. I was fascinated to learn that there are three versions of the diary: an A version, which was Anne's original draft, an actual diary recording events as they took place, a B version, which was Anne's revision of her diary, the book she actually meant for publication, and finally a C version, the book that was eventually published that her father Otto compiled using material from both A and B (all three of these versions can be found laid out side by side in the critical edition). Ironically, the material that was restored to the "definitive" edition of 1995 was material that Anne herself cut out of the first draft. Prose feels that Otto has been judged far too harshly, and that many of his choices made the book better. For example, Anne cut out most of her gushing over her crush on Peter (because she was disenchanted with him by the time she came to revise those sections), but her father reinstated the earlier passages. Prose feels that the element of romance made the book more successful, a good thing because anything that spreads Anne's story to a wider audience is desirable, a view I find to be slightly at odds with Prose's own passionate belief in Anne as a self-determined literary artist.

The second half of the book was taken up with the afterlife of the diary, including its adaptation to the stage and screen, and the extent to which these versions detached Anne's tempered belief in the goodness of humanity from the horror of her situation and ultimate death at Bergen-Belsen. A chapter on the sub-culture of the Holocaust deniers who believe the book is a hoax was mercifully brief. This was perhaps the most upsetting part of the book, but an important part, as it reminds us of how imperative it is that the life of Anne and millions of others should never be forgotten.

Prose points out that there are some works of literature that it almost feels wrong to praise, because it would have been far better that the circumstances that produced them had never existed. "Given the choice, we would have been willing to live without the diary if it had meant that neither Anne Frank nor anyone like her, or anyone unlike her, had been driven into hiding and murdered. But none of us was given that choice, and the diary is what we have left. Meanwhile, across the equator and around the world, Anne Frank's strong and unique and beautiful voice is still being heard by readers who someday may be called upon to decide between cruelty and compassion."(less)

4 likes · like · see review

Oct 07, 2012 Neil Mudde rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Having recently traveled to Holland and visiting Anne Frank Huis in Amsterdam, then reading this book I am amazed at the goings on that happened after the diary was discovered left behind by Anne, saved by Miep who took care of those in hiding, by risking her life, and providing food etc.
Ms Prose tells us about how Miep gave the diary to Anne,s Father Otto Frank who realized Anne had written this with the intent of having this published, no doubt at the time of writing she would not have dreamed...more Having recently traveled to Holland and visiting Anne Frank Huis in Amsterdam, then reading this book I am amazed at the goings on that happened after the diary was discovered left behind by Anne, saved by Miep who took care of those in hiding, by risking her life, and providing food etc.
Ms Prose tells us about how Miep gave the diary to Anne,s Father Otto Frank who realized Anne had written this with the intent of having this published, no doubt at the time of writing she would not have dreamed of the horrific end her life would have.
He contacted publishers in Holland who were not interested as being so close after the war who would want to read this misery, not realizing the conten of the diary written by a 13-15 year old girl, this writing in itself is amazing and shows a great deal of awareness or questions about life.
To make a long story shorter, it was accepted by a New York publishing house, then it was suggested that a play ought to be written about this, several well known playwrights had their hands in creating a play for the stage, using their own stamp or how they felt about things, if they did not agree with some of the statements made by Ann, simply ommitted this, example as a young girl Anne questioned sexuality and expressed this in her diary, some people interpreted this as being too sexual, too frank, others felt it was far too Jewish, imagine the story deals with a Jewish family, which due to the Nazi's belief that Germans were the only pure race wanted to wipe out Jewish people, hence the need for them to hide, as Anne's Sister Margot had received a notice that she was to appear at the Amsterdam Nazi headquarters in order to be shipped off to one of the horrific concentration camps. This is a "must read book" having recently seen were the Frank family hid out,due to a co-worker's an NSber they were reported to the Germans, it is interesting to note that the Germans had 200 police in Amsterdam, all the other work was done by Dutch Nazi or NS members, many of whom were killed after the war, or certainly had a difficult life afterwards, in spite of this were picked up and transported to a concentration camp were Ann died, we need to remember what human beings are capable of, in Ann's case writing as she did, in spite of the reality of the issue, in the case of another Race/Group/Organization forcing their wills upon any other human being, No one is free until we all are,
I was totally absorbed by the book, one needs to read this and get all the details Ms Prose has presented her work in a most interesting manner, I will now go back and read the diary all over again, since according to Ms Prose there are different versions, some have certain parts removed, so I will perhaps try and get them all. (less)

1 like · like · see review

Nov 20, 2009 Lisa Vegan rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone who has read any edition of Anne Frank’s diary; those interested in writing

Shelves: biography, books-about-books, history, non-fiction, reviewed, holocaust

This is a must read book for anyone who’s read and appreciated Anne Frank’s diary in any of its published forms.

I am now eager to read the critical edition of the diary, which includes the revisions made by Anne in her last months before her capture; all 3 versions of her diary are included.

The only edition of the diary that I’ve read is the copy I have that I first read when I was eleven. I would have appreciated it so much more if my first reading had been at age thirteen, but my mother was ea...more This is a must read book for anyone who’s read and appreciated Anne Frank’s diary in any of its published forms.

I am now eager to read the critical edition of the diary, which includes the revisions made by Anne in her last months before her capture; all 3 versions of her diary are included.

The only edition of the diary that I’ve read is the copy I have that I first read when I was eleven. I would have appreciated it so much more if my first reading had been at age thirteen, but my mother was eager to share it with me. I’m glad that she did and that I have the copy that she bought for me. I reread it several times during my teenage years, getting more from it as I got older. I was never given the opportunity to read Anne Frank The Diary of a Young Girl or any books about Anne Frank for any class during all my years of schooling.

I’ve read at least a half dozen books about Anne Frank in addition to reading her diary and her Anne Frank's Tales from the Secret Annex book, but I suppose I should have read the Critical Edition of Anne Frank’s diary that contains all 3 versions of it before I read this book. I realized that as I was reading the first chapter of this book. I thoroughly enjoyed this book anyway though, but I do recommend reading the diary in some form before reading this book.

There is so much packed into this book. Prose (I now want to read all her other books) covers Anne’s life, her family’s background, the historical context, Anne as a writer, and she takes a lot of space for this, and it was so interesting. Also, she writes about the making of the play (ah, human nature reared its ugly head there too) and the movie (no wonder I’ve never enjoyed the movie!) She speaks of the legacy including the Anne Frank Museum and other organizations inspired by Anne Frank. She also talks about various reactions to Anne Frank, her diary, and the holocaust in general, including denial, controversy, and the diary and its various subject matter being taught in schools.

I learned that with the exception of the Polish Jewish population (no surprise there) that it was the Dutch Jews that had the highest percentage of their population murdered by the Nazis during the holocaust. I would have never, ever guessed this to be true.

Page 31 had me going to the web to look at the few seconds of the only known video footage of Anne Frank. Several times. I’d never known this video existed.

There are some discrepancies in the information I’ve read in other books and this one, but they’re not of things that are of incredible importance. This author obviously did a lot of research for this book and it really shows.

I really appreciated that Francine Prose shows tremendous respect for Anne Frank, for her as a bright and thoughtful and complicated person, and for her as an exceptional writer. I’m really glad that this book was written and published, and it’s made me want to go back and read the more definitive edition of Anne Frank’s diary.

I also want to add that one of this book's accomplishments is that reading it has given me an even better understanding of Anne Frank than I'd already had.(less)

12 likes · like · see review

Jul 19, 2009 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009-mt-bookpile

I can understand why HarperCollins was a little nervous about this book: Prose does not play into the cult of Saint Anne. Rather, she looks at the "diary" (which, according to the evidence, was as much a literary creation - edited, reedited - as it was a documentation of Anne's thoughts and life) as the work of an author learning her craft under extraordinary circumstances.

The version I read, and the stage play I saw, in junior and high school are not the version that Anne wrote. Back then, who...more

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 05, 2012 Elliot Ratzman rated it 3 of 5 stars

Anne Frank’s Diary “even more mysterious and fundamental than Augustine’s…the conversion of a child into a person” (Philip Roth). Read it in junior high? Saw the play? Forget all that, read this book, a fascinating review of her life, the writing of the diary, and its afterlife. The author makes the strong case for Anne Frank’s talent as a writer and for the diary as an important work of art. Anne Frank revised the diary for publication after they hear on the radio the Dutch government in exile...more

1 like · like · see review

May 16, 2010 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: girls-studies, non-fiction, biography

Most of it was fascinating. I felt Prose handled Anne Frank's life very well. I love the sections that discussed Anne's actual writing. Those were engrossing. And I like the part where she discussed even the negative legacy of Frank's work.

It was the parts about the play and the movie where I felt she got bogged down. She discusses Meyer Levin's involvement with the play ad nauseum and the actors in the original Broadway production -- none of whom I was familiar with. She could have used some ph...more

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 21, 2010 Kristin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010

As a teen, like so many others, I was introduced to The Holocaust through Anne's diary. Francine Prose's Anne Frank: The Book, The Life, The Afterlife introduced me to an entirely different Anne. Anne, the author.

Through Prose's work I discovered new facts. For instance, Anne rewrote parts of her diary in the months before she and her fellow annex-mates were captured. Spurred by directive of the Dutch government that memories of this awful time should be documented, Anne begins to rewrite parts...more

like · see review

Feb 22, 2010 Chris rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: history-ww-ii, npr-pbs-and-bbc, literature-criticism

What is it about Anne Frank? Why is her diary still read, nay, almost worshipped today?

Francine Prose answers this question to the best of her ability, which is a large pretty large ability.

Prose is not a hero worshipper, and she is not a, at least wholly, a myth despeller. Her book chronicles Anne's brief life as well as the much longer life of Anne Frank, the Diary of a Young Girl. Prose not only makes the case that Frank wrote Literature (yes, with the L), but that she has been disvalued beca...more

like · see review

Jan 02, 2010 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a good overview of Anne Frank's diary from inception, to reception, to its many incarnations as film, play etc, coupled with a look at Anne the writer, and Anne the myth.

It is strongest when dealing with the latter two aspects of Anne Frank - it was fascinating to learn that Anne revised and rewrote portions of her diary with an eye to it actually being shared with the world, whereas I'd always assumed it to be, literally, a private diary (Prose notes the title 'diary of a young girl' w...more

like · see review

Nov 21, 2009 Alex Templeton rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book was fantastic, and fascinating. It not only appeals to the reader (such as myself) who is interested in Anne Frank, but who is also interested in the appreciation of talented writers, with a little human psychology thrown into the mix. Before I read this book, I did not know (or, at least, did not remember from any prior reading that I'd done) that Anne had done many revisions on her diary, in the hope that it would able to be published as a historical document of wartime, once the who...more This book was fantastic, and fascinating. It not only appeals to the reader (such as myself) who is interested in Anne Frank, but who is also interested in the appreciation of talented writers, with a little human psychology thrown into the mix. Before I read this book, I did not know (or, at least, did not remember from any prior reading that I'd done) that Anne had done many revisions on her diary, in the hope that it would able to be published as a historical document of wartime, once the whole business of war was over. The diary that WAS published and is now known worldwide as "The Diary of A Young Girl", in fact, was a combination of Anne's drafts, edited by her father. Prose writes about the diary from the perspective of a literary critic, and an appreciative literary critic at that. She presents numerous arguments about why the diary, despite having been written by an adolescent girl, should be taken as a serious work of literature, and its writer as a serious author. At times, she directly compares Anne's original versions to the revised versions, and it is clear this is a true writer at work. This, perhaps, more than even reading the diary itself, made me feel sorrow for Anne's loss: she was not only a fellow adolescent girl (at one time), but we shared the passion for writing and revision during our adolescence. Maybe we could have been friends, across space and time. Many girls feel that same sentiment, but its only after reading about Anne as a writer that I felt that acutely. I also found the discussion of what happened to Anne's book after publication--the movie, the plays, the classroom lessons--fascinating. The major thread of that story is that the dark truths of the diary are often watered down in order to make it more appealing for public consumption. But, as Prose notes, the paradox is that those who might criticize the watering down would be the same ones who would want the story told to multiple audiences. Highly recommended to anyone who has ever had an interest in the young woman or the diary!(less)

1 like · like · see review

Nov 04, 2009 Jacki rated it 4 of 5 stars

I remember reading Diary of A Young Girl when I was 10 or 11 then again when I was 14 or so then again when I was 16... and so on and so forth. This is one of those books that just got me. It was my first introduction into the Holocaust, but more than that I just loved this honest view of a girl growing up.

This book is about the diary and how it came together and Anne Frank's life and just the results of this book being published. The first 3/4ths were great. It was a lot of history about the d...more

like · see review

Aug 05, 2010 Andrea Dowd rated it 5 of 5 stars

Having been in awe of Anne Frank since tender childhood, thinking that I know so much about the girl and her family and the terrifying two years spent in hiding, I opened Francine Prose's book looking for fresh insight...and I got it in spades.

"The Book, The Life, The Afterlife" reminded me of Anne's diary as a piece of literary work, not solely a historical document or a youth's recordings. Her human-ness and not her hunmane-ness stood out in sharp relief against my own ideas and ideals that I...more

like · see review

Nov 18, 2009 Michelle rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-books

This is a badly needed and tremendously well-done examination of Anne Frank, her book, adaptations of her book, and her place and influence in our society today. I was worried at first at what tone the author might take--there have been enough sappy sentimentalists writing about Anne and "people are really good at heart" and yet I did not want to see DAF ripped to shreds and left to die, either. Prose has found a wonderful balance between the needed criticism and a basic admiration for Anne as a...more

2 likes · like · see review

Feb 01, 2011 Jeannine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

Engrossing, fascinating.

The author delves into the literary merit of Anne Frank's work and how Frank was actually editing and shaping her text for possible publication after the war, in the months leading up to her discovery in the attic. The author also writes about the life of the diary after the war, the wrangling over the publication of the diary and the subsequent play and movie (I've seen neither, never having an interest in seeing the material through the filter of stage or screen since...more

like · see review

Jul 19, 2012 Edith rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, wwii

Probably most of us have read “The Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank in our teen years. All of my children also read it in their 7th grade Calvert curriculum some 10-20 years ago. I saw the high school play while a teen (at Central Christian, Julia!) and my children’s home school academy also performed the play one year.

What I did not know is that Anne herself went back and revised and rewrote her original diary after she and her family listened to a broadcast of Dutch news from the governme...more Probably most of us have read “The Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank in our teen years. All of my children also read it in their 7th grade Calvert curriculum some 10-20 years ago. I saw the high school play while a teen (at Central Christian, Julia!) and my children’s home school academy also performed the play one year.

What I did not know is that Anne herself went back and revised and rewrote her original diary after she and her family listened to a broadcast of Dutch news from the government in exile in London in March 1944 while in hiding. The minister of education encouraged the writing of diaries, letters, etc. by Dutch citizens so that future generations would understand what their people had suffered during the war. This directive propelled her to edit and revise the diary she had been writing for two years with an eye to having her book eventually published under the title of Het Achterhuis - The House Behind. All this rewriting was done diligently in the weeks before her arrest and she made major and minor changes. Her dreams of being an author were big.

After the war, her father Otto, the only family survivor, essentially played editor and put together a version of his daughter’s work by combining passages from Anne’s first draft and from her revisions. He decided what details would be omitted and what would make the story flow better. What exists now are three versions: the “a” version is Anne’s original draft, the “b” version is her revisions, and the “c” version is the book her father put together by combining those first two drafts. All these versions can be found in “The Critical Edition” of The Diary of a Young Girl.

I also had not know how desperately Frank Otto had tried to find asylum for his family in either the U.S. or Cuba as early as 1938 and as late as 1941. (He had already moved his family out of Germany into Holland in 1933.) He had even worked in NYC before the war and had some connections and willing sponsors (his wife’s two brothers), but U.S. immigration policy was so tight by this point that no visa was ever granted - a terrible pity.

This interesting book explains how the publication of the book unfolded, how the Broadway play version evolved, how the movie version appeared, and much more. None of this effort was problem-free. In particular, the Jewish author Meyer Levin ended up in a lawsuit relationship with Otto Frank over his option to write the “play” version.

Anne’s ending quote in the play and movie has always made me cringe - the “I still believe people are good at heart" line - because I believe that it is actually the opposite: man is basically a selfish animal and it is the civilizing forces of society and a belief in God that keep him from wreaking total havoc. This has bothered other readers as well and in a Wall Street Journal interview, Francine Prose says this: “ In the same passage as the famous quote that ended the movie, "…I still believe people are good at heart," she had a vision of the world completely destroyed. She was veering between hope and despair. She was constantly talking about the dark side of human nature. She wasn't a perky little messenger of good cheer. But she was a kid, and kids think they're going to survive.”

I think we all know how easy it is to manipulate someone’s words to make it say what we want it to say. In drafting the play and movie script, there was always concern that it not just be a Jewish story, that it have a “univeralist" theme- the inherent problem with this approach being that the horror of the REAL story is downplayed in order to make it more palatable for the general public.

This book made me want to reread “Diary of a Young Girl” with an eye toward appreciating the remarkable artist/author that young Anne Frank was.
(less)

like · see review

Jan 10, 2011 MAP rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, history, wwii

*****this is my own personal story...skip to read the main review*****
The Diary of Anne Frank was one of the first books that had a massive impact on me. I read it first at the age of 7 or 8 (way too young) and have read it almost every year since then.

I read it as a young child and was fascinated with her observations, her clever recounting of day to day life, the way she described the people around her.

I read her as a teenager and was shocked to discover how much her own questions about her bo...more *****this is my own personal story...skip to read the main review*****
The Diary of Anne Frank was one of the first books that had a massive impact on me. I read it first at the age of 7 or 8 (way too young) and have read it almost every year since then.

I read it as a young child and was fascinated with her observations, her clever recounting of day to day life, the way she described the people around her.

I read her as a teenager and was shocked to discover how much her own questions about her body and sexuality mirrored my own.

I read her as an adult and for the first time really heard her voice come through as a teenager, at that point one younger in my own, and felt a sock to the stomach when I realized that a writer I'd practically grown up with was dead younger than I was now. But through all of them I was bowled over by her writing style, the ease of it, the action created in a life situation that was noted for being unfailingly inactive.

I loved the diary, in many ways, for the reasons Prose details as annoying the hell out of later critics. I identified with her. But despite what those critics may say, I didn't identify with her by ignoring the situation of her life and death. I identified because despite her extraordinary circumstances and writing skills, she, as well as other she wrote about, always came through as entirely human. The fact that a child in 1992 could identify with and understand a 13 year old in 1943 is entirely due to Anne's writing.
********End of personal feelings. Review beings below*******

Because of my interest, I've read several books surrounding the topic of the Secret Annex. This one, however, is unique in its scope and its focus. The first part contains a brief sketch of a biography of the main people (Franks, Van Pels, helpers).

The second part focuses entirely on how Anne originally wrote and then revised the early portions of her diary (while still writing new entries), why, and even had original and revised entries side by side. It's the first time Anne's capabilities as a thoughtful writer have been discussed, and it was eye-opening. (Some discussion about how Otto blended these two together to create the diary we all know is also present)

The third section looks at the play, the movie, how it's taught in schools, and other ways in which the diary has been transformed into various messages that may or may not have little to do with Anne's original text.

Among the glut of books about Anne Frank and the people who surrounded her, this one has a unique perspective on the evolution of the girl, the diary, and the message. If you are interested in Anne Frank but feel there's nothing new to be said, this book proves it wrong.(less)

like · see review

Sep 20, 2011 Alden rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own

I read The Diary of a Young Girl as a child -- I think I was six or seven years old the first time. Then a year or two ago I picked up The Definitive Edition. I was aware that Otto Frank had done some editing of the diary, and wanted to see what had been reinstated... but when I finished, I wasn't sure. I felt like there might have been a bit more complaining about Anne's mother, but it had been so long since I'd read the first edition I wasn't positive. In the end, I decided it didn't really ma...more I read The Diary of a Young Girl as a child -- I think I was six or seven years old the first time. Then a year or two ago I picked up The Definitive Edition. I was aware that Otto Frank had done some editing of the diary, and wanted to see what had been reinstated... but when I finished, I wasn't sure. I felt like there might have been a bit more complaining about Anne's mother, but it had been so long since I'd read the first edition I wasn't positive. In the end, I decided it didn't really matter, because the book was more or less the same.

THIS book, by Francine Prose, illuminated two things for me. Firstly, I was wrong to dismiss the versions' differences as unimportant. And secondly, I'd been missing a whole huge level of interpretation of this book. I had absolutely no idea that Anne had revised her OWN text as much as she did, and that it is really to be considered a piece of deliberate writing in a way diaries aren't. (And goodness, do I wish I HAD known that, because I tried diary-keeping myself at that same age and quit after fits of realizing that what I was writing wasn't any good. It would have been such a relief to realize I was comparing myself to a carefully-edited work of art, not the spontaneous thoughts of an adolescent!)

I think I'd eventually like to get my hands on The Revised Critical Edition, which compares each version of Anne's diary -- incorporating both Otto's editing and her own -- side-by-side. It's fairly pricey and I'll wait a while. In the meantime, I feel like Francine Prose has done an *excellent* job of showing me what I might learn from that comparison, and emphasizing that The Diary is a work of literature and not just a voyeuristic peek at one aspect of WWII. I will say that I found the last chapter of the book kind of saccharine and unnecessary, but I suppose the author needed it for her own catharsis. But every page prior to that chapter was both educational and a pleasure to read. I'm so glad I picked this up. (less)

like · see review

Jul 19, 2012 Jim Fisketti rated it 5 of 5 stars

Anne Frank's image is one of the most iconic on earth. Her Diary was been read by millions thoughout the world including countless students in American middle and high schools.She is the most widely know figure representing the Holocaust as well as genocide.
The details are well know. The Franks, Anne, her parents,Otto and edith, sister Margot,a middle aged couple,their adolescent son and a dentist, hid from the Nazi Gestapo for over two years in an attic in Amsterdam. They were hidden by Ottos h...more Anne Frank's image is one of the most iconic on earth. Her Diary was been read by millions thoughout the world including countless students in American middle and high schools.She is the most widely know figure representing the Holocaust as well as genocide.
The details are well know. The Franks, Anne, her parents,Otto and edith, sister Margot,a middle aged couple,their adolescent son and a dentist, hid from the Nazi Gestapo for over two years in an attic in Amsterdam. They were hidden by Ottos heroic Dutch colleagues.
They were ultimately discovered in August 1944 and deported to Auschwitz. Only Otto survived. Anne and Margot perished from typhus, starvation and exhaustion in Bergen Belson only weeks before the British liberated the camp. After the war, Otto managed to get Anne's Diary published and it ultimatly became the most widely read book of any kind concerning the Holocaust.
Prose's book is a study of Anne's book as well as an examination of its impact and interpretations through the years. It also is a review of her short life. The most riviting writing, I found, concerns Anne's final weeks in Bergan Belson.
For all of us who thought we knew the story it is an eye opener. According to Prose, by the time the Gestpo discovered the attic, Anne was writing her story with an eye to history. Listening to the Dutch underground radio urging people to preserve letters and diaries for post war use she redoubled her efforts and revised all earlier entries.
Moeover, there are three seperate journals.The term "diary" bestfits the earliest one.
Her first entries, at age thirteen, are juvenile and very much the work of a child. Her entries two years later are thoughtful commentary upon life, personal growth,the nature of good and evil and the meaning of their confinement in the context of the times.
Prose chronicles the post-war history of the Diary,including its adaptation to both Broadway and the Big Screen. Along the way, playrights and editors took out portions of the story and brought their own spin to it. The diary, of course has not been without critics. IT has been banned, for example, by several school boards due to Anne's musings about here personal growth including sexuality. Holocaust deniers, of course, have questioned its authenticity. (It has been proved completey authentic,needless to say.) Otto Frank, a passionate advocate for his murdered daughters book, also excised some material, usually because he felt these comments painful to the victims family.) Still, the book generations of ninth graders read is essentially an accurate representation of Anne and her entries. Prose finishes her account with an examination of how it has been taught from middle to grad school.
"Anne Frank: The Book, The Life, The Afterlife is a powerful and remarkable read. It adds a completely new dimension to a story that so many think they know. Prose presents the real person and not the icon. A remarkable and moving read.(less)

like · see review

Aug 03, 2011 Lauren Hopkins rated it 4 of 5 stars

Having read Anne Frank's diary several times and having visited the secret annex in Amsterdam, I decided to go a step further into my understanding of what happened by reading Francine Prose's highly recommended reappraisal of Anne's work and its global impact. Divided into three sections (the book, the life, and the afterlife), Prose looks deeply into Anne Frank as both the little girl in the attic and the prodigy writer who dreamed of living forever. She explains the versions of Anne's diary a...more

like · see review

Dec 02, 2009 Bookmarks Magazine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: jan-feb-2010

At first, critics doubted that anything fresh could be added to this subject, but they soon agreed that Prose sheds new light on Anne Frank in her provocative and penetrating study. She makes a compelling case for Frank's literary brilliance, and though she considers the diary a "masterpiece," she candidly assesses its limitations. Prose also remains impressively impartial when sizing up the colorful figures who had a stake in Anne Frank's diary after her death. Though the New York Times Book Re...more

like · see review

Oct 18, 2009 Johanna rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a valuable, necessary book. Prose clearly outlines the three versions of the diary. I had known there were different versions but had not understood their significance. She also explains the controversies surrounding the manner in which the diary has been made into plays and movies. She argues convincingly that we should take Anne seriously as a writer.

She has quite a pedantic tone, however, which surprised me, because I liked her writing in her novels. Here, the material largely speaks...more

like · see review

Oct 31, 2009 Shirley rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, 2009, nonfiction

In this book Francine Prose reveals what is likely a surprise to many of us who have read the book published as Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl - it is not, strictly speaking, a diary (i.e., entries written in chronological order and faithfully retained as such). Anne Frank furiously rewrote her original diary entries, beginning a few months before her family was discovered by the Gestapo in the Annex in which it had been hiding, in the hopes that her diary would someday be published. Otto Fra...more In this book Francine Prose reveals what is likely a surprise to many of us who have read the book published as Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl - it is not, strictly speaking, a diary (i.e., entries written in chronological order and faithfully retained as such). Anne Frank furiously rewrote her original diary entries, beginning a few months before her family was discovered by the Gestapo in the Annex in which it had been hiding, in the hopes that her diary would someday be published. Otto Frank, Anne Frank's father, further edited (largely judiciously, in Francine Prose's opinion) Anne's diary entries to form what became Diary of a Young Girl. Thus, there is version A, Anne Frank's original entries dated chronologically; version B, Anne's rewriting of the diary; and version C, the version further edited by Otto Frank, drawing upon both versions A and B, and published as Diary of a Young Girl. (For the truly devoted, The Diary of Anne Frank: The Revised Critical Edition includes all three versions of the diary.)

Francine Prose shows how Anne as a writer matures over the course of two years by comparing passages originally written by Anne at age 13, at the beginning of her family's stay in the secret attic, against those same passages as rewritten by Anne at the age of 15. She argues that the Diary is literature and not of interest merely because of the fate of its author.

In examining Anne Frank's legacy, Francine Prose comes across as fair-minded while at the same time fiercely protective of Anne Frank's image. She mourns the "Americanization" (upbeat-ization combined with oversimplification) of Anne Frank through the play and movie while recognizing that both media introduced Anne Frank's life, and ultimately the diary itself, to a much larger audience.

Reading this work brought back all those feelings I had when reading the Diary originally: a sense of loss and grief and of course what could have beens had Anne Frank not died at Bergen-Belsen - and realizing, through Francine Prose's skillful exposition of the Diary and its afterlife, just how many others have felt the same.

(less)

like · see review

Aug 25, 2009 M rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009, top-10-of-2009, non-fiction

If you are a fan of Anne Frank's diary, you need to read this book.

While it is rather niche specific and full of close reading and literary criticism that the English major in me loved but might read tedious to others, the premise is an important one: that the diary of this young girl should be read as literature, that she was a writer who had a true gift at a young age and painstakingly edited and rewrote several of the diary's entries before her and her family's discovery in "The Secret Annex...more

like · see review

Nov 30, 2009 Carolynne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography

This informative book not only gives us additional information about the life of Anne Frank, but about the writing of the diary and about the revisions Anne herself made during her time in the Annex. The book also details the difficulties involved in developing a screenplay that maintained historical accuracy, integrity to the diary, and still was not grimly depressing. The final result, by husband and wife team Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, authors of _Seven Brides for Seven Brothers_ an...more

like · see review

Apr 24, 2010 Maren rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, non-fiction

Francine Prose accomplishes something really interesting with this book: she kept me so engaged that I basically forgot I was reading something scholarly.

The book consists of three sections: a close reading of Anne Frank's diary, a look at Anne's writing process, and the legacy her diary left, including the dramatic story behind the diary's stage adaptation. Prose (who has an amazing last name, for a writer) compiles an amazing amount of information and analysis, presenting it with a fluid, cris...more

like · see review

Apr 02, 2010 Terri rated it 4 of 5 stars

The book is very interesting and I have already learned a few things about Anne Frank and her family that I did not know from previous novels. It makes me want to go back and watch the movie again.

After finishing the book, I now understand the controversy surrounding the book, the play and the movie of The Diary of Anne Frank. The author explores those people who supported and those who objected to the publicity attached to all three media. She also presents the arguments why many feel the Diary...more

like · see review

Oct 09, 2009 Pamela rated it 4 of 5 stars

Very interesting reading. The diary we have all read was not, as most people think, a day-to-day transcription of the spontaneous thoughts of a young girl. Some months before the Franks were captured, Anne rewrote all of her earlier entries, improving her prose and deepening her insights, clearly fashioning her book as a work of art and not a mere document. (She never deviated from fact, however--she was not interested in fictionalizing.) Prose does a good job of showing us the artist in the sup...more

like · see review

Dec 15, 2009 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book introduced me to the *real* Anne Frank. It showed me that she wasn't just the chipper, boy-crazy, optimistic person that the movie or play would have you imagine. She was a deep thinker, moody, and a realist. I never realized that Anne Frank actually meant for her diary to be published - she often talked about wanting to be a writer, and towards the end she had gone back through and was editing her diary entries and expanding on some of the dialog - always to the better. I liked that t...more

like · see review

Jun 21, 2012 John Bentz rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is an extraordinary book. I may be biased, having had a father who came through Amsterdam on his way to the U.S. to escape Nazi oppression and deportation. Francine Prose puts the diary within the context of Anne Frank's whole life. It starts with the before, when she was growing up in the Merwerdplein district of Amsterdam and progresses through the years in hiding at 263 Prinsengracht, ending with her tragic demise at Bergen-Belsen. But it goes beyond, to tell the stories involved in the...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 54 55 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (9)

More editions...

Genres

Non Fiction

55 users

History

37 users

Biography

31 users

World War II > Holocaust

14 users

History > World War II

6 users

Criticism > Literary Criticism

6 users

Biography Memoir

4 users

Writing > Books About Books

4 users

Language > Writing

3 users

War

3 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Francine Prose

Francine Prose (born in 1947 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American novelist. She graduated from Radcliffe College in 1968, and received a Guggenheim fellowship in 1991. She has sat on the board of judges for the PEN/Newman's Own Award, and her novel Blue Angel, a satire about sexual harassment on college campuses, was a finalist for the National Book Award. She is now teaching at Bard College.

For...more

More about Francine Prose...

Books by Francine Prose

Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Anne Frank: The B...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

title link	preview: Anne Frank: The Book, the Life, the Afterlife
avg rating	preview: Anne Frank: The Book, the Life, the Afterlife Goodreads rating: 3.98 (650 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6486492-anne-frank?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1347419034l/6486492.jpg[/img][/url] [url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6486492-anne-frank?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Anne Frank: The Book, the Life, the Afterlife by Francine Prose[/url]

Anne Frank: The Book, the Life, the Afterlife

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website