Diary of a Young Girl

By: Anne Frank

Narrated by: Helena Bonham Carter

Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's Summary

In Amsterdam, in the summer of 1942, the Nazis forced teenager Anne Frank and her family into hiding. For over two years, they, another family and a German dentist lived in a 'secret annexe', fearing discovery. All that time, Anne kept a diary.

An intimate record of tension and struggle, adolescence and confinement, anger and heartbreak, Anne Frank's diary is one of those unique documents, famed throughout the world.

It portrays innocence and humanity, suffering and survival in the starkest and most moving terms.

©2011 Anne Frank Foundation (P)2011 Penguin Books Ltd

Critic Reviews

"A modern classic . . . Anne's diary tells a story that is true, memorable, important and strongly personalized . . . compelling reading." ( The Times)

"Anne Frank’s diary is one of the greatest books of the century … As she brings herself and her circumstances into such buzzing, engaged life on the page, she triumphs over her history." ( Guardian)

"Still rings down the decades as the most moving testament to the persecution of innocence." ( Daily Mail)

So beautifully tragic

So inspiring and beautifully written. Not what I expected. Loved Helena Bonham Carter reading it!

Loved the narration.

The style of narration was great. The voice modulation gave a very realistic feel... it seemed seemed​ as if Anne herself was talking.
This was my first audio book and I am surely not disappointed.

Witty and funny and historic writing !

Anne Frank is a savage, writing with wisdom beyond her teenage years. A great read that describes 1940's Europe from a Jewish perspective.

The Horror of War the Heart of just a Girl

A look into the story of a young girl surrounded by the horrors of a war that should never have happened.

The narrator was first class and delivers it as if it was Anne Frank herself.

A really great book, though knowing the end will come and not in the nice way diaries tend to be written these days it's abruptly sad and makes you question why the nazis were so evil and corrupt, let alone the horrible person responsible for betraying the frank family.

Ultimately it's a testament of what life was like living during those years and being holed up inside only to never escape happily.

Highly recommended

A powerful book

There were a few times in this book that I thought it was getting boring, nothing happening, just a dreary story of a monotonous and uneventful life during the war. But sadly this isn't fiction, it's one of many horrible true stories of a time in our history that illustrated man's inhumanity. Having visited THE house in Amsterdam and the Auscwich death camp in Poland, there were many parts of this book that sent shivers through me. Even knowing the outcome of the story in real life, it is difficult not to continually wish that they wouldn't be found, wouldn't be caught and would survive the war. To think that Anne succumbed to illness just a few days before the end of the war makes this story even more tragic.
A sad, compelling and powerful book.

I am glad I bought this one, the unedited version

Having read the first version as a child this book had a lasting impact on me and shaped my life to work in human rights. I am so glad I bought this and listened to it. This version makes Anne seem even more real. You love her all the more for her naivety and teenage insights. RIP Anne, if I prayed at all it would be for souls like yours.

Delightful and charmingly frank.

Any additional comments?

Not at all what I had expected, more a diary of a talent person forming under extraordinary circumstances than a narration on living through the fears and isolation of the circumstances themselves. If you have ever entertained a diary yourself you will relate to the extremely candid and self exploratory nature of this, the ever changing self, outbursts, self derision, externalisation, self re-evaluation and growth. Having a teenage daughter myself only made the inevitable conclusion all the more visceral. It is not a book but more a rite of passage.

Briliant

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Is a amazing story, and the narrator is perfectly suited for this read.

What other book might you compare Diary of a Young Girl to and why?

Nothing, its about something historical but written in such a fresh perspective. There are many books about the holocaust but non written in this way.

What does Helena Bonham Carter bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I loved the narrating, her voice suited the character and she infused it with emotions in a appropriate way. Her 'acting' was natural and not over the top.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me sad to realise again how many brilliant people died in the holocaust because of one man's insanity.

Now I understand why this is a must-read

What made the experience of listening to Diary of a Young Girl the most enjoyable?

I could experience what Anna must have felt and get a better picture of the girl with tragic, well-known history.

Which character – as performed by Helena Bonham Carter – was your favorite?

Anna of course.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It got me very quiet and I listened to it with little pauses in between!

Any additional comments?

Must-read!!

So glad I decided to buy this book.

I decided to listen to this after the book remained on my shelf, gathering dust. What an incredible book - Anne's diary entries are so detailed I almost felt I was there watching them all. Beautifully read by Helena Bonham Carter. I didn't want it to end and I felt myself becoming nervous at the thought these people would be caught at any moment. Thank you Anne M Frank.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Excellent narration

If you could sum up Diary of a Young Girl in three words, what would they be?

Youth, family, survival.

What other book might you compare Diary of a Young Girl to, and why?

Other accounts of people in hiding during WWII. It's such a novel situation that only fellow accounts offer any comparison of surviving under such constant threat of discovery.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

Entries where Anne is in a good mood and feeling motivated by her diary, her dear Kitty.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Every time Anne writes about the future, or what she might do 'after the war', are excruciating passages, as we know what happened.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Excellent book and a must read for any modern teenager

I remember reading this book as a child and loving it and was surprised at 28 years old how poignant and relevant it is still all these years later. As a teenager all the feelings Anne went through I remember feeling which is remarkable seeing as it was written over 70 years ago. The feelings and angst felt might have been the same, but of course our upbringing and circumstances were entirely different which is what makes the book so remarkable.

The most important message that is taken away from this book is how pointless war is and how pointless Anne's subsequent death was. For an innocent Jewish teenager from a family that wasn't even particularly religious, to have been murdered because she was a Jew just seems so tragic and pointless.

The book seems ever more poignant in 2016 as the world again turns a blind eye on a race of people in flight from an oppressive regime. Neighbour turned against neighbour in the 40's and it seems like it was just as justifiable then as it is nowadays. It seems a sad fact that nothing has been learnt from history and the human race repeats it's past mistakes over and over. Very thought provoking book!

10 of 11 people found this review helpful

loved it

great book very re recomended the life of Ann frank may her soul rest in peace and every one else who lost there lives in this war

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Tissues at the ready...

Would you consider the audio edition of Diary of a Young Girl to be better than the print version?

This is a beautifully narrated version of this increadibly moving diary.
An insight into the thoughts and emothions of a young girl, growing and discovering herself, with the constant fears of life around her. In her well written diary, you'll become familier with all the members of her family, and the people she was forced to live locked up in a few small rooms with. Be prepared to listen to the heart-wrenching sadness, of what happens to each and every one of them.
Helena Bonham Carter does a fantastic job of narrating this powerful sombre, and thought provoking diary, written by a young girl, who wrote this book for no-one but herself, yet sends a story worldwide.

8 of 9 people found this review helpful

excellent rendition by Helena!

I believe Anne Frank liked through Helena's voice. a great effort by countless many to keep these pages live! I enjoyed listening to this audiobook.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Beautiful then heart breaking

If you could sum up Diary of a Young Girl in three words, what would they be?

BEAUTIFUL EMOTIONAL DEEP

Who was your favorite character and why?

ANNE FRANK

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Anne's love for peter, her desire to help him

Any additional comments?

Her Dairy lets you into her mind and heart

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

amazing

just an amazing historical document which should be compulsory reading in schools throughout the world

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

moving and enlightening

The terrible tradgedy that this bright and full of life person oppressed and restrained from enjoying the normal freedom to live openly reminds you how easy it is for those possessed by evil to not only destroy but take the very joy out of others lives.
As a chridtian I pray she be ressurected at the end times to enjoy the life she was so brutally denied.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

very good

This is a really good one to listen to. Very good all aspects. Happy with this one.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful