Commentary
THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK has become more than just a book--it has become a cultural institution and a literary monument to the horrors of war, the Holocaust, and the beauty and tragedy of the human spirit. A bestseller a thousand times over, it has been adapted for stage and screen and, like all great works of art, it has been fought over by intellectuals, historians, and critics. Acclaimed novelist Francine Prose (BLUE ANGEL) delves into all facets of Anne Frank's influence: Holocaust deniers who have tried to prove the book a fraud, Christian groups that denounced the book for Frank's musings on sex, Broadway playwrights who tried to tone down Frank's Jewishness, and Jewish critics who were angered by Frank being turned into a universal symbol, rather than a Jewish one. Perhaps Prose's greatest contribution is her loving analysis of Frank's writing itself--she argues passionately that Frank was no mere girlish diarist, but a great literary figure, and that her book was edited and crafted as carefully as any work of art.

Publisher's Notes
With the understanding one great writer has for another, the author deftly parses the artistry, ambition, and enduring influence of Anne Frank's beloved classic, The Diary of a Young Girl, in a book that was approved by Frank family. (Literary criticism). Simultaneous.