#BookishInktober2020 prompt 4: RADIO

Can you imagine staying put in your house for an undefined period? I think we all got to experience a bit of it, during the initial stages of lockdown due to the pandemic. But, was it the same as it was for the Jews during Nazi Germany, during WWII? Definitely not, not even close.

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank is a classic that most of us already know about. I got introduced to it through my school textbook, we had a short chapter about her diary. I may have mentioned it in passing about wanting to read the entire book, because a few days later, my mom gifted it to me.

This book is like a toned-down account of the atrocities of a war, as seen through the eyes of a teen. I feel blessed to be able to go out without the fear being seen, to just be able to look outside the window to smile at a passing stranger, to buy my own food and just wander around, to even use the internet and have an online presence! All of it that was restricted to the people living the Secret Annex, along with Anne, and the number of Jews hiding elsewhere.

A radio and a few trusted friends were Anne’s only connection with the outside world. Anne and the seven people whom she lived with would all gather around their radio during the news briefings- for a sign, for a hope that they would be free, and that things would go back to normal again.

Do I recommend this book? Oh yes, it’s one of those books that you just can’t NOT read! So pick it up when you can.

There’s even a YouTube series based on her diary by Anne Frank House. It’s a really short series with a very cool concept- instead of a diary, they’ve given a video camera in Anne’s hands and the story begins. Except for this camera/diary swap, rest of the incidents are true, as written in Anne’s diary.

Embedding the series here:

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— Suri