| It's me, D. Green once again. I read this book, or in this case, this e-book, out of sheer curiosity; which is probably why youre looking at this review. This non-fiction book was like nothing I have read before... It was written by a real girl who lived in Austria, pre-World War One Austria. As mentioned above, this diary is presented by the great Sigmund Freud. The diary starts off with a preface written by Freud in which he explains the reason why this particular diary is given to us; to follow the girl's personal development from a young girl into a young woman . That reason may sound a little strange, but keep in mind that not too long ago a lot of people thought that what Freud did was also a little strange. Originally written in German, the translators did a good job of keeping the girl's writing style and syntax pretty close to the way it might have been . As I said, her story, Gretel's story, takes place in pre-World War One Austria, where there is still an Emperor, when America was still minding her own business, and hints of anti-Semitism where there and blatant at times but still under the old man's top hat. Besides all of those potential dormant volcano-like problems, the diary provided an interesting look into the Austrian culture of the early 1900s. As I was reading it, I could almost here the joyfully jolly like quartets and symphonies of J. Haydn playing in the background. As I said before. the translators, I felt, did a good job of keeping the girl's writing style close to what the original probably was; which was pretty good and very engaging. The diary, written over four years, does what every diary does, in telling the reader what the writer feels and experiences. And boy does Gretel go through a lot of things and feel a lot of emotions. This description here may sound cut and dry, but that is where her diary excels to the point of excellence. For her age she is a very good writer. From the beginning, where her story starts on the first year when she is ten, it is clear that she is quite handy with the pen; expressive and fluid, much more so then a lot of us were when we were ten. And us she gets older by the year, her descriptions become that much more expressive. Because of this, I really felt that I was apart of her conscience and one of her friends. If not that, then like an angel watching over her as she hang out with her best friend, Hella, as she and her family went an vacations in the Austrian countryside, and as she dealt with her feelings for the young men that she idolized- through the bad times and the good. Though it was originally presented by Freud as a specimen to analyze and observe the development of a young female during the important years of personal growth, from a liberal arts perspective it is a work of art printed by the hand of a young artist. Since this diary was written by a young girl, parents should give this book a look. Because this diary was written by a young girl from pre-World War One, students of culture and history should give this book a reading. On account of the fact that this diary was written by a young girl, who goes through the trials of life, students of life should take notice to this book. Heck, anyone whom has the opportunity to look at it, should do so... On a quick note this book can be downloaded for no exchange of money (free) at the Project Gutenberg E-text website. I would like to give the website address but this one won't let me, so please highlight and use Yahoo. Gretel's story is a very good one, rich in expression and emotionally moving, especially the ending. GOOD READING |
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