The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank

Dearest Kitty, Mrs van Daan, Dussel and I were doing the washing-up, and I was extremely quiet. This is very unusual for me and they were sure to notice, so in order to avoid any questions, I quickly racked my brains for a neutral topic. I thought the book Henry from Across the Street might fit the bill, but I couldn't have been more wrong; if Mrs van Daan doesn't jump down my throat, Mr Dussel does. It all boiled down to this: Mr Dussel had recommended the book to Margot and me as an example of excellent writing. We thought it was anything but that. The little boy had been portrayed well, but as for the rest. the less said the better. I mentioned something to that effect while we were washing up, and Dussel launched into a veritable tirade.

'How can you possibly understand the psychology of a man? That of a child isn't so difficult (! ). But you're far too young to read a book like that. Even a twenty-year-old man would be unable to comprehend it. ' (So why did he go out of his way to recommend it to Margot and me? )