Sunday, August 23, 2009

A Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom


Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Pub. Date: January 2006
ISBN-13: 9780800794057
Pages: 272
Rank: 5 out of 5
Summary: A Hiding Place is a true story of the Ten Booms who helped saved the Jews by helping them escape and hiding them during Nazi Germany’s occupation of Holland.

Review: I absolutely loved this book! Though Ten Boom’s writing style was first person narrative, it made me feel like I was sitting in front of her having coffee by the fireplace, listening to her wonderful tale. Her descriptions just drew me in, and I felt like I was right there in 1940’s Holland.

I flew through this book. I just marveled at the simplicity of her life before Holland was invaded by Nazi Germany. Towards the middle of the book, I felt so tense because I already knew something terrible was going to happen when Corrie and her family started hiding the Jews, but I kept reading.

What truly amazed me was Corrie’s and her sister Betsie’s undying faith, and their ability to forgive and to love their enemies no matter how things went from bad to worse. They remained spiritually strong and so was their belief in God even after they starved and suffered in the concentration camp in Germany.

The Hiding Place is a remarkable story of courage, strength, forgiveness, and hope. It will be forever in my collection. It is definitely one of the best books I have ever read.

Recommendation: This is a great book to read if you are looking for a World War II story or if you are looking for something inspiring.

6 comments:

  1. I've had my eye on this book for a while. Sounds like it's worth reading. I'll get this up on War Through the Generations soon.

    --Anna
    Diary of an Eccentric

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  2. I believe there's a movie about this book :) it's a good review. Thanks for the info. I'll be looking into this one

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  3. @Anna: Oh, it is! It certainly is, and the desciptions are not so gruesome. I've read some books about the Holocaust that were. Winds of War and War and Remembrance both come into mind, but I know there's more.

    @Okbolover: Your welcome, and you're right. There is a movie about this one. There are other books that Corrie Ten Boom wrote as well.

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  4. This is a book I should read every few years, just for spiritual strength it gives me. I'll never forget them complaining about the bugs, and Corrie's sister saying, "We have to be grateful for all things, just we're told in Thessalonians" and lo and behold: they aren't taken because they're too infested. Powerful stuff, that. I'm glad you feel the same way.

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  5. Thanks, Bellezza. People who have met Corrie Ten Bloom are so lucky. She had such an amazing strength that was so inspiring. As for the bugs, I was also baffled like Corrie when Betsie said that we should be thankful even if they're not unpleasant circumstances. Later on, of course, I understood why. God works in mysterious ways. We have moments where we don't understand why we fall into unfortunate situations, but we come to understand later that they happened for a reason.

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