Book Review: The Hiding Place

 The Hiding Place, by Corrie ten Boom (this is the edition I have)

I realize that many people out there have read this book, possibly in high school for an English or history assignment, but since I've only got into reading in the past few years I'm a little behind the times. This book has been on my to read list for quite sometime, and I knew before I even picked it up it would be spectacular.

And it was! So, so incredibly spectacular!

Here is a small taste of what this autobiography is about (for those of you who are needing to catch up on your classic literature as I am): Corrie ten Boom is a Christian and was involved in the underground work of saving Jews during the Holocaust. Her father, brother, and two sisters were also involved in saving hundreds of Jewish lives by making sure they stayed out of harms way and even hiding some Jews in their home for an extended period. Her entire family was discovered in their work and taken into a Nazi prison camp. The book carries you through Corrie's experiences from before her underground work, to how it all began, to the prison camps, and home again.

Things I absolutely loved about the book were that it's almost as if you are sitting down and talking with Corrie as you read and she is telling you her incredible story. It's so personal, and at the same time so matter-of-fact, I just couldn't stop myself from reading more. I read the majority of the book in only two naptimes and one evening, which is super fast for this slow-reader. Another thing I loved was that about the first third of the book was just Corrie telling you about her life pre-underground and pre-prison. At first I thought "when are we going to get to the exciting stuff?", but once we were there, I longed to read more about her family whom she loved so much! Which is exactly how she felt. She longed to be with them, too. I love it when a book draws you in like that, so you actually feel what the person in the book is feeling! I cried when she said she cried, I rejoiced in her victories. It was a journey through a time and place with which I was not familiar with an admired and respected friend.

Things I didn't absolutely love...nada. Zilch. Zippo.

5 Freakin' Fabulous Stars for this book!

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 

I'd recommend to anyone at anytime! It has changed the way I look at my own life and will definitely be used in some future talk or lesson at church. Don't borrow this book, buy it! You'll want a copy to have on your shelf to reference and to read again and again!

"There is no pit so deep that He is not deeper still." (p. 240)

"...joy runs deeper than despair." (p. 257)

Thank you so much, Jen! You are the best Christmas gift-giver ever! (Nick loves his tie "necklace" and Aly loves her signing video, but you knew all that already...I just like saying tie "necklace". Hehe.)

Next on my to-read list is Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Patton for book club, which is next week, so I had better get to it! Happy Reading!