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4.4 AVERAGE
4.4 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
*read for neighborhood book club* I would never have read this on my own. It was preachy, reeked of privilege and falsehoods and felt insulting to the majority of people who were murdered in the Holocaust.
I have no inherent complaint about the heavy Christian element of this book, but I do not believe in God, so I didn't expect to relate to it that much. It was recommended to me by Goodreads based on my reading tastes.
I was impressed by how well The Hiding Place was structured, considering that it is not a work of fiction. It felt like a crafted narrative, making it an enjoyable read.
However, I had some substantial criticisms.
First, the book took way too long at the beginning introducing the ten Boom family and going over Corrie's childhood and adolescence, which were not that interesting and--more importantly--not relevant to the later half of the book.
Then comes my major complaint: At one point early in the book, when one of Corrie's sisters is questioned by a Nazi as to whether she is concealing a Jew in her home, she says yes. Yes! Believing so much that God will protect her for telling the truth (because to lie is a sin), she betrays the Jewish woman who trusted her to keep her safe. The Nazis then take this Jewish woman to an extermination camp. While I was screaming at the sister, the audiobook continued to say that the Jewish woman was released from the camp soon after--ostensibly because God protected her.
I have a real problem with this. It's saying that those who didn't betray Jews to Nazis--who lied to save lives--are the reason those Jews died, when the real reason is human (Nazi) evil. Not to mention that the Jewish woman in question was pale and blonde, which could have been a much likelier reason that she was released from the camp (that is, the Nazis could have believed that she was not a Jew). The real-life reason for her release is glossed over, so I don't know why it happened.
Now, I'm pretty sure the ten Booms didn't think that God was a Nazi sympathizer. I'm not accusing the book of going so far in that direction. However, it goes to show how humans often attribute actions (both good and bad) to God, when they are the direct result of human nature and human actions.
At the end of the novel, Corrie talks about her pursuit of forgiving the Nazis with whom she came into contact after the war. Others treated them poorly, and she thought that that was wrong and that God would want her to forgive them. Every individual is fine to do what they please, but I do not consider it noble or even morally right to forgive people who have knowingly and happily committed atrocities. I can't say what God would want, but I would not call a being who wants us to forgive Nazis benevolent. Yes, this is a matter of personal preference, but it has wider implications. I think that teaching people to forgive Nazis and other evil people is damaging to their survivors, their victims. I would not want a person who has been victimized by anyone to read this book and think they are a bad or lesser person because they refuse to be nice to their abuser.
I was impressed by how well The Hiding Place was structured, considering that it is not a work of fiction. It felt like a crafted narrative, making it an enjoyable read.
However, I had some substantial criticisms.
First, the book took way too long at the beginning introducing the ten Boom family and going over Corrie's childhood and adolescence, which were not that interesting and--more importantly--not relevant to the later half of the book.
Then comes my major complaint: At one point early in the book, when one of Corrie's sisters is questioned by a Nazi as to whether she is concealing a Jew in her home, she says yes. Yes! Believing so much that God will protect her for telling the truth (because to lie is a sin), she betrays the Jewish woman who trusted her to keep her safe. The Nazis then take this Jewish woman to an extermination camp. While I was screaming at the sister, the audiobook continued to say that the Jewish woman was released from the camp soon after--ostensibly because God protected her.
I have a real problem with this. It's saying that those who didn't betray Jews to Nazis--who lied to save lives--are the reason those Jews died, when the real reason is human (Nazi) evil. Not to mention that the Jewish woman in question was pale and blonde, which could have been a much likelier reason that she was released from the camp (that is, the Nazis could have believed that she was not a Jew). The real-life reason for her release is glossed over, so I don't know why it happened.
Now, I'm pretty sure the ten Booms didn't think that God was a Nazi sympathizer. I'm not accusing the book of going so far in that direction. However, it goes to show how humans often attribute actions (both good and bad) to God, when they are the direct result of human nature and human actions.
At the end of the novel, Corrie talks about her pursuit of forgiving the Nazis with whom she came into contact after the war. Others treated them poorly, and she thought that that was wrong and that God would want her to forgive them. Every individual is fine to do what they please, but I do not consider it noble or even morally right to forgive people who have knowingly and happily committed atrocities. I can't say what God would want, but I would not call a being who wants us to forgive Nazis benevolent. Yes, this is a matter of personal preference, but it has wider implications. I think that teaching people to forgive Nazis and other evil people is damaging to their survivors, their victims. I would not want a person who has been victimized by anyone to read this book and think they are a bad or lesser person because they refuse to be nice to their abuser.
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I have heard a number of people quote from this book when giving sermons, and I've even used the "thankful for fleas" passage in a talk about gratitude. Consequently, I decided to read ten Bloom's book.
She is very earnest and sweet. She has a very moral, straightforward view on life. She doesn't over think things. She has a lot of personal integrity. She and her family were part of an underground railroad providing shelter for Jews during the German occupation of Holland. She was arrested and lived in horrible conditions as a result of her work.
Her book provides the facts of her life as well as a demonstration of how her simple but deep Christian faith helped sustain her.
She is very earnest and sweet. She has a very moral, straightforward view on life. She doesn't over think things. She has a lot of personal integrity. She and her family were part of an underground railroad providing shelter for Jews during the German occupation of Holland. She was arrested and lived in horrible conditions as a result of her work.
Her book provides the facts of her life as well as a demonstration of how her simple but deep Christian faith helped sustain her.
Truly a perfect book. Such an encouraging story of faith and just an amazing story all together.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
"[We] must tell people what we have learned here. We must tell them that there is no pit so deep that He is not deeper still. They will listen to us, Corrie, because we have been here." —Betsie ten Boom
The Hiding Place by Corrie ten boom was an impactful and meaningful book for me. Oh man, the tears! I ugly sobbed for the last 50 pages. I knew it would likely affect me as a Christian and someone with deep empathy for other people but I didn't expect it to move me quite as much as it did. This book hit me on a whole other level. It's one of the most heartbreaking and extraordinary stories I've ever read about the Holocaust.
I am absolutely astounded by the ten Booms faith during such a horrific time. When so many people would have abandoned it in the face of the horrors of the Nazi regime, the ten Booms embraced it and were strengthened by it. They brought hope to their fellow prisoners in the Netherlands and then later at the Ravensbrück concentration camp. Hope and light in the face of intense cruelty and darkness. I found myself encouraged and spiritually refreshed while reading it.
The writing was very good. It flowed well and was easy to follow. I loved how the authors weaved Corrie's reflection in with the narrative and it wasn't preachy. I also appreciated the amount of photos included in the 35th anniversary edition (I'm not sure if these are included in other publications or not).
You don't need to be a Christian to appreciate The Hiding Place, just an open mind. I myself am a progressive Christian and my views and values don't line up with the traditional church most of the time. I take particular issue with the Dutch Christian Reformed denomination (because of certain experiences in my childhood) and I still got a lot out of this book.
Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.
Psalm 119:114
The Hiding Place by Corrie ten boom was an impactful and meaningful book for me. Oh man, the tears! I ugly sobbed for the last 50 pages. I knew it would likely affect me as a Christian and someone with deep empathy for other people but I didn't expect it to move me quite as much as it did. This book hit me on a whole other level. It's one of the most heartbreaking and extraordinary stories I've ever read about the Holocaust.
I am absolutely astounded by the ten Booms faith during such a horrific time. When so many people would have abandoned it in the face of the horrors of the Nazi regime, the ten Booms embraced it and were strengthened by it. They brought hope to their fellow prisoners in the Netherlands and then later at the Ravensbrück concentration camp. Hope and light in the face of intense cruelty and darkness. I found myself encouraged and spiritually refreshed while reading it.
The writing was very good. It flowed well and was easy to follow. I loved how the authors weaved Corrie's reflection in with the narrative and it wasn't preachy. I also appreciated the amount of photos included in the 35th anniversary edition (I'm not sure if these are included in other publications or not).
You don't need to be a Christian to appreciate The Hiding Place, just an open mind. I myself am a progressive Christian and my views and values don't line up with the traditional church most of the time. I take particular issue with the Dutch Christian Reformed denomination (because of certain experiences in my childhood) and I still got a lot out of this book.
Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.
Psalm 119:114