The Hiding Place: The Triumphant True Story of Corrie Ten Boom in The Complete Idiots Guide to the Ultimate Reading List

Mar 17, 2012 Lisa (Harmonybites) rated it liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, biography, history, spirituality, ultimate-reading-list, memoir, religion

This is the story of Corrie ten Boom, a self-described "spinster" watchmaker who lived with her father and sister and was pushing fifty when she became part of the Dutch Resistance helping to hide Jews from the Nazis. Eventually betrayed, she wound up in a Gestapo prison for a few months, then doing forced labor in the Vught Concentration Camp, which harsh as it was, was paradisaical compared to where she next wound up until released, the notorious Ravensbruck Concentration Camp. This is her fir This is the story of Corrie ten Boom, a self-described "spinster" watchmaker who lived with her father and sister and was pushing fifty when she became part of the Dutch Resistance helping to hide Jews from the Nazis. Eventually betrayed, she wound up in a Gestapo prison for a few months, then doing forced labor in the Vught Concentration Camp, which harsh as it was, was paradisaical compared to where she next wound up until released, the notorious Ravensbruck Concentration Camp. This is her first person account, written decades after the fact with the help of John and Elizabeth Sherrill. It got off to what I found a slow start in the first four chapters which tells of the life of her and her family before World War II. I thought it picked up in pace a great deal in the later chapters once it began to tell of her involvement aiding Jews in the Underground, and from that moment I was completely engrossed--and indeed the story, particularly before they were betrayed to the Nazis, sometimes surprised me with its warmth and humor. Her father, for instance, never really understood why all the Resistance people were calling themselves "Smit" and kept asking whether they were related to this or that Smit family he knew.

I picked up the book because it was recommended on the Ultimate Reading List in the "Inspirational Non-fiction" section. For "inspirational" read "religious" and almost always "Christian" and I indeed found it in the "Christian Inspiration" section. Some reviews complained about the religiosity, but it really didn't bother me--and I'm an atheist with little patience when I feel I'm being preached at. Perhaps it's just that I took this in stride as part and parcel of Miss Ten Boom. That faith was just as much as the foundation of her thinking and deeds as Hinduism was for Ghandi or Buddhism for the Dalai Llama. There's nothing smug or self-righteous in her tone. Nor did she come across as "goodie two shoes" to me--she sometimes understandably struggled with anger and fear. She's human--although in my book still a hero. I even saw one review that called her a "bigot." That couldn't be further from the truth. The Ten Booms saved many Jews, hiding them in their own home at great risk to themselves, tried to serve them kosher food when they could, celebrated the Sabbath with them and Jewish holidays. I saw no sign of bigotry towards those of other beliefs. Having a strong faith that a person takes seriously in deciding how to act does not make one a bigot. Anyone who mistakes that for bigotry has their own issues with anti-Christian bigotry in my opinion.

On the other hand, I do agree with one reviewer that I suspect that her Christian faith did "sugar coat" things more than a little and probably colored her recollection. I don't think Ten Boom ever consciously shaded the truth, but especially given this was recounted almost thirty years later when Ten Boom was in her seventies, I do wonder if time put a gloss on memories such as the vitamin drop "miracle." Anne Frank's account of hiding in an Amsterdam annex from the Nazis came directly from her diaries written very close to events. Viktor E. Frankl's story of his experiences in four Concentration Camps including Auschwitz, Man's Search for Meaning, was written by him in nine days within months of his liberation. Elie Wiesel's story of his time in Auschwitz, Night was written in his twenties within a decade after his experiences there. The Hiding Place doesn't have the freshness and intensity of those accounts. Also, though it tells an extraordinary story, it's not always extraordinarily well-written when I compare it to the other books mentioned above. I read Frankl's account just before this book, and read Wiesel's book for the second time less than two months ago. Those are powerful accounts that deserve the name literature. This doesn't, which is why I haven't rated it nearly as highly as those other two books. But it's still a often gripping, at times moving book. ...more

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May 22, 2013 Brooke rated it it was amazing

Shelves: book-group-recommends

Second time reading /listening to this fascinating and inspiring story. Of course we all love the story of how the fleas were a blessing, and how she had to turn the forgiving of the soldier over to Christ. I never realized the title referred not only to the place where they hid people, but to a verse in the bible as well. Psalms 32:7: You are my hiding place . . .

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