Book Club Book Review

I have had many church callings in my life mainly Enrichment callings and Young Women’s Presidencies but none ever like this one. I was called to the Enrichment committee.. SHOCKER for the 4Th time. But it is okay because it is right up my alley. Well when sitting around delegating who would do what the topic came up that we needed to have a book club.. YIKES! I love to read (when I have time) but the problem is I NEVER have time. But I decided this would be a stretch for me and I accepted the calling to organize and carry out a book club. Now in between Work, Home, 4 kids, a dog, husband, etc etc.. I wondered how this would work. But I set it in motion and last night was our first book club meeting.

I chose the book “The Hiding Place” by Corrie Ten Boom.

This book has been around for many years so if you have not had a chance to read it, I highly recommend it.

Holland is under Nazi control…

Thousands of Jewish refugees…

One extraordinary family.

The book is about an old widowed watchmaker that lives in Holland with his two mid aged unmarried daughters, Corrie and Betsie. They live a simple and ordinary life yet the three of them risk their own lives by becoming the center of a major underground operation: To hide Jewish refugees from the occupying Germans. This kind, law abiding family including their married sister Nollie and married brother William broke every rule in the book to save the lives of the men, women and children being hunted by the Nazis. Their home became a hiding place for the refugees, but the cost of their bravery was betrayed and in the dreaded Ravensbruck concentration camp, they had to create other hiding places for those around them.

There are some difficult situations in the book that I think are not favorable for the younger children. So I would make sure that the reader is mature enough and understands the concept of the Holocaust.
I have read books on the holocaust, and this is one of my favorites. I cried, not only for the suffering Corrie endured, but mostly for the way in which she and her sister Betsie faced their suffering with such faith. For how they looked for opportunities to be selfless in a concentration camp, and how the women there were changed just by their example. I felt saddened at my own failure in faith. It made me re examine everything I take for granted daily, and to thank my father in heaven even for the fleas!

What makes this particular book different from other stories about the Holocaust is that it is from the perspective of a Christian woman who was held prisoner in concentration camps. While it’s extremely important for us not to forget that one group of people was specifically targeted (Jews) it’s also important for us to realize that this horrible thing went beyond that. It didn’t just affect them but it affected everyone.

From the book:
Corrie ten Boom stood naked with her older sister Betsie, watching a concentration camp matron beating a prisoner. “Oh, the poor woman,” Corrie cried. “Yes. May God forgive her,” Betsie replied. And, once again Corrie realized that it was for the souls of the brutal Nazi guards that her sister prayed.

I give this book 5 stars!!

Anyone have any great recommendations for next month’s book?