The Hiding Place

The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom, Elizabeth Sherrill and John Sherrill

A Dutch family lived in Haarlem shortly before World War II. The father was a clockmaker and stressed service and work in the community. There were conflicts breaking out in Europe. However, it seemed that the Netherlands would remain neutral as before. The family occasionally saw Jews in need and had helped them out. After the Dutch army capitulated, the Netherlands came under Nazi occupation. The family helped out more Jews. They became involved in the Dutch underground. At one time a sympathizer proposed they kill a Dutch informer. They would not go that far. They were eventually caught and brought to a concentration camp. The author's sister was also keeping her faith and looking positive. She was even grateful for the fleas they had. (It would later turn out that the guards had let them meet in peace because they didn't want to go to the flea-infested room.) They would maintain their faith in the camps until they were freed. The later half of the book emphasizes Christian thought and maintaining love and faith even under difficult circumstances.

Captains Courageous

Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling

The narration of this audiobook left a lot to be desired. There were some kids that were out on a see somewhere on the east coast of the US. The kids come from a moneyed background. There are trains and other "modernish" technologies. Things happened, but I had trouble having any interest in what they were.

The Longest Journey

The Longest Journey by E.M. Forster

As I was reading this book, it seemed to be focussing on a starving artist who was having trouble getting his work noticed. There was plenty of commentary on boarding schools vs. day schools and the evolution of schools for the poor to be ones catering to the wealthy. There were also people reaching untimely deaths. Then I read the summary on wikipedia and realized there must have been a lot that I missed. Some of can be subtle. I reread a part where the main character dies trying to save someone from getting run over by the train. These type of "key" life points pass by quickly without much foreshadowing or follow up. It is easy to miss the plot as the book focuses more on character development.

Middlemarch

Middlemarch is the name of a fictional English town. Things happened there. Railroads were still a new fangled thing. Dorothea did things. The book is long, but not my cup of tea.

A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous Fourteenth Century

The 14th century is probably best known for the plague of the "black death" that swept over Europe. Huge numbers of people died. The middle ages were winding down and the Renaissance was still a little way off. Written records from the time period were fairly sparse. This makes the task of creating a comprehensive history challenging. A Distant Mirror was not quite up to the task. It feels like a long amalgamation of facts without a very concrete story. There was a lot of stuff that happened. There were leaders that did things. Death, debauchery and other things happened. Every now and then there would be an interesting section. Even the narration of the audiobook was hard to understand. For a history of the 14th century, we are best waiting until somebody creates a more concise work.