The Hiding Room
Select Format
Select Condition 
Book Overview
Part political thriller, part poignant love story, The Hiding Room recounts the passionate, tortured affair between Esta Weiss, a Jewish refugee living in Cairo, and Archie Rawlins, a British intelligence officer. But Esta has secrets darker than anything Archie could have imagined--secrets that only come to light fifty years later when Esta's son goes to Jerusalem to bury a mother he barely knew.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0140238263
ISBN13:9780140238266
Release Date:June 1997
Publisher:Penguin Books
Length:272 Pages
Weight:0.45 lbs.
Dimensions:5.0" x 1.0" x 7.0"
Customer Reviews
1 rating
Realistic Characters
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 23 years ago
I read this book when it first came out because it was written by the head of the Tufts English department. I reread it this semester in my Modern Jewish Authors class (taught by a visiting professor from BU). In class, I was struck by how many of us were viscerally affected by the characters in this book. Practically no one was a "nice" character, someone we could admire and trust, etc. But each character was very important to us. The people in this book were vividly described, animated by their actions. They were REAL. None of them were pretty, but they all had a profound effect on us. The narrator, Daniel Weiss, is exploring his parents' lives after the death of his mother, Esta. He never knew his father, and is curious as to what happened. Each truth as it is reveals both shocks and frightens the reader. Esta, a refugee fleeing from Hitler's camps, met Archie Rawlins and tried to relate the Jews' experiences to British intelligence. Authorities were determined to silence her, and anyone who believed her story. What started out as a relatively simple communication between two humans became a tempestuous affair, and no one emerged unscathed.
Copyright © 2025 Thriftbooks.com
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information | Cookie Policy | Cookie Preferences | Accessibility Statement
ThriftBooks ® and the ThriftBooks ® logo are registered trademarks of Thrift Books Global, LLC
ThriftBooks ® and the ThriftBooks ® logo are registered trademarks of Thrift Books Global, LLC
