Dear Commons Community,
I have just finished reading a second novel by Ronald H. Balson entitled, Once We Were Brothers, written in 2010, and republished in 2023. It is a gripping story of two boys, who once were as close as brothers, on opposite sides of the Holocaust. The story is in three parts: Part I takes place in Chicago in the early 2000s, and establishes the plot of an older Jewish survivor (Ben Solomon) who claims that a respected civic leader, businessman, and philanthropist (Elliot Rozenzweig) was a Nazi who was responsible for atrocities in Poland. Part II is a recollection of events in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Part III summarizes judicial proceedings leading up to a civil trial. At 390 pages, it is a bit hefty but Balson presents such a riveting tale that you will not want to put it down, I read it in six days.
In sum, I highly recommend Once We Were Brothers.
Below is a brief review and summary that appeared in Princeton Book Review.
Tony
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Princeton Book Review
Once We Were Brothers
By Ronald H. Balson
PBR Book Review:
This story moves back and forth between Nazi occupied Poland and present day and is one that will captive and hold your attention right from the start. The present day portion of this story is a legal thriller bringing to light the importance of justice, regardless of how long it takes. The courtroom drama is terrific and realistic as it should be considering the author is an attorney. The historical fiction portion of this book is heart wrenching and shows what it was like growing up in Poland and surviving the Holocaust. The book tells the story from the perspective of Ben Solomon, a holocaust survivor who accuses a prominent Chicago philanthropist of not just being a former Nazi but the same boy taken in by his parents and raised as his brother. The author keeps the suspense high and the reader guessing right to the end. Is Eliot a former Nazi or is this a case of mistaken identity.
| Book Summary |
| Berwick Court Publishing – February 15, 2010 � 384 pages �ISBN: 0615351919 Elliot Rosenzweig, a respected civic leader and wealthy philanthropist, is attending a fundraiser when he is suddenly accosted and accused of being a former Nazi SS officer named Otto Piatek. Although the charges are denounced as preposterous, his accuser, Ben Solomon, is convinced he is right. Solomon urges attorney Catherine Lockhart to take his case, revealing that Otto Piatek was abandoned as a child and raised by Solomon’s family only to betray them during the Nazi occupation. But has he accused the right man?Once We Were Brothers is the compelling tale of two boys and a family that struggles to survive in war-torn Poland. It is also the story of a young lawyer who must face not only a powerful adversary, but her own self-doubts. Two lives, two worlds and sixty years all on course to collide in a fast-paced legal thriller. The author, Ronald H. Balson, is a Chicago trial attorney and educator. His practice has taken him to international venues, including small villages in Poland, which have inspired this novel. |
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