I saw this book, Eli’s Promise, was a new selection from my online library. I immediately put it on my hold list as I have read many books by the same author, Ronald H. Balson. He writes a series about Liam Taggart and Catherine Lockhart. I’ve loved the series but this book was not part of the series so it made me curious. Did I like the author’s books I’ve listen to because I like the two characters from the series or did I like the books because the author was just plain good?
So did I like this book? YES. Every time I read a book from the Holocaust, I an always still so amazed with what the people could endure and the way that experience shaped their lives.
A good portion of this book tells about the immediate after years following liberation. That was interesting for me to read as so many books focus on the during and not the after. If you would like to try a book from this time period, this one might be a good one.
Here is what Amazon had to say:
“Eli’s Promise is a masterful work of historical fiction spanning three eras―Nazi-occupied Poland, the American Zone of post-war Germany, and Chicago at the height of the Vietnam War. Award-winning author Ronald H. Balson explores the human cost of war, the mixed blessings of survival, and the enduring strength of family bonds.
1939: Eli Rosen lives with his wife Esther and their young son in the Polish town of Lublin, where his family owns a construction company. As a consequence of the Nazi occupation, Eli’s company is Aryanized, appropriated and transferred to Maximilian Poleski―an unprincipled profiteer who peddles favors to Lublin’s subjugated residents. An uneasy alliance is formed; Poleski will keep the Rosen family safe if Eli will manage the business. Will Poleski honor his promise or will their relationship end in betrayal and tragedy?
1946: Eli resides with his son in a displaced persons camp in Allied-occupied Germany hoping for a visa to America. His wife has been missing since the war. One man is sneaking around the camps selling illegal visas; might he know what has happened to her?
1965: Eli rents a room in Albany Park, Chicago. He is on a mission. With patience, cunning, and relentless focus, he navigates unfamiliar streets and dangerous political backrooms, searching for the truth. Powerful and emotional, Ronald H. Balson’s Eli’s Promise is a rich, rewarding novel of World War II and a husband’s quest for justice.”
Amazon readers gave the book 4.4 stars. I’d say that I would give it 4.3 stars. I liked the book but I think I like the authors books that feature Liam Taggart and Catherine Lockhart just a little bit better. Those books keep my interest a little better as the story jumps from present day to past. All in all it was a good book though.
You can find the book HERE.