Review: Once We Were Brothers
Posted by Cathie on Thursday, August 8, 2013. Filed under: fiction, historical fiction, published in 2010, review, reviewed in 2013, ww2 history
Once We Were Brothers by Ronald H. Balson
Published by: Berwick Court Publishing Co.
Our source: Our local library
What it’s about (from Goodreads):
From Nazi-occupied Poland to a Chicago
courtroom, 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?
Our thoughts:
I find reading almost anything about World War II very hard to do. Not only because I am of German heritage, but because of the atrocities that took place during the Nazi occupation. Man's inhumanity to Man is one of the harshest issues to grasp, and even worse when it involves one family member against another.
That is exactly what happens in Once We Were Brothers. Ben Solomon is certain that a politician by the name of Elliot Rosenzweig is really a Nazi SS officer named Otto Piatek. Ben is an elderly gentleman who has recently lost his wife and it is questionable throughout the book as to whether Ben's story is credible or if he is just imagining things in his old age.
The story is told from the perspective of Ben explaining to his attorney, Catherine Lockhart, why he is positive that this person really is his "brother" Otto Piatek. Most of the story is focused around Ben telling his story and then the last few chapters deal with seeing if they can find enough evidence to present their case. While the idea of the story is good and it did invoke some very strong feelings in me, I felt that it dragged on too long and I was almost relieved to have it finally end.
We would recommend this to:
WWII enthusiests, fans of historical fiction
August 19, 2013 at 4:50 PM
I had trouble with this book, too. And with all things that deal with the atrocities of Germany... For the same reasons you do! Nice to hear this issue articulated by someone other than me.