Eli's Promise: A Novel

Eli's Promise: A Novel

by Ronald H. Balson
Eli's Promise: A Novel

Eli's Promise: A Novel

by Ronald H. Balson

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Overview

"National Jewish Book Award winner Ron Balson returns triumphantly with Eli’s Promise, a captivating saga of the Holocaust and its aftermath spanning decades and continents. Readers will not be able to put this book down, but will turn the pages compulsively with heart in throat, eager to learn the fate of the Rosen family. Balson’s meticulous historical detail, vivid prose and unforgettable characters further solidify his place among the most esteemed writers of historical fiction today."
Pam Jenoff, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Lost Girls of Paris

A "fixer" in a Polish town during World War II, his betrayal of a Jewish family, and a search for justice 25 years later—by the winner of the National Jewish Book Award.


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.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781250271471
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date: 09/22/2020
Sold by: Macmillan
Format: eBook
Pages: 352
Sales rank: 211,738
File size: 3 MB

About the Author

RONALD H. BALSON is an attorney, professor, and writer. His novel The Girl From Berlin won the National Jewish Book Award and was the Illinois Reading Council's adult fiction selection for the Illinois Reads program. He is also the author of Karolina's Twins, The Trust, Saving Sophie, and the international bestseller, Once We Were Brothers. He lives in Chicago.
RONALD H. BALSON is an attorney, professor, and writer. His novel The Girl From Berlin won the National Jewish Book Award and was the Illinois Reading Council's adult fiction selection for their Illinois Reads program. He is also the author of Defending Britta Stein, Eli’s Promise, Karolina's Twins, The Trust, Saving Sophie, and the international bestseller Once We Were Brothers. He has appeared on many television and radio programs and has lectured nationally and internationally on his writing. He lives in Chicago.

Reading Group Guide

1. Although it is easy to condemn one’s actions when we have the benefit of hindsight, are you critical of Eli’s decision to keep his family in Lublin when Esther urged them to leave? Are you critical of any of his other decisions?

2. How was it possible for a scurrilous profiteer like Maximilian to gain the trust and dependency of his community, and especially that of a man like Eli Rosen?

3. Was there one particular character with whom you felt a kinship? Why?

4. The Allies established camps for displaced persons in postwar Germany, and assumed responsibility for their residents. How did the Allies succeed in this, and how did they fail?

5. President Eisenhower observed that “We annually spend on military security more than the net income of all United States corporations.” Then, he famously quoted, “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex.” In your judgment, did that expression and the influence of military contractors warrant closer observation in the 1960’s? Does it today?

6. Sometimes we don’t know how much courage we possess until we are called upon. Which characters displayed surprising courage and in what way? Which characters disappointed you?

7. Conflicting emotions beset the characters throughout the story. Discuss how Eli and Izaak handled their relationship with Adinah.

8. Water seeks its own level. In every era, Maximillian was able to forge alliances with equally despicable but powerful characters. Discuss those relationships and whether they profited him in the end. Was justice served where he was concerned?

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