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Once We Were Brothers (2013)

by Ronald H. Balson(Favorite Author)

4.25 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1250046394 (ISBN13: 9781250046390)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

St. Martin's Griffin

review 1: "5-Star Thriller with History and Heart"At a fundraiser, Ben Solomon a holocaust survivor, walks up to Elliot Rosenzweig, a well-know Chicago businessman and philanthropist, and clocks him right in the jaw, all the while accusing Rosenzweig of being an ex S.S. Nazi Officer by the name of Otto Piatek. A shocked Rosenzweig, concerned for this man's sanity and his own reputation, rolls up his sleeve to reveal the tattooed identification numbers of the Auschwitz Death Camp. And so the tale begins between these two men. A legal thriller, Ben sets out to prove his accusations, while Elliot needs to prove Ben's lying.Much of the book is filled with Ben telling his story to Catherine Lockhart, a young busy lawyer. Ben wants to convince her to take his case of stolen property from ... moreall those years ago. Catherine, is skeptical that there is any tangible evidence after all this time, but after much persuasion she allows Ben to tell his story. Ben takes no short cuts, beginning with growing up in Zamosc, Poland explaining how his life entwines with Otto Piatek right through the war. But are Otto and Elliot one in the same?Being the daughter of 2 Holocaust survivors, I have listened to my share of Holocaust novels, in fact I've even written one, but Once We Were Brothers has to be one of the best books I've come across.Fred Berman did an incredible job narrating this book. His performance brought the characters to life. It's almost a week since I finished Once We Were Brothers and I can't stop thinking about it. It would be a shame to miss this one.
review 2: I'm really torn. I want to give it 3.5 stars, but that's obviously not an option. It's really better than 3 stars but really not quite 4. I found this book very engrossing. The story moves quickly and the narrator (I listened to the audiobook) really did an excellent job, especially given most of it was narrated in a Polish accent. However, I had a few issues with it. The characters would often talk about facts regarding the holocaust and the concentration camps in a way that felt more like information the writer wanted to tell his readers than something the characters would actually say. It was also distracting because anyone with a basic knowledge of World War II history or Jewish customs would already know all of it, so I found it unnecessary. It also made Catherine seem less intelligent because she didn't know basic things. There was a spiritual element that I found irritating. Getting visions from his dead wife? Is that really necessary? Can't he just be smart and figure it out on his own? Nothing he got in the visions was anything one couldn't guess from logical reasoning. I was especially irritated at the explanation for Nazi behavior: that they were possessed by the devil. I think that explanation is insulting to all the victims of the holocaust who suffered at human hands. To write it off as the work of the devil is cheapening the importance of what actually happened and, frankly, excuses Nazi behavior. I also found Catherine's reactions to Ben's story to be distracting and unbelievable. I get that she was engrossed in his story, just as the reader was. But to have a mental breakdown because of it? A bit too much, I think. I found myself rolling my eyes at her. I also found myself rolling my eyes at things Otto said, especially towards the end when he was being arrested, that were just too stereotypically evil. I don't think he'd be so dim witted as to ask his arresting officer if he was a Jew, for instance. While I generally really liked the book, these things built up enough to take me out of it at points. I really wanted to give it four stars, but I just don't think it earned it. less

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