Sunday, November 10, 2013

Once We Were Brothers by Ronald H. Balson

 
“We must never allow the world to forget." Page 179

That quote says it all, and Ben Solomon vowed to follow through on this edict, and he definitely was following through.

ONCE WE WERE BROTHERS is a powerful, well-researched first novel that will have you glued to the pages as Ben tells his story of hatred, horror, and the annihilation of his and other Jewish families during WWII.

Telling the story of the horrors of the Nazi occupation of Poland was stressful for the 83-year-old main character, Ben, but he had to tell it all, and Catherine, his attorney, wanted to be the one to help arrest Elliott/Otto.

Ben knew he knew Elliott Rosenzweig was not really Elliott Rosenzweig, but Otto Piatek, his brother turned Nazi during the war, and the person who was not accused of his horrific war crimes but living in the United States as a billionaire philanthropist.

ONCE WE WERE BROTHERS moves from present day to WWII in Poland as Ben Solomon tells how his family had to live and survive under Nazi occupation as a Jewish family.

ONCE WE WERE BROTHERS tells how Otto, a German boy, was left with the Solomon family, a Jewish family, because his mother couldn't take care of him.  Otto became part of the Jewish home and loved the Solomons like his own family until his mother showed up and insisted he join the Germans.

Mr. Balson did a fantastic job researching for his first book and detailing every scene.  ONCE WE WERE BROTHERS is a beautiful way to tell a horrible historical story.

You will feel as though you are inside the pages of the book and connecting with the characters both present and past. This book was amazing.

I am always in awe of the strength of the Europeans during this time period.  How did they survive and deal with all that was going on especially the Jewish population?

This compelling WWII book is one you will want to read.  It is perfectly relayed, phenomenal, and a part of history that again reveals what WWII was about.  I finished this book in ONE day, and that is unusual for me.

Don't miss reading ONCE WE WERE BROTHERS.  I definitely needed tissues a number of times and especially at the end and definitely when they told of the freeing of Buchenwald because my father was one of the Americans that freed this concentration camp. 

This book is given an unequivocal 5/5.

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

 

23 comments:

  1. A heartwrenching, but beautifully told story.

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  2. Oh wow...this sounds incredible...Thanks for a very moving review :)

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  3. It was amazing and a tear jerker.

    I hope you get to read it if you like historical fiction.

    THANKS for stopping, Peppermint Ph.D.

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  4. Excellent review, Elizabeth. This sounds like a riveting read.

    Thanks for stopping by my blog.

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  5. It was an excellent read, Catherine.

    THANKS for stopping by.

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  6. Wow, sounds powerful... and important too, that we all remember what happened and how horrific it was. Thanks for a nice review.

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  7. Glad to see you rated this one so highly. It sounds fantastic.

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  8. This sound like a gripping story. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I enjoyed reading your review.

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  9. Greg..thanks for stopping by.

    Thanks for liking my review.

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  10. It was very good, Anna.

    A little love story was thrown in too. For some reason I totally forgot to mention that.

    THANKS for stopping.

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  11. THANKS, Pat. Glad you liked my review. I appreciate your comment.

    THANKS for stopping.

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  12. sounds really good, but I have a read a lot of novels around that topic recently, so I need a breather, maybe next year

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  13. I hear you, wordsandpeace. :)

    It is interesting, but a break is necessary.

    THANKS for stopping back.

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  14. Hi Elizabeth,

    Thanks for an open and personal review of this book, you don't hide the emotions you experienced whilst reading it, which is so refreshing.

    This period in history, is one which I am not likely to ever forget, having studied it extensively during my school years, so I shall probably pass on the book.

    However books such as this, no matter which conflict and era they cover, always serve to illustrate and remind us of the devastation conflict can cause within families, often turning brother against brother; father against son.

    And yet we never learn!

    An excellent post, thanks for sharing your views,

    Yvonne

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  15. t was very well written and good even though the era was not a pleasant one.

    THANKS for stopping by, Yvonne, and for the compliments on my review.

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  16. Ok, that's it! I am SO buying this book! You are the second trusted reviewer of mine that I have seen post great reviews of this book. SOLD!
    Ashley (Closed the Cover)

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  17. GREAT, Ashley. :) I love your enthusiasm...it is showing right through the computer. :) You will LOVE it.

    I am so flattered that you call me a trusted reviewer. THANK YOU so much for the compliment.

    And...thanks so much for stopping by.

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  18. wow - this sounds amazing! This book was new to me so thanks for introducing it and putting it on my radar!

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  19. Booksync/Colleen....it was excellent.

    THANKS for stopping by.

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  20. This book is the January selection for my book club, and I'm trying to decide if I should read it. Everyone recommends it, but I don't like tear-jerkers. We'll see.

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  21. PattisPages....it is VERY good.

    I hope you give it a try.

    THANKS for stopping.

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  22. Hi, Elizabeth. I did read this book, but it just didn't move me until the last couple of pages. I'm glad it wasn't a supersoaker of a tearjerker. I'll probably post it to my blog in a week or so.

    I have the new Elizabeth Gilbert book on my list, too. I look forward to seeing your review.

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  23. THANKS for stopping, PattisPages.

    Oh...I really liked Once We Were Brothers. Glad to hear the ending was good for you.

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