Elis Promise, Ronald H. Balson
Elis Promise, Ronald H. Balson
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Eli's Promise
A Novel

Author: Ronald H. Balson

Narrator: Fred Berman

Unabridged: 11 hr 45 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/22/2020


Synopsis

"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.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press

About Ronald H. Balson

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 The Righteous, An Affair of Spies, 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.

About Fred Berman

Fred Berman is a five-time winner of the AudioFile Earphone Award for Audiobook Narration and the recipient of the 2013 Audie Award for narration in Spy the Lie. He has read a number of audiobooks for young listeners, including Judy Blume’s Soupy Saturdays with The Pain & The Great One and Andrew Clements’s The Last Holiday Concert. He has also narrated the audiobooks for Robert Kirkman’s popular series, The Walking Dead.Berman is an accomplished actor of both the stage and screen as well, performing on Broadway as Timon in The Lion King and off-Broadway in Hamlet, Twelfth Night, and King Lear. On television, Berman has had roles on NBC’s hit series Smash as well as All My Children and Law and Order. He lives in New York City.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Sonja Rosa Lisa ♡ on May 25, 2023

Die Geschichte spielt auf drei verschiedenen Zeitebenen. Einmal begleiten wir Eli und seine Frau Esther im Jahr 1941. Das Leben wird immer unerträglicher für die beiden und ihren kleinen Sohn, denn sie sind Juden. Dann sind wir im Jahr 1946/1947. Eli und sein Sohn haben überlebt, wurden aber von Est......more

Goodreads review by Karren on September 21, 2020

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Ronald H. Balson for my copy of Eli’s Promise. Eli’s Promise by Ronald H. Balson is his latest historical fiction masterpiece it spans three eras and included are: Poland during WW II, post war Germany and living in American displaced persons camp, and cor......more

Goodreads review by Pam on January 14, 2021

I love everything Ron writes, and his latest, Eli's Promise is his best yet. This is the story of one man's struggle, from trying to protect his family in Nazi occupied Poland to searching for his wife in postwar Germany and finally trying to find answers in Chicago at the height of the Vietnam War......more

Goodreads review by Chelsey (a_novel_idea11) on September 22, 2020

Eli Rosen owns a brickyard and construction company in Poland with his father. Down on his luck, the Rosens hire Maximilian Polenski to help with sales and the business in an effort to help him land on his feet. As Germany starts invading Europe, Eli is in denial that Poland will be impacted. His wi......more

Goodreads review by Kathy on March 09, 2020

This is the first book I have read by this author. I was granted a copy to read through Net Galley. I have been reading it over time because I was not swept up by the story due to characterizations vs truly horrendous events and the telling of them. What I liked: The descriptive text of what Polish J......more