Eli's Promise- somewhat suspenseful historical fiction across 3 eras

Eli's Promise
by Ronald H. Balson
3/5 stars 
⭐⭐⭐


Eli’s Promise is a historical fiction tale jumping through three eras; Nazi-occupied Poland, the American Zone of post-war Germany, and Chicago at the height of the Vietnam War. The author explores the human cost of war, the mixed blessings of survival, and the strength of love. Even though the book is named Eli's Promise, it actually revolves more around Max, a "fixer" in a Polish town during World War II, his betrayal of Eli's family, and Eli's ultimate search for justice 25 years later.

I'm never the biggest fan of stories that jump back and forth, however, this book did a good job of titling each chapter so that the reader knows where and when they are. This is key to making a book like this a success. Being from Chicago, I particularly enjoyed the more modern parts of the story, which are set in Albany Park, and at one point they even reference having a deli tray from Kaufman's, one of my favorite haunts in Skokie. There is also a great description of making and eating babka (coffeecake) which really resonated for me as well. That detail aside, I did find the modern part of the story the most compelling, because, well we all know what happens to the Jews in Nazi times, and it isn't anything good. This part of the story I didn't know what was going to happen, so it was like reading a thriller, and it kept me in suspense. Although I was a bit disappointed with the ultimate resolution between the two protagonists. (no spoilers)

The post-war part of the story was also interesting because I wasn't aware that victims of atrocities continued to live in DP camps for SOOOO long after the war ended and that the US had such a strict quota on the immigration of Jews after the war. So it was good to be educated on that.

I didn't like the Nazi era storyline as much, it just felt so frantic to me. I know it was a frantic time, but I've read a lot of Jewish literature, and this part of the story just wasn't as satisfying, it just felt like the characters were running back and forth saying oh me, oh my...
The author does a great job of conveying the uncertainty of the time, and how there are always people trying to go around the system, as well as balancing out how hopeless things can be with how some people continue to hold on to hope.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a free ARC of this book. My opinions are my own.