Reviews

Once We Were Brothers by Ronald H. Balson

emily2003's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

shailydc's review against another edition

4.0

Goodreads First Reads

I thought this was a great novel centered around the life of Holocaust survivor Ben Solomon. It was nice to have a modern aspect to the story rather than just the historical account. The judicial aspects were clear and well-explained but not too preachy.

Ben's story started to drag a bit and was slightly drawn out. However once I reached part three, I could barely put it down and needed to know what would happen. I thought it was fairly obvious how the book would end as soon as

Spoiler

Elliot said his wife's name was Elisabeth. I immediately knew Elzbieta was Elisabeth and would be the key to Ben's lawsuit

.

I can't speak to the historical accuracy of the Holocaust descriptions like some of the other raters but I would like to believe the author did his due diligence and researched his story. Also, some people have commented that it's ridiculous Catherine had to ask Ben to describe a ghetto. While we learn about the Holocaust in school, I don't think it's so out of the ordinary to ask about specific details when hearing someone's survival story, lawyer or not. Just because you have a degree in law doesn't mean you're an expert on the Holocaust.

bryant_encarnado's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

skynet666's review against another edition

4.0

Loved this story. In my opinion, this is more about the story and the characters rather than learning about the time period or place.

missbeckyy's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

deschatjes's review against another edition

3.0

An old man confronts the past and the man his family treated as one of them only to be betrayed when it counted.

keelser_33's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

kmthomas06's review against another edition

4.0

It has been a long time since I read a book about the Holocaust and I appreciated the very different tone to this one. Told in flashbacks by a man trying to convince a lawyer to take his case and the modern day struggle to prove a Nazi criminal has been hiding as a prominent citizen, masquerading as a Holocaust survivor himself, in Chicago, the book takes a very factual tone, since the flashbacks are primarily to give the lawyer the proof she needs to take the case to trial. At times, that made it a little dry but the love story at the heart of all the tragedy kept the story from becoming too bogged down. And, impressively, the story ends on a happy note. Justice is served which is all one can ask for a story like that and very satisfactorily so.

sassyredca's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

oliviagracepautot's review against another edition

5.0

I will never be the same after reading this. I immediately wanted to open it back to page 1 and start all over.