Review of ANNA'S PROMISE by D.G Schulman

 ANNA'S PROMISE

by D.G Schulman

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GENRE:  Historical Fiction

 

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BLURB:

 

In the spring of 1975, Ben Friedman will celebrate his rite of passage into adulthood. When his beloved grandfather suddenly dies and leaves him a mysterious inheritance, Ben begins to discover who he is and where he belongs. When he chooses a path his powerful father opposes, their relationship becomes volatile. Will Ben withstand the pressure?

 

In 1914, Dovid Weisman, Ben's great-grandfather, struggles to protect his family when Germany declares war on Russia and the brutal Cossacks occupy his village of Siedlce, Poland. He finds that love and opportunity are still possible. If they can escape with their lives.

 

Slipping between war-torn Poland and modern American life, one family’s story is woven together across three generations.

 

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Excerpt:

 

“Rosen, get up!” A guard shook Ira roughly by the shoulder.

“What’s going on?” Ira squinted. It was still dark, and flashlight beams blinded him.

“There’s a medical emergency.” The guard pulled on Ira’s arm, and he rolled off the top bunk, staggering onto his feet.

“What the hell is this?” Ira backed away across the cold tile floor.

 

“There’s been an accident in the UNICOR factory. We need a doctor.”

 

“Get one of those Loretto fed doctors. I’m not supposed to be a doctor anymore.” Groggy, Ira turned to climb up to his bunk, but a guard pulled him back.

 

“There’s nobody else. The ambulance is twenty minutes out. There isn’t time to put on your shoes. We’re going to the satellite.”

 

Two guards spun Ira around and drove him through the barracks, down the corridors, and out into the raw night air. Large snowflakes blew against his face, and he fully awoke, shivering. He was alone in the yard with the guards, and adrenaline rushed into his system.

 

The satellite door was unlocked, like Sam said it would be, and they shoved him through. They led Ira down a long green corridor to a sterile room that looked like an infirmary, and a patient lay wheezing in a bed with rails. Ira became alert at the scent of fresh blood. A red stain spread across the white sheet over the patient’s chest. He lifted the sheet and layers of gauze and saw the chest puncture. It was a normal sight in the downtown Detroit ER where he’d done his training. Detroit Medical Center was one of the best places to learn trauma.

 

“Rosen, get up!” A guard shook Ira roughly by the shoulder.

 

“What’s going on?” Ira squinted. It was still dark, and flashlight beams blinded him.

 

“There’s a medical emergency.” The guard pulled on Ira’s arm, and he rolled off the top bunk, staggering onto his feet.

 

“What the hell is this?” Ira backed away across the cold tile floor.

 

“There’s been an accident in the UNICOR factory. We need a doctor.”

 

“Get one of those Loretto fed doctors. I’m not supposed to be a doctor anymore.” Groggy, Ira turned to climb up to his bunk, but a guard pulled him back.

 

“There’s nobody else. The ambulance is twenty minutes out. There isn’t time to put on your shoes. We’re going to the satellite.”

 

Two guards spun Ira around and drove him through the barracks, down the corridors, and out into the raw night air. Large snowflakes blew against his face, and he fully awoke, shivering. He was alone in the yard with the guards, and adrenaline rushed into his system.

 

The satellite door was unlocked, like Sam said it would be, and they shoved him through. They led Ira down a long green corridor to a sterile room that looked like an infirmary, and a patient lay wheezing in a bed with rails. Ira became alert at the scent of fresh blood. A red stain spread across the white sheet over the patient’s chest. He lifted the sheet and layers of gauze and saw the chest puncture. It was a normal sight in the downtown Detroit ER where he’d done his training. Detroit Medical Center was one of the best places to learn trauma.

 

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Review:

D.G. Schulman knows how to write an epic family drama. Anna’s Promise is filled with engaging characters and tricky situations. The history from the early twentieth-century and the 1970s is filled with time-and-culture-specific details, which make readers forget they’re in the present for a while.

 

Schulman’s characters feel so real. Their life choices and situations are difficult and thought-provoking. One could not help but to wonder what they would do under such demanding circumstances.

 

Readers are treated to a realistic approach to Jewish culture, and the family dynamics within the scenes are easy to imagine. The book gives the sense that one is watching a movie as the characters interact. 

 

Morality, family, life-choices, religion, history, and more are the themes that enrich this appealing story, written by a talented author. It is worth the read.

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

D.G Schulman is a publishing executive who married the boy next door and lives in the Midwest, where she and her husband raised their two daughters. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Michigan and her Master of Arts in Communication from Eastern Michigan University. She's the recipient of an Avery and Jule Hopwood award in the novel category and is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. When she's not in front of a keyboard, she enjoys making chocolate, growing herbs, cooking, reading, and playing with her growing brood of grandkids.

 

Website: http://www.dgschulman.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dvora.schulman

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/DGSchulmanAuthor/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/DGSchulman

 

Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Annas-Promise-D-G-Schulman/dp/1509247017

 

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION:

 

 

D.G. Schulman will award a randomly drawn winner a $40 Amazon/BN gift card.

 

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