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9781958728413

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""Rieger takes us on a harrowing journey through Holocaust hell but leaves us with a grace note of hope and peace. A moving tale of spiritual power."" -- William Loving, author of Blue Earth River ""Shakespearean in scope, Rieger has crafted a riveting tale of the power of words against evil. Otto Beck, a German Catholic pacifist convicted of treason and sent to a concentration camp for Jews in Alsace, has a plan to save fellow prisoners. They doubt his every word-indeed truth is murky throughout-but rather than fight each for himself, they agree to band together. Cleverly wrought, Beck's strategy and his understanding of the human condition had me alternatively laughing and trembling. Can pacifism ever be as powerful as the barrel of a gun? This is a gift for those searching for ways to respond in troubled times."" -- Patricia Meisol, journalist, biographer and author of A Heart Afire: Helen Brooke Taussig's Battle Against Heart Defects, Unsafe Drugs, and Injustice in Medicine. ""J. Paul Rieger's A Most Unlikely Man is a gripping historical novella centered on Isadore Levinsky, a Jewish school principal imprisoned in Nazi-occupied France during the Holocaust. The story unfolds...[as] his grandson Nathan...hears the harrowing tale during a final Passover visit. Levinsky, along with a small group of prisoners-including the enigmatic Otto Beck-endures brutal conditions in a nearly abandoned concentration camp. As Beck fosters a sense of purpose and solidarity among the prisoners, the book becomes less about surviving and more about reclaiming identity, dignity, and hope in the face of monstrous dehumanization. Through dialogue, memory, and understated heroism, Rieger captures the flickering resilience of the human spirit. ...The writing is spare and honest, almost conversational, which makes the horrors it describes feel even more real. It's not poetic in the usual sense, but it carries a quiet lyricism that sneaks up on you. I found myself drawn to Beck's character-mysterious, gentle, and quietly rebellious. He's not a hero in the traditional sense. He's not a soldier. He's not strong or loud. But he holds the others together with a kind of moral gravity. The way Rieger writes him makes you believe that kindness can be revolutionary. There were moments when the prose leaned on dialogue. A lot happens in conversation-philosophy, ideology, emotion, even action-and I sometimes longed for more description, more physical texture to the world. That said, I understand why Rieger chose this route. In a place where freedom is stripped away, voice becomes everything. The discussions between prisoners-about God, death, family, and fate-are the beating heart of the story. And while Levinsky's cynicism serves as a counterweight to Beck's hope, it's that tension between belief and despair that makes the story so relatable. This book doesn't pretend to offer neat answers. It honors pain, confusion, even bitterness, and still makes room for possibility. ...deeply personal Holocaust literature, [a] character-driven story...that sit[s] quietly with your conscience long after you finish..."" --Thomas Anderson, Editor in Chief, Literary Titan

Author Information

J. Paul (J.P.) Rieger is a mostly retired Maryland attorney and author of four novels, The Case Files of Roderick Misely, Consultant, a mystery featuring a wannabe lawyer first published in April, 2013; Clonk!, a police farce set in Baltimore and published in May, 2023 by Apprentice House Press (Loyola University, Maryland); The Big Comb Over, a slipstream comedy of manners published in May, 2024; and Sunscreen Shower, a Clonk! sequel, published in October, 2024 by Flock Publishing. Paul and his spouse live in Towson, Maryland. His website is jpaulrieger.net A professional designer of book covers

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