Set during the dawn of World War II and the disruptive decade to follow, A Ritchie Boy features Eli Stoff, a young Jewish immigrant from Vienna who escapes to America with his parents just after Germany takes over Austria. Within five years, he joins the U.S. Army and, thanks to his understanding of the German language and culture, joins thousands of others like him who become known as Ritchie boys, young men who work undercover in Intelligence on the European front to help the Allies win the war.
The narrative is written as a series of interrelated stories, each told by different characters, that follow Eli from Vienna to New York, from Ohio to Maryland, and then to war-torn Europe before he returns to the heartland of his new country to set down his roots. These stories unfold the circumstances and people that help shape Eli’s journey from Europe to America, and from boyhood to manhood.
Fiction
A Ritchie Boy: A Novel
- From the Publisher
September 1, 2019
Discussion Questions
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