A Ritchie Boy

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“Linda Kass’s eagerly anticipated second novel, A Ritchie Boy, is an engrossing, deeply moving story of the immigrant journey, a profound and timely reminder of how refugees have woven their strengths, talents, successes, and sacrifices into the fabric of America.” — Jennifer Chiaverini, New York Times bestselling author of Resistance Women

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An extraordinary narrative inspired by true events. 

 

1938. Eli Stoff and his parents, Austrian Jews, escape to America just after the Nazis take over their homeland. Within five years, Eli enlists in 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 World War II. In A Ritchie Boy, different characters tell interrelated stories that, together, form a cohesive narrative about the circumstances and people Eli encounters 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. 

 

Set during the dawn of World War II and the disruptive decade to follow, A Ritchie Boy is the poignant, compelling tale of one young immigrant’s triumph over adversity as he journeys from Europe to America, and from boyhood to manhood. 

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