Q&A with J.P. Rieger

 

 

 

J.P. Rieger is the author of the new novella A Most Unlikely Man: A Tale of Resistance. His other books include the novel Sunscreen Shower. Also an attorney, he lives in Maryland. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write A Most Unlikely Man?

 

A: I was saddened by the results of the 2024 election and its ramifications for our country. Listening to the debates and hearing the intense negativity and hatred directed towards immigrants and others whose worldview did not line up with Trump’s and Vance’s made me feel that our country had lost its way.

 

I couldn’t help but sense the shadow of 1930s Nazi Germany encroaching over our country. The parallels are there.

 

I began to think of the Holocaust, the concentration camps and the hopelessness and suffering of the Jewish people sent there. I decided to write something uplifting, something about prisoners who, with just a little encouragement from a fellow prisoner, grasp at whatever strands of hope they can, to pull together against their Nazi captors.

 

And I think that’s what we need today. To hope and to not despair. To work together. To continue to treat each other as we would treat ourselves. To not give in to hatred and negativity.

  

Q: How did you research the book, and what did you learn that especially surprised you?

 

A: I did online research and began with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. I soon found other helpful sites like the Holocaust Encyclopedia and the U.S. National Archives. There are thousands of incredibly helpful sites that speak to every aspect of the Holocaust.

 

I was surprised to learn that many Jewish men served in the German military until the mid-1930s when laws were enacted to exclude them. Also surprising were the very few instances where Hitler declared certain key Nazi officers with Jewish heritage “Honorary Aryans,” so that they could continue to serve.

 

Q: The author Charles Rammelkamp said of the book, “Updating the traditional story of liberation told on Passover, and propelled by riveting dialogue, this story of surviving in the midst of barbaric cruelty is timely as our government ramps up its own program of savage deportations and inhumanity.” What do you think of that assessment?

 

A: I fully concur with Charles’s assessment. A Most Unlikely Man: A Tale of Resistance is a story of liberation, a story of a group of brave men who journey from the depths of despair to freedom.

 

And I truly hope it’s a timely story. It’s a story meant to spread hope, to champion persistence, to encourage resistance against hatred. It’s a philosophical story, but an adventure story as well.

 

Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?  

 

A: Prisoner Isadore Levinsky, a pragmatist and cynic, continually butts heads with fellow prisoner Otto Beck. Beck, a gentile, is a mysterious, charismatic pacifist somehow thrown into the otherwise fully Jewish camp.

 

Beck has not given up hope. He rallies the men to work together, to learn about each other and to reclaim their dignity and humanity.  He announces that he has a plan for their liberation, which, he claims, cannot be elaborated upon at that time.

 

Levinsky rails against Beck’s undefined plan, as well as Beck’s other hope-inducing notions, as being “unlikely. Most Unlikely.” So, in one sense, Levinsky is the “most unlikely” man.

 

But so is Beck. Beck seems to appear out of nowhere. His background as a pacifist, hounded out of his government position by the Nazis, his willingness to confront and take the beatings given out by his Nazi captors, make him “most unlikely” among men.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’ve nearly completed my third Detective Kev Dixit novel. Dixit is a Baltimore police detective who, with the help of his police partners and oddball high school friends, constantly overcomes obstacles and bosses to solve crimes and bring the guilty to justice. This one is just as wacky as the first two in the series, Clonk! and Sunscreen Shower.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Two important things! I want to thank my publisher, Blue Cedar Press, for believing in the story. Blue Cedar is a small, indie publisher located in Kansas. They’ve been wonderful to work with and their bookshelf is quite amazing.  And, I want to thank you, Deborah, for letting me visit with you on your book blog, the best on the web!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with J.P. Rieger.