The Pessimist’s Son: A Holocaust Memoir of Hope
Cherry Orchard Books, May 2025

Drawing on his late father’s own writings, both parents’ Shoah Foundation testimonies, as well as his own research, Martin Kimel tells a story not only of Holocaust survival but also of the seldom-told struggles of the few Jews who remained in postwar communist Poland. The Pessimist’s Son tells the first-person story of Kimel’s father, Alexander, following him from a shtetl in the Polish Ukraine to a Nazi ghetto to liberation. It is also the harrowing story of Alexander’s future wife, Eva—Martin Kimel’s mother—whose father is murdered by the Nazis.

A “dialogue across generations,” the book tells the story of the many challenges faced and the life built together after quitting Poland for Israel in 1956 and ultimately emigrating to America. By including the stories of other family members, the book also provides a panoramic view of Polish Jewry before, during, and after the war.

Praise: “Beautifully written and deeply researched, The Pessimist’s Son is a riveting testament to the ingenuity and resilience of the human spirit when faced with impossible circumstances. Everyone should read it.” —Scott Lenga, author of The Watchmakers

[For a “Look Behind the Book,” read more about The Pessimist’s Son online.]