Jeff Markowitz

The Other

For Abe Dubinski and his family, life on the canal is both peaceful and productive. Employed as a lock tender, Abe is responsible for the safe passage of barges carrying anthracite from Pennsylvania to New York. When the canal company announces its plan to close the canal in 1933, Abe worries about his job and his company home. Still, in his heart, he knows that his family will be okay. But the peace is shattered when a Nazi youth camp opens on the banks of the canal. Under the direction of their Nazi leaders, more than one hundred teenage boys in brown shirts erect tents in the fields that abut Abe’s home. Threats of violence put his wife and children in imminent danger. Abe Dubinski must take action to protect his family, even if that action threatens his very soul.

Ninety years later, Charlie Levenson moves into  the former lock tender’s house, intent on living out his remaining years quietly after the death of his wife, Zoya Aziz. A series of threatening encounters with strangers compels Charlie to examine the circumstances of his wife’s death. If he’s right, his granddaughter may also be in danger. Charlie must put his dream of a quiet life on hold. No matter the cost, Charlie has a responsibility to stand up to hate.

What would you do to protect your family when the Nazis come to town?  

"Markowitz’s parallel narratives touch upon several fascinating ideas, including the reach of Nazism—even in rural America—during WWII, the lasting impacts of the January 6 insurrection on today’s world, and the similarities between two time periods each burdened with an oppressive sense of dread. The inclusion of Zoya’s ghostly figure and her own story of coming to America from Iran provides another layer of texture and perspective while also endearing the grieving Charlie to readers." 
Kirkus Reviews

“Jeff Markowitz’s powerful and poignant novel addresses hate, that scourge of human experience, and how it poisons what should be the joy we all deserve in simply being alive. It’s in his exquisitely drawn characters’ quest for joy that Markowitz finds beauty despite the darkness overtaking two interconnected eras: one past, and one present. It is a quest we all need, and which Markowitz has gifted us.” 
Ann Aptaker, Award-winning author of the Cantor Gold series 

“Both contemporary and historical, The Other, will grab you from the first page.  Written with the tension of a murder mystery, which it is as well, this riveting tale of heroism in the face of bigotry takes a fresh look at an age old problem.  Set in the serenity of pastoral New Jersey, its characters reflect the symmetry of hate and reconciliation shaking our world then and now. A not-to-be-missed book.”
A. J. Sidransky, author of The Incident at San Miguel

“The Other is the kind of book that we need right now. Markowitz investigates what national identity means, seamlessly weaving two storylines at the same lock tender’s house, ninety years apart. The narrative judiciously navigates the seeds of Nazism, the Iranian Revolution, and the rise of twenty-first-century militias with a level of historical accuracy often lacking in modern literature. The wisdom contained within these pages simply can’t be ignored.”
Robert Creekmore, author of the Manly Wade Wellman Award finalist, Prophet’s Debt

"Are a people chosen or marked? Are we fated for suffering or destined to love? When do the differences that make us unique become a signal for escalating hatred? Jeff Markowitz explores these factors and looks at the core of humanity in his novel The Other which, with its dual timelines, looks at the progress—or lack of it over ninety years of human activity in a rural New Jersey town. ..

The Other is an important work deeply personal, and completely accessible. I cannot recommend it strongly enough as a book about crime, about humanity and a book about the power of love."
Teel James Glenn, author of Not Born of WomanTee