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Truth be told, I only picked this up because someone gave it to me as a gift. Not a bad book I guess but very dry. Maybe I’ll give it another go if my girlfriend harasses me enough.
I loved this book when I read it years ago, but apparently the story of the King of Danemark wearing the yellow star is not entirely true?
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_X
Inspiring, nonetheless.
ShiraDest
12015 Holocene/Human Era
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_X
Inspiring, nonetheless.
ShiraDest
12015 Holocene/Human Era
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was really my first introduction into the history of Israel/Palestine, and it's an engrossing, moving story that raelly makes you sympathetic toward the post WWII Jews fighting to return to their homeland.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The first part of this book is a great story, fast paced, fun, interesting characters, etc. And the whole book is interesting. But the rest is very much a cross between story and history. And this is controversial history, where this author has definitely picked a side. And presents that side well, just worth remembering other perspectives.
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Exodus tells the story of a ship of Jewish refugees post WW2 trying to make its way to Palestine and the political conflicts that occur both during, and as a result of.
I recognise at the outset of this review that this book is a very one-sided look at the Israel-Palestine and that the book highly romanticises the Zionist cause. It suffers from some black and white thinking when it comes to the sides of the conflict and many of the non-Jewish characters were 2-dimensional. Despite this, I deeply loved this book.
Following the stories of a number of different characters, Leon Uris weaves together the many strands of the events leading up to the founding of Israel in a way that easily carries you through the narrative and keeps you rooting for the characters all throughout what is quite a long book. It is truly impressive the way Uris takes what is a massive event and conflict and manages to give just the right amount of time to each of the facets without overwhelming the reader.
Uris also proves to be the master of emotion as he truly puts you through the full spectrum of them in this book. You really feel the characters sorrows (of which there are many) and share in their triumphs and joys.
This book truly impresses upon the reader how miraculous the founding of Israel was (and remains) for the Jewish people. Yes this book has some flaws, but if you can look past them and see this book for what it is, you will find a book that is hugely immersive and well worth the read.
Poppop deluges me with books I requested at Christmastime and I spend the rest of the year catching up with both those and the added lode of U.S. history analyses he piles on top. For years now these requested books have centered on Israel, and the Jews. Not World War II — for whatever reason the Holocaust bores me to tears — but instead nation-building, both from within and without the New Jersey-sized country.
It stems from Jonathon Foer's depiction of Jewish guilt in *Here I Am*, obviously, springing mightiest from that one damned good section with the rabbi explaining what it is to cry in Hebrew. His Jacob character's aesthetic urge to fight in Israel tempered by his American pragmatism. Then short stories in the New Yorker. Then news articles, then the trip to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, then Jewish histories, the biography of Ben Gurion in which his mistress claims he "died a virgin" for his inability to fully explore a woman's sexuality, then time and sand and time. My heart is with the people of Palestine but I'd be lying to say there aren't roots of Zionism growing into my heart.
I don't remember where *Exodus* came from. I asked for it and Poppop bought it, that's just a reasonable guess.
Didn't expect premarital sex to be such a pivotal plot point. You could read this five-novella book and walk away with nothing but a vague sense of Jewish nationalism and a determination to fuck your unwed partner. Because you or they could die tomorrow. Because to love is a pure and good thing and to deny a partner your body temporarily is to risk denying it forever — because, again, you're both liable to die whenever. Each primary couple faced up against this dilemma and we as readers were encouraged to root for the rutters over the celibate.
Thing is, I enjoyed this book (otherwise I wouldn't have finished it), but Uris is not the best writer. He's a good author, telling an engaging story and managing a story spread across years with a sizable cast, and persuasive in his Zionism. But the writing quality is that of your typical pulp fiction. Maybe for 1958 this was more than passable, but to a modern audience the woodcraft is lacking.
I can't blame my recent bland writing on Uris but his style has done nothing to help. Truth be told I burnt out and reduced my daily writing quota as far down as 500 words a day and still failed to meet it. There's rust on me, and that's my own doing, that's true: but given my above-average susceptibility to mimicking whichever author I read last, all I can say is I'm glad this book is over.
It stems from Jonathon Foer's depiction of Jewish guilt in *Here I Am*, obviously, springing mightiest from that one damned good section with the rabbi explaining what it is to cry in Hebrew. His Jacob character's aesthetic urge to fight in Israel tempered by his American pragmatism. Then short stories in the New Yorker. Then news articles, then the trip to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, then Jewish histories, the biography of Ben Gurion in which his mistress claims he "died a virgin" for his inability to fully explore a woman's sexuality, then time and sand and time. My heart is with the people of Palestine but I'd be lying to say there aren't roots of Zionism growing into my heart.
I don't remember where *Exodus* came from. I asked for it and Poppop bought it, that's just a reasonable guess.
Didn't expect premarital sex to be such a pivotal plot point. You could read this five-novella book and walk away with nothing but a vague sense of Jewish nationalism and a determination to fuck your unwed partner. Because you or they could die tomorrow. Because to love is a pure and good thing and to deny a partner your body temporarily is to risk denying it forever — because, again, you're both liable to die whenever. Each primary couple faced up against this dilemma and we as readers were encouraged to root for the rutters over the celibate.
Thing is, I enjoyed this book (otherwise I wouldn't have finished it), but Uris is not the best writer. He's a good author, telling an engaging story and managing a story spread across years with a sizable cast, and persuasive in his Zionism. But the writing quality is that of your typical pulp fiction. Maybe for 1958 this was more than passable, but to a modern audience the woodcraft is lacking.
I can't blame my recent bland writing on Uris but his style has done nothing to help. Truth be told I burnt out and reduced my daily writing quota as far down as 500 words a day and still failed to meet it. There's rust on me, and that's my own doing, that's true: but given my above-average susceptibility to mimicking whichever author I read last, all I can say is I'm glad this book is over.