Take a photo of a barcode or cover
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I listened to maybe half. But it got too boring and I really didn't want to go back two hundred years to hear about a fictional character's ancestors and history. So I am done.
challenging
emotional
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Spectacular story. A well-built intertwined set of stories that informs the reader about historical events leading up to the founding of the Israeli state.
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Zionist propaganda of the worst kind...the Jews are a bunch of strong-willed, progressive and industrious people while the Arabs are all primitive, wild (not in a good way), and dumb.
This looks even worse as the Israeli state continues to carry out its genocide against Palestinians at this time, and as you read more and more about the actual history of the region.
This looks even worse as the Israeli state continues to carry out its genocide against Palestinians at this time, and as you read more and more about the actual history of the region.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Islamophobia
4/5 Narrative
2/5 Unbiased Story Telling
I think Leon Uris's story telling ability really shines bright in this one, but I found myself getting pulled out of the story from time to time by the not-so-subtle anti-arab and anti-british bias. For example:
"With Allenby's successful campaign, the long overdue, much-heralded, very costly, and highly overrated Arab revolt began. Faisal, son of the sherif of Mecca, brought in a few tribes from the desert when it was obvious that the turks were losing. With the Ottomans on their backs, the Arabs dropped their cloak of neutrality so that they could share in the comping spoils. Faisal's "rebels" made a good deal of noise and hacked up an unguarded rail line but never put it out of commission. Never once did the Arab "rebels" engage in a major or minor battle."
Pretty much the antithesis of the story told in Lawrence of Arabia (not that either story should be heralded for lack of historic bias).
2/5 Unbiased Story Telling
I think Leon Uris's story telling ability really shines bright in this one, but I found myself getting pulled out of the story from time to time by the not-so-subtle anti-arab and anti-british bias. For example:
"With Allenby's successful campaign, the long overdue, much-heralded, very costly, and highly overrated Arab revolt began. Faisal, son of the sherif of Mecca, brought in a few tribes from the desert when it was obvious that the turks were losing. With the Ottomans on their backs, the Arabs dropped their cloak of neutrality so that they could share in the comping spoils. Faisal's "rebels" made a good deal of noise and hacked up an unguarded rail line but never put it out of commission. Never once did the Arab "rebels" engage in a major or minor battle."
Pretty much the antithesis of the story told in Lawrence of Arabia (not that either story should be heralded for lack of historic bias).
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Interesting read, but I didn't love the pacing (constantly doubling back to give backstories of characters and places) and the characters were incredibly flat - it was a work of historical fiction with an emphasis on "historical," although the bias is incredibly obvious as well. Balanced it is not. I actually enjoyed the historical parts of the books the most, though, because the framing characters were, as I said, obnoxiously flat, and in Kitty's case wildly annoying. No one's motivations really make any sense and people are killed off willy-nilly. They're archetypes rather than people.