bpag314 's review for:

Exodus by Leon Uris

4.75

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

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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.