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book_concierge 's review for:
Exodus
by Leon Uris
3.5***
From the book jacket: The Exodus was a ship that held 300 Jewish children, orphaned by World War II and the Nazi destruction. The ship was docked in Cyprus, and the British would not let more than its ‘quota’ leave for Palestine, which was under British rule. Ari Ben Canaan, a freedom fighter, will not allow the children to return to the horrific conditions of the displaced persons camp, where the British had been keeping them. This incident sets in motion a series of events that depict the inhuman treatment of the Jewish people, and the triumphant founding of the state of Israel.
My reactions
This is an epic novel covering the history of the Jewish people’s efforts to return to Palestine and form an independent state.
I found the writing uneven. I felt that Uris couldn’t make up his mind whether he was writing an epic romance, a war novel or a history of the formation of Israel. The reader is immersed in the plight of the orphans held “hostage” aboard the Exodus, and then taken back to the late 19th century for a history of the Jewish people in Russia, and Ari’s grandfather, father and uncle. By the time Uris comes back to the romance I’d forgotten about the couple. Then the novel concentrates once again on the political maneuverings and historical references to the formation of the country, and some very exciting battle scenes in the last half of the book. Sprinkled throughout are quite a lot of very anti-Arab and anti-British “observations.”
Still, it certainly made me think. And I am fully aware of how woefully ignorant I am of the details of this episode in history. I remember the movie (and especially the movie’s music score), which came out when I was nine, but I never actually saw it. I’ve read a couple of other books by Uris ([book:Trinity: A Novel of Ireland|2729825] and [book:QB VII|426825]), and I remember liking them, so when a book group chose it for a monthly read I signed on. I’m glad I finally read this novel.
From the book jacket: The Exodus was a ship that held 300 Jewish children, orphaned by World War II and the Nazi destruction. The ship was docked in Cyprus, and the British would not let more than its ‘quota’ leave for Palestine, which was under British rule. Ari Ben Canaan, a freedom fighter, will not allow the children to return to the horrific conditions of the displaced persons camp, where the British had been keeping them. This incident sets in motion a series of events that depict the inhuman treatment of the Jewish people, and the triumphant founding of the state of Israel.
My reactions
This is an epic novel covering the history of the Jewish people’s efforts to return to Palestine and form an independent state.
I found the writing uneven. I felt that Uris couldn’t make up his mind whether he was writing an epic romance, a war novel or a history of the formation of Israel. The reader is immersed in the plight of the orphans held “hostage” aboard the Exodus, and then taken back to the late 19th century for a history of the Jewish people in Russia, and Ari’s grandfather, father and uncle. By the time Uris comes back to the romance I’d forgotten about the couple. Then the novel concentrates once again on the political maneuverings and historical references to the formation of the country, and some very exciting battle scenes in the last half of the book. Sprinkled throughout are quite a lot of very anti-Arab and anti-British “observations.”
Still, it certainly made me think. And I am fully aware of how woefully ignorant I am of the details of this episode in history. I remember the movie (and especially the movie’s music score), which came out when I was nine, but I never actually saw it. I’ve read a couple of other books by Uris ([book:Trinity: A Novel of Ireland|2729825] and [book:QB VII|426825]), and I remember liking them, so when a book group chose it for a monthly read I signed on. I’m glad I finally read this novel.