Exodus

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: I cried several times while reading this book. I cried tears of sorrow when reading about the accounts of the Holocaust and the suffering of the Jewish people and their unquenched desire to return to the Land, and I cried tears of joy while reading about the great second Exodus of thousands of Jewish people going back to the Land. The greatest theme of this historic novel is G-d's faithfulness to His people Israel. Many promises in the Tenach made towards the Jewish people mention "forever", and if G-d did not keep His promises, He would be deemed a liar. I am amazed that so many Jewish people have suffered mightily at the hands of many nations (and at the hands of many Christians), and they still hold true to the Torah and their L-rd and Maker. This is a great testimony to G-d's faithfulness to His people when they have been unfaithful to Him. As a non-Jewish Christian who has a heart for Israel and the Jewish people, I recommend all believers in the Messiah Yeshua (the Hebrew for Jesus Christ) to at least read this book (yes there are stereotypes of Arabs and British, but they do no overrule the message of the book). Really, the fact that Israel exists today is a testimony to G-d's faithfulness. For those of you who hate the Jewish people, G-d shall judge your heart accordingly. "Those who bless you I will bless, and those who curse you I will curse". Our roots are with Israel fellow believers, and though they still reject the Messiah (though yes they do know Him through the Scriptures, but do not know His name), He will come back one day to an Israel that will accept Him, and this book is just a prelude to that wonderful event. To the Jewish people in the world, I ask for sincere forgiveness on behalf of my forefathers who proclaimed Christ and killed in His name. That was not the Messiah that I know. Forgive us, Jewish brethren, I stand with you in your fight, and I also pray daily that the Messiah shall come, and have the same hope as you. This book further awakened my love for Israel and the Jewish people, and above all, for the L-rd, whose promises are forever and ever, Amen.

Rating:
Summary: A Heroic Account of the Birth Of Israel!
Review: Int his classic epic of historical fiction, Leon Uris pens his account of Israel's dramatic birth from the time of the first aliyah in the late 19th century through the War for Independence. He introduces heroic characters, dastardly villains and innocent victims. First and foremost, this is the story of the Ben Canaan clan. Heroic, emotionally damaged Ari, the Palmach soldier, his father Barak, one of the fictional founders of the Labor Zionist movement. Barak's brother, known as "Akiva", leader of the outlaw " Macabees", modeled on the real life Irgum movement of Menachem Begin. There is Kitty, the American gentile who falls in love with Ari and ultimately with the struggle for a Jewish homeland, Dov, the young embittered survivor of the Warsaw ghetto and Karen, Danish holocaust survivor who Kitty unofficially adopts. There is Ari's firey redheaded sister Jordana who clashes with Kitty's American idea of what a young woman should be like. and there are others as well. Uris uses the melodrama of the personal story of these characters to show how Israel came to be. It is all here, the escape by Barak and Akiva from their Russian shtetl and their hike (!!!) to the promised land. The horror of the holocaust. And most importantly, the struggle during the post-war mandate period with the British and of course the Arabs.

Uris is not the historian that Herman Wouk is. He has a strange tendency in his historical novels to change the names of people and incidents. For example, in real life, the ship known as "Exodus" was forced to cyprus. It is this that roused the world's ire. In the novel, of course, the ship is permitted to dock in Palestine. This confuses two different ships and two different incidents. Why does he use the name "Macabees" instead of the Irgun? Who knows? It's not that important because Exodus is a rousing thrilling novel. FOr those of us who recognize the essential righteousness of Israel's cause, this novel is like chicken soup for the soul. Those who feel differently will not appreciate Uris's clear pro-Israel sentiment. Although Uris presents these characters through a prism of heroism, he does not ignore their flaws or the suffering of the innocent, Arab and Jew. The British are presented as anti-semetic brutes but that's by and large what they were during this awful time. The Arab fighters are presented as blood thirsty. They were not exactly humanitarians. The truth is the truth and haters of Israel are not interested in seeing it. In the Haj, Uris writes an entire novel showing the destruction of the Arabs of Palestine by their fellow Arabs, here he hints at it. This is an exciting book from start to finish and it should be must reading, particularly for Jews of Israel and the disaspora who are too young to remember the early days before 1967 when Israel struggled every day to survive against better armed foes determined to anihilate her. Israel is a country worth saving and Exodus shows why. The book is not perfect history but it is a fabulous novel.

Rating:
Summary: Exodus Provides Great Knowledge to Someone who knows little
Review: Because of the global terrorist situation, I wanted to learn more about the history of the struggle in the Middle East. I'm not Jewish, but I know now what the Jewish people suffered just to be able to establish an identity and try to claim a small piece of land as theirs. After reading the book, I am much more knowledgeable of the historical background of Israel, the importance of faith and religion, and the truly difficult sacrifices several soldiers made for their country. I almost cried at the end. Thanks to my friend who recommended that I read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Classic example of 1950'60's Epic Historical Fiction.
Review: Exodus is a classic example of the very popular school of Epic Historical Fiction that was extremely popular in the 1950's and 1960's, as exemplified by folks like Uris and James A. Michener.

(The key phrase here is "fiction". This is a distinction apparently lost on many of the reviewers of this book, who want to analyze the "historical accuracy" or "prejudice" of the book. This is a novel and was never intended nor sold as an apolitical historical text. It would be nice if we could all just judge a book as a book and not always convert the process into an exercise in political activism and/or resentment but, alas, that no longer seems possible in our world.)

A novel about the birth of Israel as rendered through the viewpoints of a cast of characters, this is an emotionally charged and gripping book. The scope of the story is grand-there are many, many flashbacks that delineate the heritage and developmental context of virtually all the main, and many of the more important secondary, characters. These tales are meant to be both representation as well as allegorical and are effective on both scores.

Make no mistake-this is a book that celebrates the "heroic struggle" to birth a nation in the face of overwhelming odds in an environment of rabid hostility. The treatment of the "story" of the Arabs and Palestinians is truncated and shortchanged. This is not to say that what is there is not accurate-it's to say not all of their story is told as the other story is told.

The book is engrossing and inspiring. I first read it at the age of 12 many, many years ago when I was laid up in the hospital after reconstructive orthopedic surgery. After reading it I was possessed to desert my family and go join in this epic struggle. The fact I was 12 and in traction prevented that sort of thing, but you get the idea. Having recently reread the book, I am almost as inspired today as I was then. Of course, I now read the book with a much more distinctive and sophisticated sensibility as to the uneven socio-historical shortcomings of the text. Are they real? Yes. Does it matter? No, not if you recognize the work for the fictional work it is and don't mistake it for something else.

This is a wonderful tale told in a stirring and compelling manner. It remains at the apex of its genre. Read this if you want to be moved and entertained. Scour the non-fiction list if you want to argue Middle Eastern Politics.

Rating:
Summary: If you like Edward Said...
Review: you'll hate this book.

Those who dislike "Exodus" will make claims of racism, Eurocentrism, orientalism, imperialism, colonialism, and the legitimization of dispossession.

Do not be tricked. Palestinian dispossession was preceded by the Arab/Palestinian orignal sin: the 1947 rejection of U.N. Resolution 181 (the partition plan creating a Palestinian and Jewish state, accepted by Israel) and the choice to test their fortunes with war. Had the Arabs succeeded in driving the Jews off the land they legally purchased and owned, this novel would probably not exist. And the critics who now endlessly claim one "ism" after another would be oddly silent.

Read and enjoy Exodus with the knowledge that for the key historical points, Uris has been fair in his fiction.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, well researched, historical fiction
Review: It is a great thing when an author can fold so much fact into an interesting story. You will experience a lot of sadness and anger while reading this story, but you won't be able to put it down.

Rating:
Summary: "...never to be lowered again."
Review: We each bought a copy of Exodus, my two friends and I. They both abandoned it on grounds that it seemed to "lag" or just not catch their interest forcefully enough. I alone finished it, and I admit that it helps if one has a sort of preliminary undaunting interest in the period of history that is covered here... otherwise, there are sections that do seem to be tedious. For me, Book 2 seemed to lack momentum... as though this was the time when Uris really geared down, or at least had the clutch engaged, and I felt that if something didn't happen soon with the previously developed characters the whole story was going to come to a dust-rattling stop. But Book 3, 4 and 5 really took off, and made me realize how necessary the background of the less exciting section really was. I feel bad that my friends didn't get to these parts.

Of course, Uris invents fictional situations and characters to bring to life a very controversial time in world history, the founding of the nation of Israel. Does he get all of his facts in order? I don't know. How can an account of an issue that is still so divisive even in our present day EVER be concluded as historically "accurate" by everyone involved? Impossible. I have my own opinion, but I guess that's all it is. I trust that the things which are historically verifiable (for instance, the actual partition resolution vote by the General Assembly of The United Nations) are not overly "fictionalized". Beyond that, I can only say that Uris created some very memorable characters, and tremendously moving scenes that I will never forget. The latter half of the book is worth sticking around for. (This is something I'm still mentioning to my two friends). This from page 551 sort of summarizes the gist of what Exodus is saying: "There never was a question of the Jews' willingness to die for Israel. In the end they stood alone and with blood and guts won for themselves what had legally been given them by the conscience of the world. And so - the Star of David, down for two thousand years, shone from Elath to Metulla, never to be lowered again."

Rating:
Summary: EXODUS
Review: This is possibly my favorite book of all time. Leon Uris' grasp of modern day middle east politics is masterful and the multpiple story lines just click together. I loved this book

Rating:
Summary: The grueling melodrama ruins what could be outstanding
Review: This book is definitely hit-and-miss. On the one hand, it is full of fascinating mini-stories of Jews in the aftermath of WWII, and the struggle to establish the state of Israel. It's great just for the sheer historical value of the many monumental events it depicts, from stragglers emerging from Aushwitz to the first Arab conflicts to the world uproar surrounding the founding of Israel. The other side is that Uris has created as the main character a ridiculous Superman in the form of Ari that belongs in a comic book and detracts from all the realism that the historical background of the book creates. He is Godlike as a lover, caregiver, fighter, diplomat, farmer, spy, and anything else he undertakes. It the featured characters were more human in this otherwise very engaging novel of humanity, it would be five stars.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent social history of the rebirth of a nation
Review: It is a passionate story of the rebirth of a nation. It starts with the smuggling of people to palestine against the blockade imposed by british. It continues to trace the reasons behind the jewish diaspora and the atrocities heaped on the jewish people by the different nations/polupations. It ends with a vivid description of the formation of State of Israel. The novel was an enthralling and enlightening experience for a person like me who is in no way concerned with Judaism or the middle east politics.