Rating: Summary: Speaks to the soul Review: I have read this book annually for the last 20 years, and cry at the ending every time. For a true Ulsterman, it pleads to the heart. It never ceases to show the continuing struggle for freedom and independence for a free Irish state. Uris is the best.
Rating: Summary: have a dram and keep reading Review: I started reading this, interestingly enough, this summer on a flight to Dublin and finished it on my flight home 6 days later. My trip, I think, had much to do with how I felt about the book once I completed it. Prior to being in Ireland, I was reading as a complete outsider. I didn't get as absorbed into the characters as I did returning. Being in Ireland...being in the places mentioned in the book...spending time in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland changed my experience in reading. I became much more passionate about the fight that was fought and the principles these men believed in. Without this experience surrounding my reading of this book I would have only given it 2-3 stars. The 4 stars are completely subjective and are reflective entirely of how I experienced this book. I recommend it but cannot promise it will change your world.
Rating: Summary: First Stopped, Then Started My Heart Review: I read this book from start to finish while sitting on the floor of my bathroom, leaning up against the tub (it was the only room in my apartment with a heater). Around the 400th page I dropped it in a full tub of water by accident, then held the individual pages up to the light so I could continue reading. The last 15 pages took me 2 hours to get through because I was sobbing convulsively and couldn't see through my tears- the words were THAT powerful.Not only did Uris do an incredible job of helping me understand the basics of 19th century Irish history and events, but both the truth and fiction of the novel connected me to the subject like nothing I've ever experienced. The revelations I had as a result of reading "Trinity" have altered my life permanently. While I always "felt badly" for oppressed cultures, since reading "Trinity" I understand more internally how heartbreaking it can be to live as a member of a subjugated and abused people. Though I have to admit my first instinct upon reaching the last page was to try at all costs to join the IRA (as irrational and impossible as that is), when the tears finally stopped I reluctantly admitted to myself that that was an entirely inappropriate way of directing my anger and adopted pain. Instead, to this day I wish I could go a hundred years back in time and dedicate myself to one of the only causes I know in my soul to have been not only righteous- but not, as Conor feared, hopeless. Since that is impossible, I'm actively looking for a cause that grabs me in a similar way as does the Irish struggle for freedom. Somehow, after reading "Trinity", I'm not as excited as I once was when "Seinfeld" or "Gilligan's Island" comes on TV (not that they don't still make me laugh!)... and that's a good thing. As silly as it sounds, "Trinity" has helped me get a better handle on what are the more important and fulfilling things in life. If I were the ruler of the world, I would insist that every high school student take a class that picks apart this novel and the concepts it addresses. For anyone who likes to sit and ponder, or yell indignantly, or reach out with their heart, this novel is perfect. Aside from the issue that is Ireland, Uris forces into one's full consciousness the many facets of humanity's ability for evil and good, selfishness and selflessness, and all the other feelings and ideas that make the world what it is. PS. "Redemption" is the perfect title for "Trinity"s sequel. While in some ways I found it disappointing (there were some incongruities in the complete storyline, and quite a bit of repetition regarding Conor), there are several scenes that made the read very worthwhile. "Trinity" left me overflowing with emotion and a need for "more"; "Redemption" left me content- the circle was completed, and that completion gave me reason to smile. And, if nothing else, the story of Gallipoli is fascinating, horrifying, and an important chapter in the military and colonial history of British Imperialism.
Rating: Summary: A "bully" book, for sure Review: A wonderful work that would make Michener proud. Any author that can write a book of this breadth, relate so much history and make it this compelling is truly a master. This book is about the painful truth of Ireland. It's depressing and hopeless and it really means to be. But not for a minute will you want to put it down. There is something romantic and enticing about a people or a culture fighting to find itself. The oppression and poverty of the Irish people is harrowing and their plight seemingly hopeless, but yet a handful of men can make a difference. The struggle for freedom is ugly and heart wrenching, but Uris makes it so worthwhile.
Rating: Summary: An incredible book... Review: This is by far the most incredible and entertaining books that I have ever read. Trinity, followed by the sequel, Redemption are absolute masterpieces. Leon Uris' ability to tell the fictitious tale of the Larkin family while tying in actual, historical events is amazing. I highly recommend this book!
Rating: Summary: NOT A TYPICAL URIS Review: This is a good book, but it is lacking Leon Uris. The book is very slow and there is no excitment in it. I wonder if Leon Uris was excited when he wrote it. I read it, I own it, and I recommend it, but I liked his other books better.
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