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Summary: Leon Hubris?
Review: It is difficult to believe that the man who wrote Exodus and Trinity could pen such unmitigated tripe. It was all I could do to finish it. I would have pitched it, but it was the only thing I had on a long plane flight, and I became fascinated, wondering just how bad it could actually get. Beyond my worste imaginings. All you need to know is that Leon idolizes the Clintons and truly believes they were treated unfairly -- suffering more than any other couple in history! This alone demonstrates how hopelessly out of touch Uris is with his readers. His take on gun ownership is likewise stupifying. I could go on and on, but all you need to know is -- don't waste your valuable time. I should have just reread the inflight magizine 20 times. The only thing I have read in the past 10 years that was this bad was "The Horse Whisperer."
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Summary: I still love Mr. Uris
Review: I haven't read any of his books for quite a while, so I picked this one up with excitement. I settled into his wonderful writing style and thoroughly enjoyed myself.I really prefer his historical novels - just can't beat QBVII, and Trinity is probably my favorite - but I so enjoy his writing that his subject matter could be anything and I'd still like it!
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Summary: I'm sorry but this book is a total waste of time
Review: I am so happy to see other reviewers express their extreme disappointment in this book...in my opinion, it is one of the best examples of a great author who doesn't know when to put down his pen. The plot is totally disjointed and unrealistic, the characters are poorly developed and stereotypical, the political agenda espoused by Mr. Uris is non-original ultra-liberal tripe disguised as common sense, and the Jewish persecution complex weighs heavily through the final chapters of the book. My advice to Mr. Uris is 'please retire' and leave writing to those authors who enjoy giving their public a well-thought-out and balanced product. I for one will never invest in another Uris book.
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Summary: Disappointment! I couldn't even finish it!
Review: The blurb on the back of the Harper Audio version of this book says it "illuminates the major crisis facing America at the dawn of a new millennium." That major crisis, according to Mr. Uris, is the private ownership of firearms. In the book a group of militiamen, thinking they are about to be attacked by U. S. Marines, kill 400 Boy Scouts hiking across the desert. The whole country goes into morning Among other things to show their grief, "all sporting events except the SuperBowl are cancelled." Gun control becomes the major factor in saving the United States. Mr. Uris ignores the fact that all that the actions of the militamen and the type of weapons they have are already illegal and that private ownership of firearms is to killing Boy Scouts as Box-cutters are to crashing airplanes into the World Trade Center. This book is proof that an author who has written great books can continue to be published even when he writes a bad book solely to advance his own political point of view. Too bad people have to buy it to find out how bad it is.
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Summary: Not the old Uris
Review: It's very sad when one of your favorite authors doesn't know when to give up the pen. Uris' "Exodus" and "QBVII" were excellent novels, well plotted with characters you could relate to. Not so, "A God in Ruins." It is Uris as an author who is in the ruins. The so-called "explosive secret" is given away on the first page. So much for drama. Still the theme of a Catholic presidential candidate who discovers he was born Jewish could have been developed into a fascinating theme. Unfortunately, this does not happen. Instead, the novel meanders in time and space. Episodes are written in a post card style, e.g. Quinn's father gets sick, then dies -- end of that scene. The characters are strictly comic book variety. I hold no brief for the ..., and I'm totally opposed to their Second Amendment interpetation. But the loony depiction of the AMERIGUN leaders is appalling.
There is no internal logic to the plot. AMERIGUN leaders hate Quinn for his gun control stance. Yet they invite to speak at their convention? And even more bizarre, he accepts the invitation after they slander him, his wife, and his kids with the worst calumnies? If this were a parody, a satire, maybe, but since Uris tries to make his story so serious, it is just not credible. And the anti-Semitism, Uris portrays in the US of 2008? America is not Nazi Germany. It is not even the America of the 1940s when "A Gentleman's Agreement" type discrimination was the norm. Just look at the reation to the Joe Lieberman VP candidacy. Too bad, Uris didn't quit while he was ahead.
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Summary: Quick! Call the Cops!
Review: Because someone has apparently kidnapped Leon Uris! This book is so bad, I don't even know where to start. The characters are one-dimensional, the plot is a hodge-podge of what appear to be Uris' pet peeves, the editing and factual errors were both irritating and shocking for such an accomplished author, the dialog was implausible, and the sychophantic fawning over Bill Clinton really was sickening -- "the agony that befell Bill and Hillary Clinton"??? Oh, puleeeze. As for his take on the Second Amendment, all I kept thinking was how odd that the same man who had written so eloquently about the Irish struggle for freedom --- the ARMED struggle for freedom, by the way -- had suddenly become so cavalier about American freedoms. What in the world would Conor Larkin say? Don't waste your time reading this tripe. In fact, plant a tree tomorrow to replace those that were sacrificed to print "A God In Ruins". You'll feel better.
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Summary: A Thundering Disappointment
Review: I love Leon Uris. I have read about 7 or 8 of his books. He usually writes wonderful sweeping epics with grand themes, with great characters and plots. He has written so wonderfully about important themes surrounding the Middle East. However, this one was apparently written without an editor. 1. The dialogue was stilted and did not feel natural. The characters spoke in cliches and the political speeches were awful. 2. Leon Uris's political positions were all over this book. That is fine for an author, I just happen to not agree with his and that can get in the way of enjoying a book if the author is strident enough. Gun control, repeal of the 2nd Amendment, repeated praise for our previous president and silly caricatures of those who might not have appreciated him, the characterization of "AMERIGUN" (the NRA), and more were annoying facets of this book. 3. It also was just not well written. This is like Tom Clancy's latest travesty, The Bear and The Dragon. These are two authors who I will sometimes buy in hardback and not even wait for the paperback. However, it seems that when an author is successful enough, someone is not willing to tell him about mistakes in phraseology. I can't list specifics here, since I would have to go back through the book, but there were just lots of times when mistakes would crop up. I live in Denver (where some of the book took place) and "West Colfax Street", which is real, turned mysteriously into "West Coster" halfway through the book. These are items for an editor to catch. There is more, I was just disappointed with A God in Ruins. I look forward, though, to his next one and bet this is an aberration.
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Summary: Disconnected plot lines - Unbelievable Premise
Review: From a fascinating launch that promises intriguing plot lines built around the question, "How much anti-Jewish predjudice survives in America?," the novel careens off in other directions only, at the end, to return to its initial anti-Semitism focus. Indeed, most of the book stands as an anti-NRA polemic . . . interesting, but quite different from the theme Uris introduces in the opening section of the book. Main characters are unidimensional at best . . . either incredibly "good" or incredibly "bad." In summary, the book is a series of unconnected threads that float quite apart from any disciplined integration into a meaningful narrative fabric.
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Summary: Even for a liberal, this is horrible
Review: I didn't expect much when I picked this up - a vacation book, something diverting to block out the cattle calls in airports. But I did expect something coherent, and this was, just barely. The editor in me kept fidgeting about the errors - calling the ATF, the AFT, for instance (by the director of the FBI, fer chrissakes.) And the characters, good and bad, are cartoon-like. One keeps seeing thought bubbles over their heads, with exclamations like "Gadzooks!" And the "tropicana George Washington Bridge?" Gimme a break.
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Summary: Uris takes a break from the norm
Review: In this book, Leon Uris breaks away from his normal authoring style. He shows his true liberal colors, a nice touch i might add, when there is a *cough*dumb*cough conservative in office. The military exploits of the main character are very interesting, and kept me riveted. The story does jump around alot, but that made it interesting, it was like Quinn was having flashbacks of memory, and added to the story line. The differences in time periods also proved to be an added bonus to the plot. I loved the character development as the background of Quinn began to unfold, proving to be a mysterious and breathtaking story. I was not at all dissappointed by the change in Uris' writing style.
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