I'm a little late for this, but...
Dear Leon Uris,
It has been at least four years since I read Exodus, and yet I still cannot forget how much it made me rage.
For one thing, it lacks anything by way of character depth. The characters are all cardboard cut-outs. Especially Karen. You clearly were very fond of her, which is only made obvious by how much of a Mary Sue she is. She's beautiful, brave, an amazing dancer, and everyone loves her, including the boy who hates everyone. Her only "flaw" is that she's a terrible farmer.
And the aforementioned "Boy who hates everyone"? Gary Stu. (He's an expert at forging signatures, smart enough for MIT, can locate himself within a city even when blindfolded, is famous for his fighting skills even though he's a teenager, and manages to become the love interest of the girl who is so perfect that she probably has a thousand other guys dropping dead at her feet.)
Actually, come to think of it, half the cast is Mary and Gary.
But that's got nothing on the unfortunate implications of this book. Every Israeli character is brave, strong, smart, and talented. The Arabs, on the other hand, are all cowardly, stupid, and possessive of women (with one exception, but he dies early on.) Oh yeah, and there's also that one British guy who only hates Israel "because it's fashionable." 'Cause, you know, that's giving your villain real character depth.
This book frightened me. I clearly remember one part where a kid got initiated into a Zionist organization. The ceremony involved one hand on the Bible and the other on a gun. But, of course, this was an extremist organization. So it's not like you endorse this kind of thing, right?
Except that later on you basically go on to say something along the lines of "Actually, these extremist guys kinda had the right idea."
And I especially loved the contrast between the Jewish girl who was brutally murdered and then had a statue and a kibbutz named after her, versus the British guy whose brutal murder was basically followed with "Haha!"
Did you even consider the possibility of a balanced perspective? You basically went and turned a very complex, multi-sided historical event, one which affected REAL PEOPLE, and turned it into a cliched battle between good and evil.
I'm sure that if I had the book right in front of me, I could point out a hundred other things that pissed me off. But honestly, I wasted enough of my life on this propaganda.
Your book is one of the worst things ink did to paper, since, well, Mein Kampf. (Oh yes, I did just go there.) Please never write again.
My sincerest regards,
-Yael
(Oh, and just to let you know, I'm Israeli. I'm morally against patriotism in any form, so I don't consider myself "proud" of where I come from, but if I did, I would find your book insulting.
The part I'm most ashamed of is that I attended a Jewish school where this book was taught. The only reason I didn't have to read it was because my class had a new language arts teacher who pulled it out of the curriculum because "It's a great book, but it's too long to discuss in depth.")
It has been at least four years since I read Exodus, and yet I still cannot forget how much it made me rage.
For one thing, it lacks anything by way of character depth. The characters are all cardboard cut-outs. Especially Karen. You clearly were very fond of her, which is only made obvious by how much of a Mary Sue she is. She's beautiful, brave, an amazing dancer, and everyone loves her, including the boy who hates everyone. Her only "flaw" is that she's a terrible farmer.
And the aforementioned "Boy who hates everyone"? Gary Stu. (He's an expert at forging signatures, smart enough for MIT, can locate himself within a city even when blindfolded, is famous for his fighting skills even though he's a teenager, and manages to become the love interest of the girl who is so perfect that she probably has a thousand other guys dropping dead at her feet.)
Actually, come to think of it, half the cast is Mary and Gary.
But that's got nothing on the unfortunate implications of this book. Every Israeli character is brave, strong, smart, and talented. The Arabs, on the other hand, are all cowardly, stupid, and possessive of women (with one exception, but he dies early on.) Oh yeah, and there's also that one British guy who only hates Israel "because it's fashionable." 'Cause, you know, that's giving your villain real character depth.
This book frightened me. I clearly remember one part where a kid got initiated into a Zionist organization. The ceremony involved one hand on the Bible and the other on a gun. But, of course, this was an extremist organization. So it's not like you endorse this kind of thing, right?
Except that later on you basically go on to say something along the lines of "Actually, these extremist guys kinda had the right idea."
And I especially loved the contrast between the Jewish girl who was brutally murdered and then had a statue and a kibbutz named after her, versus the British guy whose brutal murder was basically followed with "Haha!"
Did you even consider the possibility of a balanced perspective? You basically went and turned a very complex, multi-sided historical event, one which affected REAL PEOPLE, and turned it into a cliched battle between good and evil.
I'm sure that if I had the book right in front of me, I could point out a hundred other things that pissed me off. But honestly, I wasted enough of my life on this propaganda.
Your book is one of the worst things ink did to paper, since, well, Mein Kampf. (Oh yes, I did just go there.) Please never write again.
My sincerest regards,
-Yael
(Oh, and just to let you know, I'm Israeli. I'm morally against patriotism in any form, so I don't consider myself "proud" of where I come from, but if I did, I would find your book insulting.
The part I'm most ashamed of is that I attended a Jewish school where this book was taught. The only reason I didn't have to read it was because my class had a new language arts teacher who pulled it out of the curriculum because "It's a great book, but it's too long to discuss in depth.")