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The Haj
Leon Uris returns to the land of his acclaimed best-seller Exodus for an epic story of hate and love, vengeance and forgiveness. The Middle East is the powerful setting for this sweeping tale of a land where revenge is sacred and hatred noble. Where an Arab ruler tries to save his people from destruction but cannot save them from themselves. When violence spreads like a plague across the lands of Palestine—this is the time of The Haj.
FROM THE BACK JACKET OF THIS EDITION:
Exodus
Battle Cry
QB VII
Topaz
Trinity
Only one storyteller could have created these monumental novels—Leon Uris. Now he has written a powerful new book, returning to the land of Exodus in a mighty epic of bold and passionate men and women swept up in one of the most dramatic stories of our time. Here is Leon Uris' unforgettable story of hate and love, vengeance and forgiveness—a spellbinding novel you will never forget.
ISBN: 0553248642
FROM THE BACK JACKET OF THIS EDITION:
Exodus
Battle Cry
QB VII
Topaz
Trinity
Only one storyteller could have created these monumental novels—Leon Uris. Now he has written a powerful new book, returning to the land of Exodus in a mighty epic of bold and passionate men and women swept up in one of the most dramatic stories of our time. Here is Leon Uris' unforgettable story of hate and love, vengeance and forgiveness—a spellbinding novel you will never forget.
ISBN: 0553248642
525 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 1984
739 people are currently reading
6191 people want to read
About the author
Leon Uris
90 books1,664 followersLeon Marcus Uris (August 3, 1924 - June 21, 2003) was an American novelist, known for his historical fiction and the deep research that went into his novels. His two bestselling books were Exodus, published in 1958, and Trinity, in 1976.
Leon Uris was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Jewish-American parents Wolf William and Anna (Blumberg) Uris. His father, a Polish-born immigrant, was a paperhanger, then a storekeeper. William spent a year in Palestine after World War I before entering the United States. He derived his surname from Yerushalmi, meaning "man of Jerusalem." (His brother Aron, Leon Uris' uncle, took the name Yerushalmi) "He was basically a failure," Uris later said of his father. "He went from failure to failure."
Uris attended schools in Norfolk, Virginia and Baltimore, but never graduated from high school, after having failed English three times. At age seventeen, while in his senior year of high school, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and Uris enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He served in the South Pacific as a radioman (in combat) at Guadalcanal, Tarawa, and New Zealand from 1942 through 1945. While recuperating from malaria in San Francisco, he met Betty Beck, a Marine sergeant; they married in 1945.
Coming out of the service, he worked for a newspaper, writing in his spare time. In 1950, Esquire magazine bought an article, and he began to devote himself to writing more seriously. Drawing on his experiences in Guadalcanal and Tarawa he produced the best-selling, Battle Cry, a novel depicting the toughness and courage of U.S. Marines in the Pacific. He then went to Warner Brothers in Hollywood helping to write the movie, which was extremely popular with the public, if not the critics. Later he went on to write The Angry Hills, a novel set in war-time Greece.
According to one source, in the early 1950's he was hired by an American public relations firm to go to Israel and "soak up the atmosphere and create a novel about it". That novel would be Exodus, which came out in 1958 and became his best known work. Others say that Uris, motivated by an intense interest in Israel, financed his own research for the novel by selling the film rights in advance to MGM and writing articles about the Sinai campaign. It is said that the book involved two years of research, and involved thousands of interviews. Exodus illustrated the history of Palestine from the late 19th century through the founding of the state of Israel in 1948. It was a worldwide best-seller, translated into a dozen languages, and was made into a feature film in 1960, starring Paul Newman, directed by Otto Preminger, as well as into a short-lived Broadway musical (12 previews, 19 performances) in 1971. Uris' novel Topaz was adapted for the screen and directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
Uris' subsequent works included: Mila 18, a story of the Warsaw ghetto uprising; Armageddon: A Novel of Berlin, which reveals the detailed work by British and American intelligence services in planning for the occupation and pacification of post WWII Germany; Trinity, an epic novel about Ireland's struggle for independence; QB VII, a novel about the role of a Polish doctor in a German concentration camp ; and The Haj, with insights into the history of the Middle East and the secret machinations of foreigners which have led to today's turmoil.
He also wrote the screenplays for Battle Cry and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
Uris was married three times: to Betty Beck, with whom he had three children, from 1945 through their divorce in 1968; Margery Edwards in 1969, who died a year later, and Jill Peabody in 1970, with whom he had two children, and divorced in 1989.
Leon Uris died of renal failure at his Long Island home on Shelter Island, aged 78.
Leon Uris's papers can be found at the Ransom Center, University of Texas in Austin. The collection includes all of Uris's novels, with the exception of The Haj and Mitla Pass, as well as manus
Leon Uris was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Jewish-American parents Wolf William and Anna (Blumberg) Uris. His father, a Polish-born immigrant, was a paperhanger, then a storekeeper. William spent a year in Palestine after World War I before entering the United States. He derived his surname from Yerushalmi, meaning "man of Jerusalem." (His brother Aron, Leon Uris' uncle, took the name Yerushalmi) "He was basically a failure," Uris later said of his father. "He went from failure to failure."
Uris attended schools in Norfolk, Virginia and Baltimore, but never graduated from high school, after having failed English three times. At age seventeen, while in his senior year of high school, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and Uris enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He served in the South Pacific as a radioman (in combat) at Guadalcanal, Tarawa, and New Zealand from 1942 through 1945. While recuperating from malaria in San Francisco, he met Betty Beck, a Marine sergeant; they married in 1945.
Coming out of the service, he worked for a newspaper, writing in his spare time. In 1950, Esquire magazine bought an article, and he began to devote himself to writing more seriously. Drawing on his experiences in Guadalcanal and Tarawa he produced the best-selling, Battle Cry, a novel depicting the toughness and courage of U.S. Marines in the Pacific. He then went to Warner Brothers in Hollywood helping to write the movie, which was extremely popular with the public, if not the critics. Later he went on to write The Angry Hills, a novel set in war-time Greece.
According to one source, in the early 1950's he was hired by an American public relations firm to go to Israel and "soak up the atmosphere and create a novel about it". That novel would be Exodus, which came out in 1958 and became his best known work. Others say that Uris, motivated by an intense interest in Israel, financed his own research for the novel by selling the film rights in advance to MGM and writing articles about the Sinai campaign. It is said that the book involved two years of research, and involved thousands of interviews. Exodus illustrated the history of Palestine from the late 19th century through the founding of the state of Israel in 1948. It was a worldwide best-seller, translated into a dozen languages, and was made into a feature film in 1960, starring Paul Newman, directed by Otto Preminger, as well as into a short-lived Broadway musical (12 previews, 19 performances) in 1971. Uris' novel Topaz was adapted for the screen and directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
Uris' subsequent works included: Mila 18, a story of the Warsaw ghetto uprising; Armageddon: A Novel of Berlin, which reveals the detailed work by British and American intelligence services in planning for the occupation and pacification of post WWII Germany; Trinity, an epic novel about Ireland's struggle for independence; QB VII, a novel about the role of a Polish doctor in a German concentration camp ; and The Haj, with insights into the history of the Middle East and the secret machinations of foreigners which have led to today's turmoil.
He also wrote the screenplays for Battle Cry and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
Uris was married three times: to Betty Beck, with whom he had three children, from 1945 through their divorce in 1968; Margery Edwards in 1969, who died a year later, and Jill Peabody in 1970, with whom he had two children, and divorced in 1989.
Leon Uris died of renal failure at his Long Island home on Shelter Island, aged 78.
Leon Uris's papers can be found at the Ransom Center, University of Texas in Austin. The collection includes all of Uris's novels, with the exception of The Haj and Mitla Pass, as well as manus
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 576 reviews
February 22, 2010
As I scribble through the comments on this book, I couldn't find any Arab person who've read it and commented on it.. and that in itself tells you something.
Being an Arab myself, I felt extremely sad about the misery of our race in the last century. Facing our brutal facts as Arabs is the only way to hope for a change and a better future. Although my country wasn't as devastated as Palestine, but I think we had our take of religious wars and sacred illusions where religion mixed with politics and corrupted the entire nation.
This book, and although it is very harsh to read, is a true representation of the story of what happened at that time. It also gives a great description of the Arab character. Although now its quite different, some villages and rural areas are still stuck in the stagnation of the past century.
It is highly recommended for all my Arab friends and for those who are interested in the historian and cultural knowledge of the middle east in the last century.
Being an Arab myself, I felt extremely sad about the misery of our race in the last century. Facing our brutal facts as Arabs is the only way to hope for a change and a better future. Although my country wasn't as devastated as Palestine, but I think we had our take of religious wars and sacred illusions where religion mixed with politics and corrupted the entire nation.
This book, and although it is very harsh to read, is a true representation of the story of what happened at that time. It also gives a great description of the Arab character. Although now its quite different, some villages and rural areas are still stuck in the stagnation of the past century.
It is highly recommended for all my Arab friends and for those who are interested in the historian and cultural knowledge of the middle east in the last century.
January 28, 2008
On a purely aesthetic level, I enjoyed this book. Judging it purely as a novel, I'd rate it higher; I like Uris's writing style and the plot drew me in. But as a work of historical fiction, it scores lower for me. Without knowing enough about the Arab-Israeli conflict to be able to specifically dispute any of the historical analysis implied by the story, I came away feeling that the it couldn't be anything other than biased. As I recall it, the Jews come off as nobler people, entirely wronged and victimized whereas the Arabs are depicted as having a fundamental racial or social flaw which is the root of all conflict in the region. Even though the major characters are all presented sympathetically, they can't overcome the fundamental problem that all Arabs are craven (at best) or evil. I was frustrated with the treatment and came away with a bad feeling about the book.
March 21, 2013
nastavak romana Exodus
January 22, 2025
This book reveals the complete truth about the Middle East and the hatred and destructive evil that Israel and the Jewish people are up against.No it is not racist or prejudiced.It simply tells things as they are without regard to political correctness Of course Arabists and their like will hate it,therefore. In fact it shows the character Ismail in a very favourable light and as for the assertion made that only Jews are presented in a good light,that is simply rubbish For example we read about the Scottish Christian Captain Wingate who shows great valour and love for the Bible and God and this is what leads him to help the Jewish people in their struggle.He shows many positive qualities in the Haj himself In Leon Uris' books he presents all sorts of people who are brave and noble-hearted including British,Germans, Greeks ,Americans and Poles as well as bad people among all nations too. Read it.It presents the TRUTH about Israel and the Arabs at a time we are presented with Anti-Semitic untruths about Israel from the media everyday.
September 4, 2025
This novel easily drew me in and kept me until I had finished and closed the cover.
Still timely since its publication in 1984, sadly nothing changes when nothing changes. Groups of people behave in traditional form decade after decade, sacrificing so many of their own in pursuit of death of one or another, no gray areas. Yes, this is clearly the case today and until Arabs accept Jews as neighbors the tragedy continues.
The characters were very vivid and each met their destiny in their own ways, a few with shocking violence that I had not expected, maybe because I had hoped for a better path for each of them.
Still timely since its publication in 1984, sadly nothing changes when nothing changes. Groups of people behave in traditional form decade after decade, sacrificing so many of their own in pursuit of death of one or another, no gray areas. Yes, this is clearly the case today and until Arabs accept Jews as neighbors the tragedy continues.
The characters were very vivid and each met their destiny in their own ways, a few with shocking violence that I had not expected, maybe because I had hoped for a better path for each of them.
August 17, 2016
50p in a charity box, was thinking be rude not to pick one of his up! Not something I would normally pick-up but glad I did
An engaging start with a mix of the history of the Palestine/Israeli conflict retold through mostly Arab eyes along with the narrative from an Arab family. The story begins in 1922 & runs throu to 1956 bringing critical points in the history to life through the involvement of the family whose father is the Muktar of Tabah, a leader of his people in a region of Palestine who come into direct conflict with Jews from 1922. Arab life & culture is all relayed through the family’s interactions with each other as well as the rest of the tribe & one early passage sums it up very well - “So before i was nine i had learned the basic cannon of Arab life. It was me against my brother; me & my brother against our father; my family against my cousin & the clan; the clan against the tribe; and the tribe against the world. And all of us against the infidel.”
The history at times wants to make you weep with the frustration & pig headedness of it all, not to mention the politics of the Arab nations which are taken from actual documents & show the divide amongst themselves which is incredulous when you are supposed to be fighting a “common” enemy.
It’s thought provoking & very emotional at times, you WILL laugh at places, you will SMILE too but be prepared for a fair few glowers & palm forehead smacking moments too...... there are quite a few sub-plots (Dead sea scrolls?) as well which always manage to involve the family in some small part to illustrate Arab life/culture.
I would add that the Arab culture that is shown to the reader is pretty much what someone from the west (me) would expect & I’m not going to believe 100% that it’s accurate & would be interested to review what an Arab reader would think of this book? There are parallels with the hatred & bigotry of the North in Ireland of the last century in terms of religious divide & doctrine which leads to blind hatred. Is it a fair reflection of the Arab psyche? Possibly so.... I cant answer that but I will say it’s written by an American Jew & so some form of predigest must lie within the text. It does have a sympathy with certain Arab viewpoints, those that wanted to live in peace with their neighbours be they Arab or Jewish which comes from the lead families experiences.
A very good read overall although I’m not quite happy with the ending which I have to add.... recommend highly for all history buffs & those interested in learning about other cultures.
An engaging start with a mix of the history of the Palestine/Israeli conflict retold through mostly Arab eyes along with the narrative from an Arab family. The story begins in 1922 & runs throu to 1956 bringing critical points in the history to life through the involvement of the family whose father is the Muktar of Tabah, a leader of his people in a region of Palestine who come into direct conflict with Jews from 1922. Arab life & culture is all relayed through the family’s interactions with each other as well as the rest of the tribe & one early passage sums it up very well - “So before i was nine i had learned the basic cannon of Arab life. It was me against my brother; me & my brother against our father; my family against my cousin & the clan; the clan against the tribe; and the tribe against the world. And all of us against the infidel.”
The history at times wants to make you weep with the frustration & pig headedness of it all, not to mention the politics of the Arab nations which are taken from actual documents & show the divide amongst themselves which is incredulous when you are supposed to be fighting a “common” enemy.
It’s thought provoking & very emotional at times, you WILL laugh at places, you will SMILE too but be prepared for a fair few glowers & palm forehead smacking moments too...... there are quite a few sub-plots (Dead sea scrolls?) as well which always manage to involve the family in some small part to illustrate Arab life/culture.
I would add that the Arab culture that is shown to the reader is pretty much what someone from the west (me) would expect & I’m not going to believe 100% that it’s accurate & would be interested to review what an Arab reader would think of this book? There are parallels with the hatred & bigotry of the North in Ireland of the last century in terms of religious divide & doctrine which leads to blind hatred. Is it a fair reflection of the Arab psyche? Possibly so.... I cant answer that but I will say it’s written by an American Jew & so some form of predigest must lie within the text. It does have a sympathy with certain Arab viewpoints, those that wanted to live in peace with their neighbours be they Arab or Jewish which comes from the lead families experiences.
A very good read overall although I’m not quite happy with the ending which I have to add.... recommend highly for all history buffs & those interested in learning about other cultures.
August 17, 2010
In sixth grade, everything I knew about Israel and Palestine, I learned from Leon Uris. We did not cover the history of that region in school, and if fwe had, I'm sure that the coverage would have lacked nuance.
After reading Exodus, I wanted to be Jewish and live on a kibbutz. In sixth grade, the purity and passion of the characters seemed wholly believable.
In Leon Uris books, one side very clearly wears the white hat at all times. Given the desperate and horrible situation in the middle east, I understand wanting this to be true. And maybe it is, but human nature and years of hatred will never allow that to be the case, which is of course what makes the crisis so compelling.
The Haj covers a period of history from before WW2 through the Suez War in 1956, including the creation of the Palestinian refugee camps throughout the West Bank, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and the Gaza Strip.
The book essentially asserts that over and over again, Arab treachery and deception, literally brother scheming against and selling out brother, created all of the problems, while the Jewish settlers (and, once they declared Israal a nation, the Israeli nation) were constantly blamed even though they basically said, over and over, can't we just all get along.
Reading this book now feels like reading propaganda - funny, because checking Leon Uris's Wikipedia entry, I see that Exodus, his breakout novel, was written after an American PR firm sent him to the mideast in the 1950s.
My recommendation would be reading this with a big grain of salt. I suspect Leon Uris novels shaped many Americans' understanding of Israel/Palestine, and so would asset they are important novels for that reason. They shed light onto what has remained an explosive humanitarian crisis, but The Haj shouldn't be your only source of information.
After reading Exodus, I wanted to be Jewish and live on a kibbutz. In sixth grade, the purity and passion of the characters seemed wholly believable.
In Leon Uris books, one side very clearly wears the white hat at all times. Given the desperate and horrible situation in the middle east, I understand wanting this to be true. And maybe it is, but human nature and years of hatred will never allow that to be the case, which is of course what makes the crisis so compelling.
The Haj covers a period of history from before WW2 through the Suez War in 1956, including the creation of the Palestinian refugee camps throughout the West Bank, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and the Gaza Strip.
The book essentially asserts that over and over again, Arab treachery and deception, literally brother scheming against and selling out brother, created all of the problems, while the Jewish settlers (and, once they declared Israal a nation, the Israeli nation) were constantly blamed even though they basically said, over and over, can't we just all get along.
Reading this book now feels like reading propaganda - funny, because checking Leon Uris's Wikipedia entry, I see that Exodus, his breakout novel, was written after an American PR firm sent him to the mideast in the 1950s.
My recommendation would be reading this with a big grain of salt. I suspect Leon Uris novels shaped many Americans' understanding of Israel/Palestine, and so would asset they are important novels for that reason. They shed light onto what has remained an explosive humanitarian crisis, but The Haj shouldn't be your only source of information.
September 6, 2007
This book is about the Arab culture, the creation of the State of Israel and how the Palestinians became refugees. Great book but makes you despair about ever being able to come to a resolution in the Middle East.
June 26, 2013
The Haj isn't for the faint of heart. It is very depressing and startling. Uris takes the reader back to Palestine in the the early to mid 20th Century. Exodus gave us the Jewish perspective while The Haj presents the Arab perspective. Uris covered 25,000 miles in the Palestine area and conducted over 1500 interviews researching his breakout masterpiece.While his trip was funded by a PR firm and Uris' religion is Judaism, I see no overt bias in either novel. The Haj seems to be biased, because Arab life and Islam is portrayed harshly. But the character, Gideon Asch, reminds the fictional Ben Gurion that his ways were not that of a Jew.
The Haj in the novel is not the trek to Mecca that every Moslem male must make in his life-time, but the story of a village muktar that is in a strategic place on a highway leading to Jerusalem. His village is next to a Jewish kibbutz. He watches his hated enemy drain the swamp and bring the land back to life. He starts questioning everything he's been taught. He shares his soul with Gideon Asch -a Jew! A life long friendship begins. Their friendship is strained and broken at times, but Haj Ibrahim realizes late in the book, that Gideon is the only person he trusts and is is only true friend. An Infidel! All of his life he has been taught to hate the Jew, adhere to the Koran, obey his leaders with a blind faith, and that life on Earth is not to be enjoyed.
But his Arab leaders are only after power and wealth. They use and depend upon their illiterate followers to follow the strict interpretations of Mohammed's teachings in the Koran. The Arab society is built on the caste system, hopelessness, and illiteracy. Knowledge is power and if you are ignorant, a man can be persuaded by his leaders to do anything in the name of Allah.
The novel also tells the story of the Haj Ibrahim's son, Ishmael. And his story is told in the 1st Person. His story is also stark and harsh, leading to a madness that seems a perfect way to end the novel. In his story we learn of the treatment of women, honor of the family, and questioning beliefs. While the women are treated as chattel, Ismael's mother is very clever. Clever as fox. She manipulates Ibrahim and Ishmael like a violin. But the ultimate story is that the madness in the Middle East, especially the Palestinian area will continue with no end in sight.
The Haj in the novel is not the trek to Mecca that every Moslem male must make in his life-time, but the story of a village muktar that is in a strategic place on a highway leading to Jerusalem. His village is next to a Jewish kibbutz. He watches his hated enemy drain the swamp and bring the land back to life. He starts questioning everything he's been taught. He shares his soul with Gideon Asch -a Jew! A life long friendship begins. Their friendship is strained and broken at times, but Haj Ibrahim realizes late in the book, that Gideon is the only person he trusts and is is only true friend. An Infidel! All of his life he has been taught to hate the Jew, adhere to the Koran, obey his leaders with a blind faith, and that life on Earth is not to be enjoyed.
But his Arab leaders are only after power and wealth. They use and depend upon their illiterate followers to follow the strict interpretations of Mohammed's teachings in the Koran. The Arab society is built on the caste system, hopelessness, and illiteracy. Knowledge is power and if you are ignorant, a man can be persuaded by his leaders to do anything in the name of Allah.
The novel also tells the story of the Haj Ibrahim's son, Ishmael. And his story is told in the 1st Person. His story is also stark and harsh, leading to a madness that seems a perfect way to end the novel. In his story we learn of the treatment of women, honor of the family, and questioning beliefs. While the women are treated as chattel, Ismael's mother is very clever. Clever as fox. She manipulates Ibrahim and Ishmael like a violin. But the ultimate story is that the madness in the Middle East, especially the Palestinian area will continue with no end in sight.
October 2, 2012
I'm not sure what it is with Leon Uris. Maybe it's just me, but I feel like every time I get through one of his stories, the ending just disappoints. That's how I felt about Armageddon and Topaz, and it's the same here.
SPOILERS will follow: This book, dealing with the origins of the modern Arab-Israeli conflict, specifically in regards to the perspective of a Palestinian family in the 1920s-1940s, is not usually my cup of tea. But I had the book, and figured I'd give it a shot. Like my other Uris experiences, the initial concept is actually quite engaging, but I had bigger problems with this one.
For one thing, the narrative style is erratic, shifting from third person, detailing the life of Haj Ibrahim, a Palestinian muktar, to first person (from the perspective of Ibrahim's son, Ishmael), to a more broad third-person narrator, describing global/political events at large. That's tricky enough, but on top of that there are some odd time jumps, backwards and forwards, in the first third of the book, which fortunately cease after a point.
I also have to take issue with the theme of the book. It's largely a heavy-handed condemnation of Muslim culture, at least as far as the lower and middle classes of the Middle East are concerned in this time period. There really doesn't seem to be any attempt to portray the protagonists in a positive light, focusing instead on religious dogmatism, brutal sexism, and fatalism. Not to mention the fact that almost every character is portrayed as treacherous, hostile, and vicious. It's very hard to empathize with characters like that.
Which is why the ending becomes such a problem for me. (Again, SPOILERS!) At the climax of the novel, Ibrahim, who has been a morally conflicted character throughout the book, attempting to find some means of peace and hope for the Palestinian refugees displaced by armed conflict, effectively gives up. His daughter Nada offends him by defying social and religious convention, which Ibrahim responds to by brutally murdering her and dumping her body in the gutter. Ishmael, the hero of the story, berates his father into dying of what appears to be an apoplectic heart attack, before descending into delusional madness and, presumably, death. The end. It's an absolutely depressing and defeating finish to a five-hundred page novel, that completely negates the characters' journeys. The only message I really got from Uris here is a mallet-to-the-head sermon of the failings of Arabic/Muslim culture. You're made to feel that at least one of these characters will have a future, but ultimately denied. And that doesn't even factor in some of the dangling plot threads - what becomes of Gideon, of Farouk, of Tabah - of the region itself - or the ongoing problems and conflict that lingered into the '80s (when the book was written.)
Ultimately, I found the book a laborious read with an enormously unsatisfying conclusion. I was disappointed, because I kept wanting to like it (I never want to dislike a book I'm reading, since it's an investment of both time and interest), but try as I might, I could not. Reading a lengthy work only to reach a conclusion of "And then they all died and life was horrible, the end" is not a good return on my investment, personally. Based on the three Leon Uris stories I've now experienced, I don't really see myself seeking out more.
SPOILERS will follow: This book, dealing with the origins of the modern Arab-Israeli conflict, specifically in regards to the perspective of a Palestinian family in the 1920s-1940s, is not usually my cup of tea. But I had the book, and figured I'd give it a shot. Like my other Uris experiences, the initial concept is actually quite engaging, but I had bigger problems with this one.
For one thing, the narrative style is erratic, shifting from third person, detailing the life of Haj Ibrahim, a Palestinian muktar, to first person (from the perspective of Ibrahim's son, Ishmael), to a more broad third-person narrator, describing global/political events at large. That's tricky enough, but on top of that there are some odd time jumps, backwards and forwards, in the first third of the book, which fortunately cease after a point.
I also have to take issue with the theme of the book. It's largely a heavy-handed condemnation of Muslim culture, at least as far as the lower and middle classes of the Middle East are concerned in this time period. There really doesn't seem to be any attempt to portray the protagonists in a positive light, focusing instead on religious dogmatism, brutal sexism, and fatalism. Not to mention the fact that almost every character is portrayed as treacherous, hostile, and vicious. It's very hard to empathize with characters like that.
Which is why the ending becomes such a problem for me. (Again, SPOILERS!) At the climax of the novel, Ibrahim, who has been a morally conflicted character throughout the book, attempting to find some means of peace and hope for the Palestinian refugees displaced by armed conflict, effectively gives up. His daughter Nada offends him by defying social and religious convention, which Ibrahim responds to by brutally murdering her and dumping her body in the gutter. Ishmael, the hero of the story, berates his father into dying of what appears to be an apoplectic heart attack, before descending into delusional madness and, presumably, death. The end. It's an absolutely depressing and defeating finish to a five-hundred page novel, that completely negates the characters' journeys. The only message I really got from Uris here is a mallet-to-the-head sermon of the failings of Arabic/Muslim culture. You're made to feel that at least one of these characters will have a future, but ultimately denied. And that doesn't even factor in some of the dangling plot threads - what becomes of Gideon, of Farouk, of Tabah - of the region itself - or the ongoing problems and conflict that lingered into the '80s (when the book was written.)
Ultimately, I found the book a laborious read with an enormously unsatisfying conclusion. I was disappointed, because I kept wanting to like it (I never want to dislike a book I'm reading, since it's an investment of both time and interest), but try as I might, I could not. Reading a lengthy work only to reach a conclusion of "And then they all died and life was horrible, the end" is not a good return on my investment, personally. Based on the three Leon Uris stories I've now experienced, I don't really see myself seeking out more.
July 13, 2008
"We wanted to build a Singapore and they wanted a Somalia" I heard those words from an Israeli businessman as I looked over the Erez crossing and industrial park. What I saw of the Palestinian areas during my visit there conforms to what this book has to say about the impact of the religion, the wars and the culture on Palestinian society. This is a sad and depressing book, as it gives you a view from the Palestinian side of the events before and after the establishment of Israel. It is well worth learning about the islamic mind and how they react or think about the modern world. Truly, it is a culture adapted to the harsh environment and mercy or love have little place there. I felt some empathy for the Palestinians as they watched the Jews come back to their ancient homeland and bring the desert to life. The point most interesting to me was how the Palestinians felt like they were paying the price for the barbarism of modern Europe in WWII. I have some sympathy for that point. But not much as the Jews always have held a right to live in Israel. The most infuriating part of the story is the barbaric, medieval treatment of the women as property or slaves. The fact is that one half of the population will never contribute much to advancing the culture and society. This book illustrates how dysfunctional this group of people is. It is not a pleasant read but it is accurate in portraying this society
August 14, 2013
I normally love Leon Uris' work so when I saw this in the library I eagerly added it to my stack and ran home to read it. Maybe it's a product of my being a mom and trying to instill a sense of fairness in my kids; maybe it's being a Jew in the thick of the Bible Belt, hyper aware of how I present myself and my viewpoints so that I don't offend or alienate anyone. However, I found myself putting the book down about 1/4 of the way through because I just couldn't handle the smug "Jews are always superlative Arabs are always ignoramuses who need the Jews to help them figure out how to even breathe" tone any more. I still love Uris, and will continue to pick up his work wherever I can find it - hopefully the next book will be a little more equitable in it's opinions. :)
October 1, 2014
I read this book in 1984 when it first came out. I have a note in my records that I thought the book was excellent. I can remember that I did not enjoy it as much as I did “Exodus.” I thought that with all the problems in the Middle East the book might provide me with some insight to the situation, so I decided to re-read the book.
The story is about a Palestinian Arab family living in Palestine in the 1920-1950 eras. The main narrator of the story is Ishmael the youngest son of Ibrahim, who is the Muktar of an isolated village of Tabah in the Ajalon Valley. The book drags along, Ibrahim made his pilgrimage to Mecca as a young man. The pilgrimage is called the Haj, thus the title of the book. The story takes us to the formation of Israel and the family chooses to flee Palestine to a refugee camp near Jericho.
Uris provides colorful details, descriptions of the country and lots of sex and violence. I had to keep in mind the book is written by a Jew and the time frame of the book is 1920 to 1950. Uris does provide some history mixed into the story. I really enjoyed the part of the story when Ishmael took artifact he found to the archeologist. The history explained by him and the explanation about archeology was interesting. The author does write with some sympathy for the Arabs but mostly the impression I got from the book is the British and Arabs are bad and the Jews are good.
I had a totally different response to the book than I did when I read it in 1984. At that time I just enjoyed the story, this time I see the hyperbole, propaganda and the oversimplification. The story remains exciting but now I guess I can see more than just the story. I read this as an audio book downloaded from Audible. Neil Shah does a good job narrating the story.
The story is about a Palestinian Arab family living in Palestine in the 1920-1950 eras. The main narrator of the story is Ishmael the youngest son of Ibrahim, who is the Muktar of an isolated village of Tabah in the Ajalon Valley. The book drags along, Ibrahim made his pilgrimage to Mecca as a young man. The pilgrimage is called the Haj, thus the title of the book. The story takes us to the formation of Israel and the family chooses to flee Palestine to a refugee camp near Jericho.
Uris provides colorful details, descriptions of the country and lots of sex and violence. I had to keep in mind the book is written by a Jew and the time frame of the book is 1920 to 1950. Uris does provide some history mixed into the story. I really enjoyed the part of the story when Ishmael took artifact he found to the archeologist. The history explained by him and the explanation about archeology was interesting. The author does write with some sympathy for the Arabs but mostly the impression I got from the book is the British and Arabs are bad and the Jews are good.
I had a totally different response to the book than I did when I read it in 1984. At that time I just enjoyed the story, this time I see the hyperbole, propaganda and the oversimplification. The story remains exciting but now I guess I can see more than just the story. I read this as an audio book downloaded from Audible. Neil Shah does a good job narrating the story.
June 27, 2016
nice read. The story is interesting, and flows. As it is about my country, the places and events are familiar. The book is about a family of Palestinian refugees and spans from the 1920's to 1957. Through the story of the refugees, the author presents many issues of the Israeli/Arab conflict, and the general attitude of Muslims in the middle east to foreigners.
The books introduces the reader to various aspects of Muslim/Arab life…. Religion, treatment of women, family tradition, various social issues, and mainly the attitude to foreigners in general and the Jews/Zionists in particular.
If this book would be written by a Palestinian, it would be considered a sensational book and would be treated as an authentic description of the events. As it is, it was written by an American Jew. It includes sentences like
"The short fuse that every Arab carries in his guts had been ignited with consummate ease. Enraged mobs poured into the streets."
Practically all the Muslims and Arabs are presented as either wicked/villains/cruel or stupid/helpless (and in many case both). The Jews are presented as smart/kind/brave….. etc.
I do believe that allot of the narrative of this book is accurate , but there is much more to it.
The books introduces the reader to various aspects of Muslim/Arab life…. Religion, treatment of women, family tradition, various social issues, and mainly the attitude to foreigners in general and the Jews/Zionists in particular.
If this book would be written by a Palestinian, it would be considered a sensational book and would be treated as an authentic description of the events. As it is, it was written by an American Jew. It includes sentences like
"The short fuse that every Arab carries in his guts had been ignited with consummate ease. Enraged mobs poured into the streets."
Practically all the Muslims and Arabs are presented as either wicked/villains/cruel or stupid/helpless (and in many case both). The Jews are presented as smart/kind/brave….. etc.
I do believe that allot of the narrative of this book is accurate , but there is much more to it.
June 26, 2012
I thought this was a very well researched historical novel, both entertaining and informative. It made the history in the region between the 1920s and 1950s easier to understand. The story was terribly tragic and sad.
I was aware of the author’s obvious bias while reading it, but had a feeling that what he was saying about Arab and Jewish character was probably based mostly on reality. It seems that the Arab culture, which formed the religion of Islam, was summed up early in the book when Ishmael learned by the age of eight that it was father against son, brother against brother, family against family, clan against clan, tribe against tribe, and most of all, all Islamic Arabs against the infidel. It seems that even now, most of the Middle East is stubbornly stuck in the attitudes of past centuries, and is just waiting for the 7 paradises. I was very interested to see that an Arab reviewed and liked this book, on Feb. 21, 2010, and said that it gives a great description of Arab character.
I was aware of the author’s obvious bias while reading it, but had a feeling that what he was saying about Arab and Jewish character was probably based mostly on reality. It seems that the Arab culture, which formed the religion of Islam, was summed up early in the book when Ishmael learned by the age of eight that it was father against son, brother against brother, family against family, clan against clan, tribe against tribe, and most of all, all Islamic Arabs against the infidel. It seems that even now, most of the Middle East is stubbornly stuck in the attitudes of past centuries, and is just waiting for the 7 paradises. I was very interested to see that an Arab reviewed and liked this book, on Feb. 21, 2010, and said that it gives a great description of Arab character.
January 28, 2025
4.5 stars rounded up to 5. I disliked the ending, but overall this book is astonishingly good, truly epic. This book reveals the tragedy of the Palestinians and its root causes. Spoiler: it’s not the fault of the Jews. The Arab mind is revealed in terms of culture, religion, and tradition, explaining why they’ve never been able to either rule themselves or co-exist with anyone else. “Revenge is sacred, and hatred is noble.” The characters are achingly relatable and deeply frustrating by turn. This book was like a soap opera filled with action, violence, and passionately mad zealots who speak and think in absurd contradictions while lurching to their own doom, never missing an opportunity to scorn and scuttle an opportunity. It was an intense read. I really enjoyed it. Highly recommended.
December 25, 2024
Una excelente historia para comprender los motivos de disidencia entre los pueblos judío y musulmán (principalmente). El odio generado a través de tantos siglos se desborda en nuestra era nuevamente.
March 4, 2017
Several years ago, I read Leon Uris' epic best-seller Exodus. At that time, I had also purchased his other Middle East based novel, The Haj, which roughly encapsulates the same time period as covered in Exodus, albeit from the Arab perspective. But I was hesitant to begin reading it. And so, I didn't begin reading 'The Haj' until about 10 days ago.
'The Haj' is an epic novel centered on the lives of Haj Ibrahim al Soukouri al Wahhabi (the Muktar of Tabah) and his family. It is a story that is told through a number of voices - the land itself, formerly named Palestine from the 1880s when it was a largely barren province of the Ottoman Empire, and on into the mid-1950s following the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 and its varied impacts on the surrounding Arab nations; and from the perspective of Haj Ibrahim's youngest son, Ishmael. Indeed, it is through Ishmael that the reader becomes witness to the life of the Arabs in Tabah, a village near Lydda and Ramle in what is today the West Bank. In Tabah, Haj Ibrahim is absolute ruler, fulfilling the role of sage, judge, and arbiter of all disputes and issues therein. And, though illiterate, Haj Ibrahim is knowledgeable about the economics of his domain through his brother Farouk (who had been fortunate enough to have been the recipient of a Christian education from missionaries, which made him both literate and skilled in accounting).
Up til he was 8, Ishmael (who was born in 1936, the year the Arab uprising in Palestine against British rule broke out; it would last for 3 years) was largely overlooked by his father and lived in the part of the household where his mother Hagar and the other women held sway. Ishmael and his mother were especially close. He was also close to his sister Nada (who was slightly older than him and figures prominently later in the novel). Ishmael, unlike his 3 older brothers, has a great curiosity about the world around him and develops a thirst for knowledge. He wants to learn, to be able to read and write. Whenever Ishmael tried to impress his desire for an education to Haj Ibrahim, he is treated with disdain. Haj Ibrahim sees no need for him to be educated because as the youngest son, he is expected to become a herder of goats. On the other hand, Hagar recognizes that Ishmael has a sharp mind and urges him to try to make himself useful to his father by finding out the true number of all his land holdings in Tabah. In the process of doing this, Ishmael learns that his Uncle Farouk has been pocketing some of the annual profits, and shares this knowledge with his father. At first, Haj Ibrahim is inclined to ignore his son's claims out-of-hand. But when Ishmael is able to present incontrovertible evidence of Farouk's deception, he begins to see that, perhaps, this son can be of use to him. Thus, Ishmael is allowed to attend school, where he becomes one of the best students in class.
The novel also explores the relationship Haj Ibrahim had with Gideon Asch, a Jewish revolutionary leader he first crosses paths with when Asch and a group of Jewish pioneers come into the area during the early 1920s to establish a kibbutz near Tabah. Though Arab and Jew are sworn enemies, the 2 men over the next 30 years develop a close, brotherly friendship that Haj Ibrahim takes considerable pains to keep unknown to his community.
But in the main, "The Haj" is a novel about family and how the convulsive history of the Middle East as played out over the past century affected family relationships and livelihoods. It makes for compelling and at times, maddening and heartbreaking reading. For anyone wanting to get a better understanding as to why the Middle East is what it is today, "The Haj" is a good place to start.
'The Haj' is an epic novel centered on the lives of Haj Ibrahim al Soukouri al Wahhabi (the Muktar of Tabah) and his family. It is a story that is told through a number of voices - the land itself, formerly named Palestine from the 1880s when it was a largely barren province of the Ottoman Empire, and on into the mid-1950s following the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 and its varied impacts on the surrounding Arab nations; and from the perspective of Haj Ibrahim's youngest son, Ishmael. Indeed, it is through Ishmael that the reader becomes witness to the life of the Arabs in Tabah, a village near Lydda and Ramle in what is today the West Bank. In Tabah, Haj Ibrahim is absolute ruler, fulfilling the role of sage, judge, and arbiter of all disputes and issues therein. And, though illiterate, Haj Ibrahim is knowledgeable about the economics of his domain through his brother Farouk (who had been fortunate enough to have been the recipient of a Christian education from missionaries, which made him both literate and skilled in accounting).
Up til he was 8, Ishmael (who was born in 1936, the year the Arab uprising in Palestine against British rule broke out; it would last for 3 years) was largely overlooked by his father and lived in the part of the household where his mother Hagar and the other women held sway. Ishmael and his mother were especially close. He was also close to his sister Nada (who was slightly older than him and figures prominently later in the novel). Ishmael, unlike his 3 older brothers, has a great curiosity about the world around him and develops a thirst for knowledge. He wants to learn, to be able to read and write. Whenever Ishmael tried to impress his desire for an education to Haj Ibrahim, he is treated with disdain. Haj Ibrahim sees no need for him to be educated because as the youngest son, he is expected to become a herder of goats. On the other hand, Hagar recognizes that Ishmael has a sharp mind and urges him to try to make himself useful to his father by finding out the true number of all his land holdings in Tabah. In the process of doing this, Ishmael learns that his Uncle Farouk has been pocketing some of the annual profits, and shares this knowledge with his father. At first, Haj Ibrahim is inclined to ignore his son's claims out-of-hand. But when Ishmael is able to present incontrovertible evidence of Farouk's deception, he begins to see that, perhaps, this son can be of use to him. Thus, Ishmael is allowed to attend school, where he becomes one of the best students in class.
The novel also explores the relationship Haj Ibrahim had with Gideon Asch, a Jewish revolutionary leader he first crosses paths with when Asch and a group of Jewish pioneers come into the area during the early 1920s to establish a kibbutz near Tabah. Though Arab and Jew are sworn enemies, the 2 men over the next 30 years develop a close, brotherly friendship that Haj Ibrahim takes considerable pains to keep unknown to his community.
But in the main, "The Haj" is a novel about family and how the convulsive history of the Middle East as played out over the past century affected family relationships and livelihoods. It makes for compelling and at times, maddening and heartbreaking reading. For anyone wanting to get a better understanding as to why the Middle East is what it is today, "The Haj" is a good place to start.
January 1, 2013
As a novel, this book wasn't particularly good. The plot is interspersed (especially at the beginning) with long historical treatises about the history of israel/palestine/the british mandate. Plot-wise, it gets better around page 200, but still feels more like an exposition than a work of fiction. I did find the sometimes narrator (Ishmael) compelling and likeable. But the ending was disturbing and a huge disappointment (I'll leave it vague to avoid spoilers).
For historical information, I found the book quite interesting, but I'm concerned about its biases. It clearly presents the Jews as industrious, hardworking, and sympathetic. The Palestinians are also presented sympathetically (displaced by the war, and so on on), but the larger Arab culture is criticized broadly and sweepingly, and the Palestinians are ultimately presented as lazy and to blame for their own lack of making their refugee camps better places for themselves. I'm sure that some of this is true (particularly the depiction of the treatment of women in traditional Arab cultures), but it seems rather one-sided. As someone with Jewish background myself, I find it hard to approach discussions of Israel open-mindedly, and I would love to believe that the Jews wanted the Palestinian Arabs to stay in Israel, and that the Palestinian's continual plight is not the fault of the Jewish Zionists (but rather the British who made such a mess of the whole region, and the Arab nations who invaded Israel and displaced the Palestinians and then refused any peace treaties with Israel that would have let them return). But given that the author was Jewish, and that there are random generalized anti-Arab statements throughout, I find it hard to believe that the book is a completely fair portrayal of the situation.
In summary, this book left me wanting to find a non-fiction, un-biased book about the modern history of the region. Which is probably impossible to find.
For historical information, I found the book quite interesting, but I'm concerned about its biases. It clearly presents the Jews as industrious, hardworking, and sympathetic. The Palestinians are also presented sympathetically (displaced by the war, and so on on), but the larger Arab culture is criticized broadly and sweepingly, and the Palestinians are ultimately presented as lazy and to blame for their own lack of making their refugee camps better places for themselves. I'm sure that some of this is true (particularly the depiction of the treatment of women in traditional Arab cultures), but it seems rather one-sided. As someone with Jewish background myself, I find it hard to approach discussions of Israel open-mindedly, and I would love to believe that the Jews wanted the Palestinian Arabs to stay in Israel, and that the Palestinian's continual plight is not the fault of the Jewish Zionists (but rather the British who made such a mess of the whole region, and the Arab nations who invaded Israel and displaced the Palestinians and then refused any peace treaties with Israel that would have let them return). But given that the author was Jewish, and that there are random generalized anti-Arab statements throughout, I find it hard to believe that the book is a completely fair portrayal of the situation.
In summary, this book left me wanting to find a non-fiction, un-biased book about the modern history of the region. Which is probably impossible to find.
July 1, 2017
Finally I finished this ! Reading this book after 30 odd years after it was first published is kind of surreal. This is an account of the Arab - Israeli conflict through the eyes of an Arab-Palestine boy Ishmael. The author weaves a fictionalised account of the creation of Israel. Since I wanted to read something about the history of Israel, I had bought this book as well as "Exodus" which is a viewpoint of the conflict seen through the eyes of a Jew. The story is about a Palestine family from the 1920s - 1950s and the travails they go through from being a tribal clan to becoming a refugee. The story seemed a bit biased towards the Israelis showing them in a better light than the Arabs. This is by no means a detailed history but the author has woven a good story in the backdrop of history. Yes this is a decent attempt at historical fiction.
December 13, 2015
Spoiler alert: I didn't finish the book. It was getting draggy and irritating. More about that later.
The story is about Haj Ibrahim, the leader of Tabah, an Arab settlement in a strategic location south of Jerusalem. Everyone there is just scratching sustenance out of the ground as they've done for generations. They're all naturally miserable because they wallow in a culture that encourages backbiting, sniping, posturing, pride, revenge, and long-winded speechifying.
Then a happy bunch of kibbutzniks set up shop upstream. The kibbutzniks have all sorts of newfangled ideas that turn the desert into garden and they have a work-hard play-hard ideology that means they spend all day draining swamps and all night singing and dancing in perfect harmony, perfect egaliarianism, and perfect everything.
The leader of the kibbutzniks is Gideon Asch who is perfect in every way too. He is blond haired, blue eyed, grew up Jewish in Haifa but has lived among the Bedouins and has their enduring respect. He can ride hard, shoot straight, speak to everyone in their own language, and also predict the future because he's so darn clever.
There's a sometimes-tenuous sometimes-friendly relationship between the two settlements until the British pull out. Then, Tabah becomes terrified that if they stay, the Arab fighters will overrun their town and then the Jews will attack and then they'll be caught in the crossfire. So they pick up and get on a ship to Lebanon. Only, due to internecine politics, Ibrahim and his family can't go, so they wind up spending the war hiding out in caves in Qumran. Afterward they wander out and join the rest of the displaced people in DP camps in the Jordanian west bank areas.
During the war, the Jews take Arab towns without any notable death toll. The Arabs take Jewish settlements and kill people. Okay, there was one undeniable massacre by Jewish forces but it was just once and it was a loose-cannon guerrilla group operating independently and it was totally blown out of proportion. End war with Gideon Asch whispering in Ben Gurion's ear that he really has to wipe out Gaza now or it's gonna be a big issue in the future. BG doesn't listen.
Here is where it gets really fuzzy. At least the author tried to tie things together with narrative until this point. But now he's just throwing stuff at the reader without explanation. There is (presumably backbreaking, underpaid) labor to be had, but nobody wants to do it except the women. The teens form gangs to steal stuff, the elders sit and complain. They are all living on Red Crescent rations and water, although the author keeps insisting all the aid is foreign, not Arab. (Who knew the Red Crescent was Swiss?)
There is poor communication, but somehow Ibrahim manages to be in touch with a displaced Christian leader and displaced Bedouin leader in different camps and they organize. They want to go back to living in their old towns in the Israeli borders because Jews are nicer. (There are pages of speeches about this, like a shorter version of the pro-capitalism speeches in Atlas Shrugged.) Meanwhile, the Jordanians don't want them to. Nobody seems to know why, only that the Jordanians apparently like having DP camps fulls of gangs and restless people with guns in their territory, so they sabotage the efforts with hostages and blackmail.
Meanwhile, Ibrahim knows that the Israelis will reintegrate 100,000 refugees (exactly how he is in touch with them is unclear), all they have to do is ask nicely. But dangit, nobody will let him ask, and the Israelis don't offer because, I guess, they're not that generous.
This is where I stopped reading because it was getting stupid. In the beginning, the bias was at least subtle. Sure, there were no issues on the kibbutz and loads of issues in Tabah. And when the author had a chance to say something remotely positive about Arab culture -- like how well they took care of the childless widow in their town -- he turned it negative by making it about jealousy and backbiting. All the things he found to laud about the leader of Tabah were that he was different from the Arabs -- like, he was capable of getting to the point in under an hour and he got along with Jews.
I am not under the impression that Bedouin culture is a beautiful thing that is well suited to integrating into modern, western society. I'm not expecting a Lawrence-of-Arabian ode to the Bedouin. But I think something aside from a stream of pure negativity is warranted.
Once the war was over, the subtle bashing of Arab culture became unsubtle lauding of the Jews. It was just unsettling to hear an Arab leader get up and give a long speech about how great the Jews are and how terrible Arabs are. I mean, seriously. When your character ceases to be a person and becomes a sock puppet in a keffiyeh, I kind of lose interest.
So I went to GoodReads and read the spoilers and this is what happens: Stymied at every turn, Ibrahim gives up on trying to improve the lot of the refugees. One of his sons becomes a rebellious gangser. His daughter gets some liberated notions so he beats her to death and dumps her body in the gutter. His son yells at him, so he has a heart attack, goes crazy, and dies. The end.
The story is about Haj Ibrahim, the leader of Tabah, an Arab settlement in a strategic location south of Jerusalem. Everyone there is just scratching sustenance out of the ground as they've done for generations. They're all naturally miserable because they wallow in a culture that encourages backbiting, sniping, posturing, pride, revenge, and long-winded speechifying.
Then a happy bunch of kibbutzniks set up shop upstream. The kibbutzniks have all sorts of newfangled ideas that turn the desert into garden and they have a work-hard play-hard ideology that means they spend all day draining swamps and all night singing and dancing in perfect harmony, perfect egaliarianism, and perfect everything.
The leader of the kibbutzniks is Gideon Asch who is perfect in every way too. He is blond haired, blue eyed, grew up Jewish in Haifa but has lived among the Bedouins and has their enduring respect. He can ride hard, shoot straight, speak to everyone in their own language, and also predict the future because he's so darn clever.
There's a sometimes-tenuous sometimes-friendly relationship between the two settlements until the British pull out. Then, Tabah becomes terrified that if they stay, the Arab fighters will overrun their town and then the Jews will attack and then they'll be caught in the crossfire. So they pick up and get on a ship to Lebanon. Only, due to internecine politics, Ibrahim and his family can't go, so they wind up spending the war hiding out in caves in Qumran. Afterward they wander out and join the rest of the displaced people in DP camps in the Jordanian west bank areas.
During the war, the Jews take Arab towns without any notable death toll. The Arabs take Jewish settlements and kill people. Okay, there was one undeniable massacre by Jewish forces but it was just once and it was a loose-cannon guerrilla group operating independently and it was totally blown out of proportion. End war with Gideon Asch whispering in Ben Gurion's ear that he really has to wipe out Gaza now or it's gonna be a big issue in the future. BG doesn't listen.
Here is where it gets really fuzzy. At least the author tried to tie things together with narrative until this point. But now he's just throwing stuff at the reader without explanation. There is (presumably backbreaking, underpaid) labor to be had, but nobody wants to do it except the women. The teens form gangs to steal stuff, the elders sit and complain. They are all living on Red Crescent rations and water, although the author keeps insisting all the aid is foreign, not Arab. (Who knew the Red Crescent was Swiss?)
There is poor communication, but somehow Ibrahim manages to be in touch with a displaced Christian leader and displaced Bedouin leader in different camps and they organize. They want to go back to living in their old towns in the Israeli borders because Jews are nicer. (There are pages of speeches about this, like a shorter version of the pro-capitalism speeches in Atlas Shrugged.) Meanwhile, the Jordanians don't want them to. Nobody seems to know why, only that the Jordanians apparently like having DP camps fulls of gangs and restless people with guns in their territory, so they sabotage the efforts with hostages and blackmail.
Meanwhile, Ibrahim knows that the Israelis will reintegrate 100,000 refugees (exactly how he is in touch with them is unclear), all they have to do is ask nicely. But dangit, nobody will let him ask, and the Israelis don't offer because, I guess, they're not that generous.
This is where I stopped reading because it was getting stupid. In the beginning, the bias was at least subtle. Sure, there were no issues on the kibbutz and loads of issues in Tabah. And when the author had a chance to say something remotely positive about Arab culture -- like how well they took care of the childless widow in their town -- he turned it negative by making it about jealousy and backbiting. All the things he found to laud about the leader of Tabah were that he was different from the Arabs -- like, he was capable of getting to the point in under an hour and he got along with Jews.
I am not under the impression that Bedouin culture is a beautiful thing that is well suited to integrating into modern, western society. I'm not expecting a Lawrence-of-Arabian ode to the Bedouin. But I think something aside from a stream of pure negativity is warranted.
Once the war was over, the subtle bashing of Arab culture became unsubtle lauding of the Jews. It was just unsettling to hear an Arab leader get up and give a long speech about how great the Jews are and how terrible Arabs are. I mean, seriously. When your character ceases to be a person and becomes a sock puppet in a keffiyeh, I kind of lose interest.
So I went to GoodReads and read the spoilers and this is what happens: Stymied at every turn, Ibrahim gives up on trying to improve the lot of the refugees. One of his sons becomes a rebellious gangser. His daughter gets some liberated notions so he beats her to death and dumps her body in the gutter. His son yells at him, so he has a heart attack, goes crazy, and dies. The end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 19, 2007
I picked up this book, thinking that it would be set in Saudi Arabia at the time of the Haj - the pilgrimage to Mecca. Instead it is about the head of a clan who has made the journey to Mecca and takes the name Haj as a title. It is an interesting read as far as Palestinian thought and reason (or lack thereof!) Since I live in the Middle East, I can attest to the reality of the profile presented in the book. There were points in reading the book when I had to pause and say to myself, "Oh - that's way they act like that!" or "Yeah - I've heard people talk exactly this way!"
The setting is in Israel and the "West Bank" between the 1920's and the 1950's. The storyline itself is not one of my favorites. My copy conveniently had all the steamy scenes torn out, so I can't say that I would wholeheartedly recommend it, because I don't know the content of all of it, but someone who wants to get inside Palestinian self-destructive thinking and understand the refugee situation - this is your book.
The setting is in Israel and the "West Bank" between the 1920's and the 1950's. The storyline itself is not one of my favorites. My copy conveniently had all the steamy scenes torn out, so I can't say that I would wholeheartedly recommend it, because I don't know the content of all of it, but someone who wants to get inside Palestinian self-destructive thinking and understand the refugee situation - this is your book.
November 23, 2009
The book was a fascinating read of Arab and Islamic culture. The Arabs refused to do more than the miniumun amount of work and therefore were amazed to see the hard work of the Jews and some Europeans. This was 566 pages of Arabs sitting around in squalor complaining and expecting someone to come and rescue them. There seemed to be no iniative or ambition to do anything on their own. They had them same resources available to them that the Jews had but lacked any work ethic. Whereas the Jews absorbed their refuges into the larger Jewish society, the Arabs rejected their refugees leaving them in camps to be fed and cared for by American and European largess. No Arab country gave for the needs of fellow Arabs. The Arabs in the book had an almost incomprehensible obssession with sex. Sex of every variey was mentioned. After reading this book it is hard to look on Muslim Arabs with anything but disgust. This is supposed to be a well researched book of historical fiction. If that is true then Muslim Arabs are disgusting.
January 5, 2016
Outstanding book. I wish someone had given it to our President and Secretaries of State as Uris really does a fine job in both giving us an operational breakdown on the Koran and a great analysis of the Arab/Palestinian/Israeli situation. Told from the perspective of the Arab narrators this book really does a fine job in giving us a history lesson of the conflict in the Middle East and since it was written in 1984 the characters have also gave us a glimpse of today. I learned so much from this book that I was unaware of with regard to this portion of the world and this conflict. How Arabs and Jews can reach an unwritten compromise and then have the Arabs come out and yell "Death to the Jews" and incite riots. Also there are some pretty damning representations of Arab culture and so I definitely recommend this to one and all.
As a historical fiction writer, I feel Uris is a peg below Michener and Rutherfurd and even Follett, but he does voluminous research and it certainly appears that his "history" in the book is backed up by facts. Good read!
As a historical fiction writer, I feel Uris is a peg below Michener and Rutherfurd and even Follett, but he does voluminous research and it certainly appears that his "history" in the book is backed up by facts. Good read!
January 14, 2020
I don't have much to contribute my thoughts or so because this is the very first book I have read from this writer and the very first time I was introduced about the Middle East history and politics through historical fiction . But I felt like the book is a bit biased as the writer himself is Jew and it leads me to take a online course about modern middle East to get wider scope . So , overall , it gives a glimpse of the Arab society ,mostly intertwined with religion , the invasion of the west and the rise of Arab nationalism or so .
May 5, 2014
The characters are well etched out.
It is also true that the middle eastern leaders have a cutthroat policy, something whose absence would have helped the entire region to prosper rather than be stagnated in their present situation with uprisings and wars.
While the book has shed some light about how the conflicts began right after the jewish resettlement into Palestine around 1920s, the entire story is a one-sided description where Arab muslims are depicted as inferior blood-thirsty sanctimonious fools, arab christians as turncoats, the British as supreme politicians, UNRWA as an impotent organization and so on.
The only 'supermen' seem to be the Jews who have resettled. They fear no one. They can overcome hunger, they can not be defeated, they can be wronged but can do no wrong and more. Even the Deir Yassin incident seems to be a 'mistake that they did not want to do' by the Irgun in the book.
There is more. The sexual acts of the protagonist who has also completed his pilgrimage indirectly nudges the readers to the thought, 'See, that is how they really are.'
I hope readers who read the book will also read up on Deir Yassin massacre, Israeli involvement in Sabra-Shatila and other recent incidents, to realize that only one side cannot bear the entire blame for the middle east fiasco.
The author also blatantly points out that 'Islam cannot live with anyone in peace'. That is a seed that can sprout out to be Banyan trees of hate and intolerance in the minds of many who are non-muslims and have never lived around any practicing muslim.
In 2014, there are practicing muslims all over the world, who are living lives in complete harmony with people of other faiths.
It is also true that the middle eastern leaders have a cutthroat policy, something whose absence would have helped the entire region to prosper rather than be stagnated in their present situation with uprisings and wars.
While the book has shed some light about how the conflicts began right after the jewish resettlement into Palestine around 1920s, the entire story is a one-sided description where Arab muslims are depicted as inferior blood-thirsty sanctimonious fools, arab christians as turncoats, the British as supreme politicians, UNRWA as an impotent organization and so on.
The only 'supermen' seem to be the Jews who have resettled. They fear no one. They can overcome hunger, they can not be defeated, they can be wronged but can do no wrong and more. Even the Deir Yassin incident seems to be a 'mistake that they did not want to do' by the Irgun in the book.
There is more. The sexual acts of the protagonist who has also completed his pilgrimage indirectly nudges the readers to the thought, 'See, that is how they really are.'
I hope readers who read the book will also read up on Deir Yassin massacre, Israeli involvement in Sabra-Shatila and other recent incidents, to realize that only one side cannot bear the entire blame for the middle east fiasco.
The author also blatantly points out that 'Islam cannot live with anyone in peace'. That is a seed that can sprout out to be Banyan trees of hate and intolerance in the minds of many who are non-muslims and have never lived around any practicing muslim.
In 2014, there are practicing muslims all over the world, who are living lives in complete harmony with people of other faiths.
August 4, 2016
I marked this as historical fiction although at the time of publication in 1984 it doesn't quite meet the 50 yr guideline. Anyway, I'm torn in how to review this book is it biased? Probably. There are certainly some very black & white situations & characters; however I felt like the descriptions of traditional Arab tribal culture in many areas of the Middle East seems to be as true today. Hatred, vengeance, barbaric brutality, the subjugation of women, the brainwashing of young boys and men.
The primary setting is Palestine and covers the period from just before WWII through 1956. Told from the Arab point of view it follows the creation of Israel and the Palestinian refugee crises. It is brutal, and tragic. Told in the first person (young Ishmael) and 3rd person narration, which did not bother me as much as other reviewers, it explored both history and a culture that rigidly stuck to their dogma to the detriment of its people. As you take this journey with Ishmael and his family, you hold out hope for a brighter future for someone in this novel, it is not to be.
The best part of the novel I felt was the complicated relationship that develops between Ishmael's father, the muktar of his village Tabar, and Gideon Asch, a Jew.
The primary setting is Palestine and covers the period from just before WWII through 1956. Told from the Arab point of view it follows the creation of Israel and the Palestinian refugee crises. It is brutal, and tragic. Told in the first person (young Ishmael) and 3rd person narration, which did not bother me as much as other reviewers, it explored both history and a culture that rigidly stuck to their dogma to the detriment of its people. As you take this journey with Ishmael and his family, you hold out hope for a brighter future for someone in this novel, it is not to be.
The best part of the novel I felt was the complicated relationship that develops between Ishmael's father, the muktar of his village Tabar, and Gideon Asch, a Jew.
February 2, 2008
A certainly biased look at the origins of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, as it was written by Jewish Leon Uris. It leaves doubts in my mind as a reader as to how fictional or nonfictional some of these events are. I understand it's a fictional novel, but the book spends a lot of time trying to paint the picture of Arab life in the Middle East. The more liberal side of me hopes that Uris has painted a falsified and horribly inaccurate picture because I wish people didn't have to live like that. The more conservative side of me hopes that Uris has painted a falsified and horribly inaccurate picture because I am afraid of what accuracy in this case might mean, especially regarding the Jewish community in Israel.
I wonder how a book like this could be published if there isn't a certain amount of truth to what is being written.
I wonder how a book like this could be published if there isn't a certain amount of truth to what is being written.
August 7, 2008
Not the easiest read in the world, but a great look at the history of the Palestinian refugees. I was amazed by the fact that the story is told from the Arab point of view, yet it is the Jews that come across as reasonable, honest, desiring of peace, etc.
This book has definitely given me a desire to read some non-fiction on the history of the Arab/Israeli conflict. I want to know how historically accurate this book is.
This book has definitely given me a desire to read some non-fiction on the history of the Arab/Israeli conflict. I want to know how historically accurate this book is.
January 15, 2021
The Haj merupakan sebuah novel fiksyen sejarah yang berlatarbelakang masyarakat di tanah Arab dan Palestin dalam era 1920-an hingga 1950-an. Sebuah novel yang berkisarkan masyarakat Arab selepas perang dunia pertama sehingga kepada kemuncak konflik Arab dan Yahudi yang membawa kepada tertubuhnya negara Israel.
Novel ini mengisahkan tentang masyarakat Arab dari segi politik, ekonomi dan sosial serta konflik-konflik yang berlaku di dalam masyarakat. Sebuah kisah dan cerita yang menarik di mana ia menyentuh tentang perbezaan di antara Arab dan Yahudi dari segi politik, Ekonomi dan Sosial yang secara jelasnya menunjukkan perbezaan yang sangat ketara. Masyarakat Arab dilihat tidak mementingkan pendidikan pada anak-anak kerana dianggap sesuatu yang tidak penting dan takut terpengaruh dengan ideology luar yang dikatakan akan melanggar adat dan tradisi masyarakat.
Dari segi layanan terhadap gender, masyarakat Arab lebih mementingkan kaum lelaki dan kebebasan dan hak-hak wanita di sekat. Perkerjaan bagi kaum wanita ditentukan oleh ketua keluarga dan kaum wanita tidak mempunyai kebebasan untuk memilih. Dari segi semangat kekeluargaan, masyarakat arab dilihat mempunyai semangat dan pengangan yang kukuh di mana mereka akan melindungi keluarga mereka dari apa juga keadaan.
Novel ini juga memaparkan kisah sebuah keluarga yang berpegang kepada adat dan tradisi yang kuat dan mengongkong ahli –ahli di dalam keluarga yang akhirnya membawa kepada pemberontakan anak-anak terhadap ayahnya yang berakhir dengan kamatian.
Secara Simboliknya, novel ini boleh dikatakan untuk mengangkat bangsa Yahudi. Penceritaan lebih kepada kemunduran masyarakat dan perpecahan masayarakat Arab berbanding dengan masyarakat Yahudi. Perbandingan dibuat berdasarkan kepada politik, ekonomi dan sosial, di mana masyarakat Yahudi dilihat lebih tersusun. Masyarakat Arab dilihat menolak pembangunan dan permodenan kerana dianggap akan mengganggu tradisi dan adat mereka. Kepincangan di dalam kepimpinan, pengkhianatan, rasuah dan salah guna kuasa adalah berleluasa dikalangan masyarakat Arab.
Novel ini secara umumnya cuba mengkritik kepincangan sesebuah masyarakat dari segi politik, ekonomi dan sosial dimana ia boleh dilihat masih berlaku pada hari ini. Seseorang pemerintah sanggup membuat apa sahaja untuk mengekalkan kuasa dan manusia boleh malakukan apa sahaja untuk berkuasa. Pengkhianatan dan salah guna kuasa adalah merupakan permainan biasa di dalam politik. Selain itu, novel ini juga mengkritik sistem kekeluargaan di mana adat dan tradisi menjadi pegangan utama melebihi segalanya
Novel ini mengisahkan tentang masyarakat Arab dari segi politik, ekonomi dan sosial serta konflik-konflik yang berlaku di dalam masyarakat. Sebuah kisah dan cerita yang menarik di mana ia menyentuh tentang perbezaan di antara Arab dan Yahudi dari segi politik, Ekonomi dan Sosial yang secara jelasnya menunjukkan perbezaan yang sangat ketara. Masyarakat Arab dilihat tidak mementingkan pendidikan pada anak-anak kerana dianggap sesuatu yang tidak penting dan takut terpengaruh dengan ideology luar yang dikatakan akan melanggar adat dan tradisi masyarakat.
Dari segi layanan terhadap gender, masyarakat Arab lebih mementingkan kaum lelaki dan kebebasan dan hak-hak wanita di sekat. Perkerjaan bagi kaum wanita ditentukan oleh ketua keluarga dan kaum wanita tidak mempunyai kebebasan untuk memilih. Dari segi semangat kekeluargaan, masyarakat arab dilihat mempunyai semangat dan pengangan yang kukuh di mana mereka akan melindungi keluarga mereka dari apa juga keadaan.
Novel ini juga memaparkan kisah sebuah keluarga yang berpegang kepada adat dan tradisi yang kuat dan mengongkong ahli –ahli di dalam keluarga yang akhirnya membawa kepada pemberontakan anak-anak terhadap ayahnya yang berakhir dengan kamatian.
Secara Simboliknya, novel ini boleh dikatakan untuk mengangkat bangsa Yahudi. Penceritaan lebih kepada kemunduran masyarakat dan perpecahan masayarakat Arab berbanding dengan masyarakat Yahudi. Perbandingan dibuat berdasarkan kepada politik, ekonomi dan sosial, di mana masyarakat Yahudi dilihat lebih tersusun. Masyarakat Arab dilihat menolak pembangunan dan permodenan kerana dianggap akan mengganggu tradisi dan adat mereka. Kepincangan di dalam kepimpinan, pengkhianatan, rasuah dan salah guna kuasa adalah berleluasa dikalangan masyarakat Arab.
Novel ini secara umumnya cuba mengkritik kepincangan sesebuah masyarakat dari segi politik, ekonomi dan sosial dimana ia boleh dilihat masih berlaku pada hari ini. Seseorang pemerintah sanggup membuat apa sahaja untuk mengekalkan kuasa dan manusia boleh malakukan apa sahaja untuk berkuasa. Pengkhianatan dan salah guna kuasa adalah merupakan permainan biasa di dalam politik. Selain itu, novel ini juga mengkritik sistem kekeluargaan di mana adat dan tradisi menjadi pegangan utama melebihi segalanya
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