Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
In this semi-autobiographical story, unhappy novelist Gideon Zadok parachutes, on the eve of the 1956 Sinai War, into Mitla Pass with a company of Israeli soldiers to face his past and prove his courage. ``Sour, self-indulgent characters and surprisingly awkward dialogue suggest that only the staunchest Uris fans will enjoy his new novel,'' concluded PW . (Nov.)
Library Journal
Against the backdrop of the 1956 Sinai War, Uris provides a riveting portrait (possibly autobiographical) of a man caught in personal crisis. Gideon Zadok, best-selling novelist and successful Hollywood screenwriter, has come to Israel with his family to research a new novel and to shore up a crumbling marriage. But he jeopardizes that by starting a passionate affair with a beautiful Auschwitz survivor. Zadok is a man wavering on the edge of a breakdown. As the political crisis escalates, and his family is evacuated, Zadok asks to accompany Israeli paratroopers on a desperate mission to seal off the strategic Mitla Pass. The Uris name will make this book much in demand, and if it is not as much of an epic as Exodus or Trinity , it has in Zadok Uris's most fascinating character. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club selections.Charles Michaud, Turner Free Lib., Randolph, Mass.
