megan frost

Trinity like Exodus allows the reader who is shy of reference and history books to get a sense of history through a mix of fiction and historical fact. Tolstoy’s War and Peace is of the same genre and sets the benchmark. Exodus is the more satisfying book possibly because the underdog Jews seem to perform miraculous feats in the face of a much larger but divided enemy, and mirror ancient biblical history in doing so. It is a true tour de force. The Irish plight is murkier, less iconic and reflects the recurring nightmare of failure where the hero dies with shabby glory. But this is the truth and fiction can only do so much to polish it. Uris does a good job however of describing the overlapping and nuanced relationships that confuse Irish history. It is no wonder that the Irish turn to poetry rather than prose to work through their grief and so Uris should be applauded for trying to fill the gap.