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Exile  By  cover art

Exile

By: Richard North Patterson
Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
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Publisher's summary

From one of America's most compelling novelists comes the mesmerizing story of a lawyer who must defend the woman he loves against a charge of conspiring to assassinate the prime minister of Israel

David Wolfe's life is approaching an exhilarating peak: he's a successful San Francisco lawyer, he's about to get married, and he's being primed for a run for Congress. But when the phone rings and he hears the voice of Hana Arif—the Palestinian woman with whom he had a secret affair in law school—he begins a completely unexpected journey. The next day, the prime minister of Israel is assassinated by a suicide bomber while visiting San Francisco; soon, Hana herself is accused of being the mastermind behind the murder. Now David faces an agonizing choice: Will he, a Jew, represent Hana—who may well be guilty—or will he turn away the one woman he can never forget?

The most challenging case of David's career requires that he delve deep into the lives of Hana Arif and her militant Palestinian husband, both of whom have always lived in exile. Ultimately, David's quest takes him to Israel and the West Bank, where, in a series of harrowing encounters, he learns that appearances are not at all what they seem.

Culminating in a tense and startling trial with international ramifications, Exile is that rare novel that both entertains and enlightens. At once an intricate tale of betrayal and deception, a moving love story, and a fascinating journey into the lethal politics of the Middle East, this is Richard North Patterson at his most brilliant and engrossing.

©2007 Richard North Patterson. All rights reserved (P)2007 Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC

Critic reviews

"Action abounds, culminating in courtroom drama." (Booklist)

"Exile is a novel worth reading by anyone who is trying to understand, at least in part, one of the Middle East's political nightmares....Through his artful writing, Patterson presents compelling arguments for both sides while avoiding a preachy tone - a pitfall a lesser writer easily could succumb to." (USA Today)

What listeners say about Exile

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Enlightening Listen

More than entertainment, this book delves into the heart of the Arab/Israeli conflict by exploring the lives of David, a Jewish man, and Hana, a Palestinian woman, who met and loved each other while attending Harvard Law School. David finds himself defending Hana for the brutal assassination of the Israeli Prime Minister while the PM visited the United States. Having not seen her since law school he is conflicted in many ways about his feelings for her and, while on a political fast track before now finds himself a pariah among his Jewish friends who can not understand how he can defend Hana. The author explores how Palestinians and Israelis have come to behave the way they do and through the various characters expresses how tumultuous the situation in the area has become. However, he seems to also say that much of the tragic situation is being fueled by outside forces, and if these could be contained perhaps there could be peace. The book is long and gives one an appreciation for the horrors experienced on both sides of the conflict. Definitely a book that is very hard to put down.

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36 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Dialogue Pain

Rick Patterson took a wonderful subject, a big chunk of modern day history and turned it into a monster of a read. He admits in his interview that he left nothing out. If he traveled there, he included his location in the book. He included too much to be easily readable!

Second, Patterson's editor needs to be more vigilant in editing. I heard at least three 'he or she said sardonically' in this book and at least dozens more of the dialogue attributions. Everyone spoke quietly, earnestly, softly and sardonically until the nails on the blackboard screeched in my ears each time someone spoke.

If you saw a lone woman driving down the interstate day after daylistening to her audio tape but screaming in a silent pain, I confess, it was me, slugging my way through the book.

I was rewarded at the end with a great court room scene. I wish we would've gotten there about 100,000 words sooner.

If you have an I-pod and can listen in fast mode and skip forward every chapter or so, you too can slug through the jungle of words.

If you want great writing that tingles your toes, look elsewhere. This is a history lesson wrapped with painful dialogue. The characters are rather enteraining, at times.

Mr. Patterson needs to read Stephen King's "On Writing." Could someone tell him it's available on audio? "I learned from the King book," she said earnestly but softly in that sweet manner.

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30 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Listen

I was very impressed with the authors ability to write whole heartedly from all perspectives. He took a volatile issue and gave each side of it a human face. They cease to be political and become someones life story. It's a love story, an adventure, a legal thriller, mystery, and a journey through Israel and Palestine. I would recommend the Unabridged version of this book - it's long, but a great listen! Through fiction, you learn about what is going on in Israel and Palestine from ALL sides - and you'll find there are many. It makes no judgments, and gives you the information to decide for yourself.

We hear from a Holocaust survivor, a Muslim extremist, and most importantly the two people (a Muslim woman and Jewish man) searching for a moderate answer to this complex situation - personally and politically.

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Exile

This is an excellent "read"...one learns so much about the middle east problems in a novel setting that is both informative and exciting at the same time...loved it!

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I am now spoiled forever!

I admit that I am not a "demanding" reader - not a "pick it appart" critic. But I am an avid reader who enjoys the hunt for and the discovery of fiction treasure. Exile is such a novel. My first work by RN Patterson and I was blown away. His relentless and thorough research and interview process was evident. I not only was entertained and captivated, but also experienced the bonus of some great insight into US - Middle East relations and history. The narration was brilliant and absent the forced drama sometimes found in these recordings.

This book had something for everybody . . . be you male or female, academic or Joe the plumber, combat tested or homemaker tested, religious or agnostic. I hated it to end!!!

Now I am actually fearful of choosing my next book because RNP and Dennis Boutsikaris have set the bar so high! I am sure that I will get over my shopping anxiety . . . . I hope. Read or listen to "Exile" but do NOT ignore it!

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent in All Respects

As others have said, this book, as well as the narration, set a new standard in excellence.

As a fan of Richard North Patterson, I actually had the hardcover of "Exile" on my bookshelf, unread, for many months, somewhat daunted by its length and its background of Middle East politics.
I decided to see whether I could access the book more easily through the audio version, and I'm glad I did.

The story is both gripping and educational -- without the education ever over-intruding and hitting you over the head.

He does a great job of presenting both Israeli and Palestinian views of the Middle East conflict without proselytizing and without, it seems overtly choosing sides -- which, I can understand, may trouble some. But if you end up thinking some portrayals of characters are overly-sympathetic (and I did occasionally), I think it is ultimately a reflection of Patterson's success in conveying the very complexities of the Middle East players -- as well as the dangers and limitations to all of us from either pigeonholing or stereotyping them.

The story, while being thoroughly entertaining on all levels (plot, characterizations, love interests) makes you think about myriad perspectives on the conflict.

Then there's the narration! Let me just say that it was superb all the way through. I've looked for more of the narrator's books and am simply sorry that there do not appear to be that many.

Definitely a 5-star recommendation in all respects.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A surprisingly fun, intelligent read

I feel guilty while reading most espionage thrillers because the books usually have little literary value beyond the pure escape. They ordinarily do not challenge me and I rarely am impressed with the writing. Still, I sometimes love the easy escape. Enter now Patterson's latest work, Exile. It is engaging and fun and an easy read while still causing me to stop every now and then because of a great phrase. This book shows why Patterson is a cut above Evanovich, Connoly, Demille, Forsyth, Clancy and others of that ilk. This book is closer to approaching Ludlum. Even without elucidating on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the book would have been engaging but the book boldly addresses the roots of the conflict. Patterson shows the Palestinian point of view and the Israeli point of view through the device of an open-minded Jewish attorney who has litte identification as a Jew but who is involved with a Palestinian woman. The reader is left thinking that both sides have merit and that each side's only sin is that of hubris and an inability to see the other's point of view and sense of history. I regret that the book gave only a passing reference to the fact that Israel has been forced into being an occupier. The Palestinians and the Arab states who have supported them did not accept the 1948 partition decree of the United Nations and it was they who invaded Israel. After Israel offered land for peace, the Palestinians and their supporters invaded again. Most Palestinians deny the right of Isreal to even exist while Israel has made several attempts to extricate itself from role of occupier to allow for Palestinian sovereignty. I therefore think it wrong to attempt some moral equivalency though I appreciated getting more context for the Palestinian world view. A very good book and well performed. Dennis Boutsikaris switches back and forth between character voices and brings you into the story.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Exile

Great book and terrific insight into both the Palestinian and Israeli points of view. Also, would recommend President Carters recent book - Palestine.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A real tour de force

This is an amazing book - definitely the best I have read in a long time. The plot is very complex and sweeping and is intertwined with the personal stories of the characters, but it is totally credible. For most of the book, the plot is extremely compelling - a real page turner. A section in the middle gets a bit more academic as the main character researches his case, and this part is less compelling but very interesting. It's a very clever and well crafted story that also does a very creditable job of addressing the issues of war and peace in the middle east in an unusually evenhanded way. Most everyone, with the possible exception of middle east scholars can learn a lot from this very thoroughly researched book. The interview with the author at the end is an extra bonus. This is a must read!

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

5 stars for information; 4 for novel

I don't usually like action/suspense novels, but I loved this. As others have stated, it's as much an entertaining history lesson as novel - but I think he gets the history right, not sacrificing to the storyline. I think listening to this book was the only time I did not get a headache learning about the Middle East!

As action/suspense, we could pick apart the plot or charaterization, but I think the book still stands up well against usual bestsellers of the genre for all that. I like the narrator because I do not like "dramatic" narration styles.

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7 people found this helpful