Exile

De: Richard North Patterson

Narrado por: Dennis Boutsikaris

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

Reseñas de la Crítica

"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)

Great Thriller!

This story was very engaging and entertaining, and one of the most unbiased perspectives of the Middle East conflict I've ever read. I highly recommend it and think it would make an excellent movie too!
The narration of the non American accents on the other hand was poorly done and not very convincing. In particular his portrayal of the female Arab accents was terrible and stereotypically "Hollywood". Having lived in the Middle East myself I can attest to the fact that Arab women do not all sound the same and definitely don't have the inflection he portrayed!

The best book I have ever

Truly the best. I love his work because of his ability to take a controversial subject and explore it fully through his fictional characters. This one was even more amazing. I was not finished for five minutes when I was ready to go through it again.

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.

Entertaining

The story is very intricate and well described. The details are impecable. It is a slow developing story and there isn't a lot of 'heart-pounding' action, but it is a good story nonetheless. I haven't heard anyone tell the plight of Jews and Palestinians alike, let alone in the same story, quite like this!

One of the Best

The best book I have ever listened to on audio with the possible exception of Memoirs of a Geisha. The story is compelling and it is easy to be drawn into the frustration of the problems in the Middle East and the sadness that surrounds the lives of the people who live there every day in fear of terrorism and oppression. The narrator is excellent. I listen to books in my car and found excuses to go driving so I could listen to more. The 20 hour unabridged version goes by way too fast.

Excellent story, terrible narration

Kudos to Patterson for an objective and balanced description of both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian hopeless feud. The plot is terrific, but the narrator’s fake accent and ridiculous mispronunciations of Hebrew and Arabic words and names made me cringe. I recommend you read this book rather than listen to it.

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!

Exile

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

Absorbing Legal/Political Mystery Thriller

This well researched novel is intricately wound up with the complexity and tragedy of Israeli/Palestinian geo-politics wound around a mystery/courtroom drama. Well developed, complex characters struggle with their history, heritage, and religious identities. A very balanced analysis of how there are only victims and losers in the mid-east conflict, and how radical elements, while a minority, are able to keep the moderate majority on both sides from achieving a peaceful two state solution. The history of the Jews as a people dispossessed, vilified and victims of anti-Semitism for thousands of years is juxtaposed with the history of Palestinians who have been dispossessed, humiliated and refugees for the past 60 years.
The struglle of the lead character, San Francisco attorney David Wolf, to deal with his personal inner conficts as a cultural, but not spiritual Jew, while defending a Palestinian woman accused of conspiring to assasinate the Prime Minister of Israel is fascinating, as is the portrayal of the courtroom drama, including a behind the scenes look into judge's chambers.
Those who enjoy John Grisham, Scott Turow, etc., and also enjoy contemporary politics will enjoy this book.

Interesting but Drags

This is a great story, and it really helps to understand the Israeli-Palestenian conflict. Unfortunately, in his effort to tell all sides of the story, the author gets long-winded and the novel drages for several hours. Instead of increasing suspense, I felt increasing exasperation and couldn't wait for the ending. It's too bad because it's a great expose of the middle east situation. The narrator does a good job.