QB VII

By: Leon Uris

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 13 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

In Queen's Bench Courtroom Number Seven, famous author Abraham Cady stands trial. In his book The Holocaust - born of the terrible revelation that the Jadwiga Concentration camp was the site of his family's extermination - Cady shook the consciousness of the human race. He also named eminent surgeon Sir Adam Kelno as one of Jadwiga's most sadistic inmate/doctors. Kelno has denied this and brought furious charges. Now unfolds Leon Uris' riveting courtroom drama - one of the great fictional trials of the century.

©1970 Leon Uris (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

An Important Revisit to a Dark Era

Having read this novel three decades ago, I recalled that I was enthralled with how the story unwound. Now, hearing it read by John Lee, I can tell my fellow listeners that this novel/audiobook is in my top 25 out of 1350.

First, don't be put off by the period sexism (circa 1970). You'll find the same stuff in Exodus (also by Uris). It's just the way he wrote. Keep focused on the motivations of the characters. Their extremes are tell-tale foreshadowing to a totally unexpected ending.

QB VII (or Queen's Bench 7) is the British courtroom where a trial takes place. The listener must serve as jury to answer the question: Is Abraham Cady (a reporter) guilty of libeling Dr. Adam Kelno, a Polish physician, whom Cady accused of war crimes? The backdrop for this story is the Holocaust, but the drama plays out in British Courtroom two decades after WWII ended.

When you finish this book you will be a different person. Oh…one more thing…it is based on a true story!

Based on true story

According to my records I read “QB VII” in 1979 with a comment about how good it was. I have read all of Uris’s books except “Battle Cry”. My favorite Leon Uris books are “Exodus,” “Mila 18” and “QB VII.” It was after I had read QB VII I discovered the book was a fictionalization of a libel suit which grew out of the publication of the book “Exodus”. On page 155 Uris named a Polish physician Wladislaw Dering M.D. whom he asserted performed experimental surgery on human guinea pigs for the Nazi’s in Auschwitz. In “Exodus” Uris states Dering performed castration and removed ovaries that had been subjected to radiation treatment. Uris claimed he did experiments in surgery without anesthetics on 17,000 inmates primarily Jews. The libel trial, Dering v Uris & others, was held in London in 1964. The verdict by the jury was for Dering but only awarded him a half penny the smallest coin in the realm. Uris proved his information was correct with only a slight discrepancy in the number of cases.

Queen’s Bench Courtroom Number Seven (QB VII) is a master fictionalization of the Dering v Uris libel suit. Uris divides the book into four gripping sections. One is the story of Polish physician Adam Kelno, a brief review of his childhood and the anti-Semitism of Poland at the time. Then goes into his capture and life in the Jadwiga concentration camp. The book then goes into his life after the war in England and Borneo and after 20 years his return to England. The next part of the book tells the story of author Abe Cady, his childhood, life as a British pilot during WWII his injuries, marriage and writing career ending with the publication of his big book called “Holocaust”. The next part tells about Cady’s hunt for key people that were in Jadwiga concentration camp. The last and most exciting part tells the blow by blow action of the court trial. Uris explains about the pomp and circumstance of the British Court system and British common law. I found this education about the British legal system not only informative but entertaining. As in the real trial the verdict was for the plaintiff but only a half penny was awarded. I believe I enjoyed the book more in this second reading than in the first, maybe because I now know it was based on a true story. I enjoyed the melodious voice of one of my favorite narrators John Lee, who did his usual great job narrating the book.

A Halfpenny For Your Thoughts

Leon Uris is best known for the novel Exodus. Within that 600-page epic was a single line, a half of a sentence, about a doctor performing experiments on human prisoners in Auschwitz. That doctor sued Uris for libel in 1964. QB VII, which refers to the courtroom in which the libel case was heard, is a fictionalized account of that trial.

The trial actually only takes up the final third of the book. The first two-thirds are split between the back stories of the doctor and the author. More than a half-century later, the results of the trial in real life and in the book are well known, but in case anyone interested in reading the book doesn't know, I won't introduce spoilers here.

Spoilers are moot anyway. There are several central characters treated with moral ambiguity, Uris accomplishing two things. Stylistically, he manipulates our sympathies by presenting characters a certain way and then introducing ambiguity. Thematically, he examines the moral ambiguity of the motivations and actions of people in the extremely stressful setting of concentration camps.

I haven't researched it, but I believe this must have been one of the earliest literary works on the Holocaust that examined the perpetrators from multiple angles -- what they did, why they did it, how they justified it to themselves and others, how they reacted to their own actions in the aftermath. Uris certainly doesn't excuse anyone, but he does present a complex view of what drives people in these worst of times.

The trial is the best part, especially the last 90 minutes when the truth begins to unfold. If I have any criticism, the first two parts on the plaintiff and defendant delve into the characters for hours, but it is less about character development than about their histories -- Uris hasn't avoided his element, but he is not altogether successful at it. Hence a deduction of one star on the story side.

The narration is excellent -- pitch perfect in presenting English, Polish, Southern U.S., and several other accents.

Riveting story!

What made the experience of listening to QB VII the most enjoyable?

QB VII is the fictionalized account of the real libel trial that took place in the High Courts of London after the publication of Exodus by Leon Uris. Following the annals of a history we now are all too familiar with, this is a fascinating, heartbreaking, and completely gripping tale. Although the main character, Abraham Cady, gets unbearably preachy at the end of the story, this is Uris' best book.

What aspect of John Lee’s performance would you have changed?

The narrator, John Lee, is clearly an actor, rather than just a reader. I would say that he is a good actor. He reads with appropriate emphasis and emotion and uses a range of national accents to portray European characters. Normally I give kudos to voice actors who try to infuse real personality into their characterizations, but Lee's accents are uneven and one in particular (Abe Cady's Virginia accent) was so terrible that it distracted from the story. People from the state of Virginia have soft, understated "Southern" accent but Lee made everyone in the Cady family sound like hillbillies. It would have been far less distracting if he had not attempted that bizarre accent. Most of the characters spoke with a Polish accent and this usually worked--EXCEPT when he forgot to switch gears and a British barrister came out sounding like he was from Krakow.

Any additional comments?

This hefty book really works as an audio book. It provided me with hours of involved listening.

Narrator was awful, but a great story

If you could sum up QB VII in three words, what would they be?

Nazi Court Drama

What was one of the most memorable moments of QB VII?

When the Queen parachuted down to the Olympics.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

As soon as I started listening to this audio book I had a bad flashback. You see, I've tried to listen to an audible recording of "The Guns of August" four times, but have never been able to get into it - and I've blamed it on the narrator. I didn't know it at the time, but QBVII as the same narrator, John Lee. I don't care for him at all.
Many of the characters in QBVII are British, as is Lee. So for those characters he was good, and even the Poles - he did a fine job on both men and women. However, one of the main characters, Abe is from North Carolina. John Lee butchers the southern accent. At times, it seems like he's lost and trying to find the accent again. It was distracting. And, I'll probably make it a point to avoid any books he narrates in the future.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Some shadows can't be lived down.

Of two deeply flawed men, I prefer the anti-hero

First, this review is going to contain spoilers. Don't read this if you don't want to know the conclusion.

The book is a thinly-veiled autobiographical account of the author's trial for libeling a certain doctor in his book "Exodus." I did not realize this when I bought this audiobook, but learned it after looking up background information on the author as I was listening.

The book opens by telling of the life of a Polish doctor who was a prisoner in a fictional concentration camp. The doctor worked to save lives during his time there, and was much loved by the people he saved. The book picks up immediately after the war, when the doctor escapes from Poland, is found in a refugee camp by an old friend, and brought to England to live. Shortly thereafter, the doctor is accused of war crimes by the Communist regime in Poland, which attempts to extradite the doctor out of England. After two years of inquiry in England, the doctor is exonerated. He and his family move to Borneo, where the doctor has a distinguished career treating jungle/equatorial diseases and malnourishment.

The second part tells the story of a young Jewish boy in northern Virginia, who grows up to fight in WWII, become a journalist, and eventually a novelist. He writes a book about the Holocaust, which includes a single paragraph naming the Polish doctor as a participant in the horrific human experiments that occurred in the concentration camp. The doctor sues the writer and publisher for libel.

The rest of the book is devoted to the libel trial, at which the doctor's reputation is gradually shattered as it becomes clear that he did, indeed, treat his Jewish patients with less care and concern than he treated the Christian patients. The doctor "wins" the libel case, because the book does include false statements about him, but the doctor is awarded only a token sum.

It is clear throughout the book that the doctor was anti-Semitic and violently anti-Communist - not surprising, given the milieu in which he was raised. I found his anti-Semitism revolting. However, other than the anti-Semitism, I found him to be a more sympathetic character overall than the Jewish writer. The doctor loves his wife and children, he works hard to treat his patients, and he is haunted by the experiences in the concentration camp. The writer is a self-aggrandizing caricature, a man who is a misogynist alcoholic who nonetheless has a stream of beautiful, wealthy women falling into his bed. He is horrible to his wife, belittling her interests and needs. He insists that, since he is a writer, he should be excused for any and all selfishness, bad behavior, and unkindness to others. After he leaves his wife, his two children - of course! - take his side and devote themselves to him.

The books raises important questions about what a humane person should do in when living in an earthly hell. One of the doctors in the concentration camp, when ordered to do the unspeakable, commits suicide rather than obey. The Polish doctor decides otherwise, doing as his German captors bid, but also saving many thousands of lives that would have been lost through disease, injury, and murder in the camps. So, why is one glorified and the other reviled? Is that just? How can we judge?

One note about the performance. The reader does a good job overall. Since he is British, I'm not surprised that he doesn't understand that a Virginia accent is different from the odd mix of Mississippi and Texas accents that he gives the writer-protagonist. I just wish he hadn't laid on the accent quite so thickly!

Good Courtroom Drama. Too Much Propaganda

The narration was superb with the exception of Abe's whiny Jewish voice.
The story was well set up with the life of the plaintiff and of the defendant up to the trial. The trial itself came across as over-the-top Jewish propaganda. I usually like Uris's writing, especially in Exodus. This one is set up in its entirety to show how anti-Semitic views in even the most otherwise-noble person turn that person into an indescribably monster. I agree that the concentration camps were indescribably horrible and that the Jewish people were wronged as a race. However, this book is so one-sided in its defense of the Jews and its condemnation of others that it looses credibility. With that caveat, it is a story that will hold your interest (with the exception of the repetitive courtroom description of atrocities.)

Good story, irritating narration

Would you try another book from Leon Uris and/or John Lee?

This is a GREAT story, marred by horribly dated characterization in one of the main characters, an old school macho American author whose self-indulgent I'm-a-lone-wolf-giving-my-love-to-art whingings become tedious in the extreme when he announces his intentions to get drunk and find a prostitute. The only thing worse is John Lee's horrible attempts at American and Polish accents. The former sounds like a Matthew McConaughy parody; the latter, an imitation of Bela Lugosi. That said, the story transcends both of these limitations to raise important and compelling moral questions.

What three words best describe John Lee’s voice?

Limited. English. Limited.

I have no idea if this is a good book or not...

All I know is that I chose this book based on the summary. It's supposed to be about a trial. I think it was called "the greatest fictional trial of the century".

Problem is, I'm 4 hours into the book and....no trial yet. Not even a hint. So far, all I've heard are the life stories of two characters, tedious bit by tedious bit. If I wanted to read a biography (fictional or not) I'd buy a biography.

And worse, neither character is even likeable. There's not much about character, thoughts, or values. It's more like a list of first he did this, then he did that, next he moved here, then he moved his family there. Enough already.


I give up.

Enter Title Here...

As I read this book, it seemed like a spinoff of Uris' book "Exodus" and after I researched it, I discovered that it was. Uris was sued in the same way by a Polish concentration camp survivor-- the facts essentially the same. So, he wrote a book about it and this one became a best seller. Half of the 13+ hour book is dedicated to introduction of the participants and the rest is the trial in Queens Bench Courtroom #7, hence the name QBVII. The plaintiff, Adam Kelno; the defendant Adam Cady (Uris). The latter had a history and behavior very similar to Uris, so in some respects, the book is an autobiography.