I do like some twentieth century authors–just not the ones they assign in school. Leon Uris was born on this date in 1924. I read Exodus a long time ago as a teenager, and I’ve revisited it more than once. I probably get my attitude about Israel and the Palestinian problem more from this book than from Biblical prophecy. Uris paints a detailed, pro-Israeli panaorama of the beginnings of modern Israel. Then, there are the other two “Jewish books” by Uris that I’ve read–Mila 18, about the Warsaw ghetto during World War II, and QB VII, another memorable novel about the Holocaust. Researching Uris on the internet, I see that he’s written several books that I haven’t read. I’ll have to add some of them to the legendary “books to read list.” Also, I’ve never seen the movie Exodus which stars Paul Newman as Ari Ben Canaan and Eva Marie Saint as Kitty Fremont. Uris publicly declared that the director (Otto Preminger) had ruined his book. Leon Uris died in June, 2003.
P.D. James also celebrates a birthday today. She was born in 1920 and created a British peer in 1991. Her title is “Baroness James of Holland Park.” James is a writer of detective novels, and her detective/protagonist Adam Dalgliesh is an intriguing character. He’s a Scotland Yard detective and also a poet. The moral component of James’ novels is central to their interest and literary quality. All James’ characters must deal with sin and its effects, and in reading about them I am forced to confront the results of sin and evil in my own life. Sounds rather unpleasant, but instead it’s thought-provoking and satisfying.