Book Review - Trinity by Leon Uris

Synopsis:  The "terrible beauty" that is Ireland comes alive in this mighty epic that re-creates that Emerald's Isle's fierce struggle for independence ...more   The "terrible beauty" that is Ireland comes alive in this mighty epic that re-creates that Emerald's Isle's fierce struggle for independence. Trinity is a saga of glories and defeats, triumphs and tragedies, lived by a young Catholic rebel and the beautiful and valiant Protestant girl who defied her heritage to join him. Leon Uris has painted a masterful portrait of a beleaguered people divided by religion and wealth—impoverished Catholic peasants pitted against a Protestant aristocracy wielding power over life and death.

First Line:  "I recall with utter clarify the first great shock of my life."

Random Quote:  "Of all the things I remember of Ballyutogue, nothing warms my heart more than an annual event that came into being because of the famine.  In those blue months of midsummer when we waited for the first harvest, it was quite possible to go hungry.  After the famine Kilty Larkin made a successful negotiation with the Hubbles for some of the wrack rights in the lough.  The entire village - men, women, and children - moved down to the coast and set up primitive housing in an abandoned fishing village along the shore."

Review:   Let's begin by stipulating that Uris is a pulp fiction writer and should be read and reviewed on those terms. There's absolutely nothing wrong with pulp fiction - it's a great and wonderful genre full of entertainment value.

Mural commemorating the Easter Rising, 1916 - Dublin, Ireland - Image via Wikipedia
 
With Uris' books the formula is pretty simple: Our hero is noble, well-read, and self-sacrificing. He's closed himself off, but is waiting for the right woman. The right woman is also noble and self-sacrificing, but strong-willed and beautiful. He sets these folks down in the middle of some big historical conflict and then uses them to give readers a bit of a history lesson. He's typically got a bias, but most history does. These are good solid historical epics.

I really like Mila 18, his book about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. It inspired me to read a lot of actual history of the event including a number of diaries that were recovered from there. Likewise with Trinity, which I read once before, I will most likely go read more Irish history.

Trinity is a decent vehicle for imparting quite a bit of history from the Irish perspective. It's a good read for making you think about the impact of imperialism and industrialization. There's an excellent set of chapters on early twentieth century factories and a factory fire that will remind you why unions came about in a really visceral way.

This is a dense read, but it's entertaining and interesting in parts and is probably a good gateway to other more substantive reads on the subject matter.

FTC Disclosure:  Purchased from PaperbackSwap.com

Rating:  Green

Reading Challenges:  A to Z Reading Challenge