Customer Reviews

Angry Hills, The

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Uris is one of America's treasures as a fiction author. In this novel he takes a break from the horrors that he usually records to such delicious detail (you know, the Holocaust, Jihads and sectarian violence). He covers the escapades of a clueless reporter in Greece just when the Allies are leaving it to the German army. Said reporter has a list of Greek partisans fall into his lap and it becomes his duty to hand over this list to the OSS or British intelligence or some such body so that support for the Greek underground can be developed.

Yeah, sounds like a hackneed plot but, hey, it was written in the 1960's! These types of plots were commonplace then - and it was ok. The book is a joy to read if for no other reason than for the nostalgia of a quaint caper with the breathtaking backdrop of Greece at war.

But Uris shows he's got growing room to do in this one. He tosses off characters - especially female ones - after a few chapters. Just when you think the protagonist is starting to develop a love interest he moves on. And the 'interest' is never mentioned again. Surely, we would have seen these people tied together better in other Uris works. I was a bit surprised.

None the less, the book reads quick. And is fun.

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I have just finished The Angry Hills and I thought it was a fine (247 PGS.) little book. This is a departure from the standard Uris, whose use of heavy handed subject matter along with 600 plus pages makes his novels very though provoking and dramatic. This novel is a quick lite read that is a nice adventure novel during the second World War.
In this novel an American Widower is in Greece to settle his late wife's estate, on the eve of the Italian invasion. Just after the invasion he is entrusted to get a list of names out of the country for the British army, but immediately he is soon pursued by Nazis agents and Greek ex-patriots. This is was nice and lite for my tastes and I think if you go into it with this attitude you will not be disappointed.

Michael Morrison is a midlist novelist, at a time when such writers can actually make a living. He and his wife, Ellie, always planned on a trip to Greece, someday when they could afford it, to collect a small inheritance that was due her. Just when that trip finally seemed possible, Ellie died; and Mike has been recuperating ever since. The only reason he's made the journey to Greece at last, as German troops threaten to invade that ancient country, is that otherwise war may prevent him from ever claiming Ellie's inheritance. With his children safe in the care of his own parents, here he is in Athens. Although the United States remains neutral, World War II has already begun; and the British - to Mike's horror - withdraw their forces on the very day he expects his local attorney to finish processing the paperwork the bank requires. Instead of leaving on his scheduled flight with Ellie's money in hand, Mike finds himself saddled with a list of people whose names British intelligence desperately wants to know. He's forced to masquerade as a New Zealand enlistee in the British army, captured by the Germans, and pursued by agents from both sides. Those agents know who he really is, what he's carrying, and what it's worth. Will Mike Morrison ever see San Francisco and his children again?

This short (for Uris) novel was his second published book. The ordinary man thrown into a situation for which he has no preparation, forced to choose sides in a war not yet his, is a theme so familiar it could seem hackneyed. Uris handles it, though, with the genuine understanding of one who fought that war in real life. The characters are stock ones, mostly, but the book's length really doesn't allow them time to develop more depth. All in all, a quick, entertaining read that's nowhere near as dated as I thought it might be.

First off . . . I love Uris' work. I was enthralled by both Battle Cry and Exodus. I am eager to read The Haj, Trinity, and QB VII, et al. But -- I had a bad experience with The Angry Hills, and was affirmed by reading that other reviewers also said.

For the locale of this WWII cloak & dagger book, Uris chose Greece. (Uris clearly likes Greece). Plot: Visiting American author is trapped by the German takeover, and secret British information falls into his hands. He MUST get it to the proper authorities, blah, blah, blah. A Colonel Klink-like character is hot on his trail. He deals with a couple of Greek hotties along the way.

This is a boring book. It was a labor to finish it, and I shouldn't have (but I'm like that). I suggest pass on this one.

While the book is an entertaining war novel it is dispointing by Uris standards and does not compare to such greats as Exodus,Mila 18,Trinity,the Haj and Armageddon Mike Morisson is similar to Uris' other American heroes -Gideon Zadok in Mitla Pass and Sean O Sullivan in Armageddon.Spoiled men used to the good life who show great courage in battle but lack any moral courage.They take love for granted and cruelly hurt the women who love them.They are highly egocentric and unlike Ari Ben Cannan in Exodus,Andre in Mila 18 and Connor in Trinity,the American heroes have little real commitment to any cause If you looking for an entertaining war read go for it but dont expect profound literature

While conducting business in Greece during WWII, American writer Mike Morrison is trapped by the German advance. When he comes into possession of a secret list of Greek patriots who are pretending to be collaborators, he must go on the run to escape the enemy forces that have been assigned to retrieve the information. This is the only book by Leon Uris that I have read. I was under the impression that he was a writer who researched his subjects meticulously. Perhaps this was one of his first books, because there is very little local color here, nothing that one couldn't glean from watching movies and skimming a few travel books. Worse than that, the characters and situations are cliché from start to finish, and the prose is dull. It reads like a treatment for a typical 50s WWII flick.