Redemption: A Novel [Hardcover]

Leon Uris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1995

With more than eight million copies sold, Trinity stands as one of the blockbuster novels of our time. Redemption continues Uris's mighty epic of love and loss, triumph and tragedy in the "terrible beauty" that is Ireland. Uris's novels, which have sold more than 150 million copies worldwide, are all still in print.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Nearly 20 years after Trinity, his bestselling chronicle of the Irish struggle against British rule during the latter half of the 19th century, Uris returns to the Emerald Isle with a story set during the WWI years. The conflict between two of the three dominant families of Trinity, the tempestuous Larkins and their staid British counterparts, the Hubbles, is the focus here. Uris begins by tracing the Larkin legacy from patriarch Liam's exile to New Zealand, where he becomes squire of a sheep farm; his brother, Conor, becomes a legendary Irish revolutionary. Another Larkin progeny, Liam's son Rory, is acclaimed as a war hero after fighting with the British at Gallipoli, while Rory's brother Dary takes Catholic clerical vows, only to have a powerful love drive him to question both celibacy and his calling. Uris balances the struggles of the Larkins with the more repressed travails of Caroline Hubble, who battles the efforts of her husband to oppress the Irish after losing a pair of sons in the disastrous British battle against the Turks. Sprinkled in as well are several tumultuous marriages and affairs of the heart that introduce a variety of powerful female characters. Tying all together is the voice of Winston Churchill, passages from material based on unpublished Churchill files that provide historical backdrop for the day-to-day events. The first half of the novel is a bit scattered, largely because Uris introduces so many characters so quickly that the Irish struggle against the British tends to get lost. But once he gets all his major characters into battle in WWI, the narrative clips along, with the stirring account of the Battle of Gallipoli, as well as tales of betrayal and assassination prior to the Easter uprising, rivaling the best of his earlier work. Few writers who have tackled the Troubles have exhibited the scope or the organizational skills Uris demonstrates here. 350,000 first printing; $200,000 ad/ promo; Literary Guild main selection; author tour.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Moving from Trinity to Redemption, Uris continues his saga of Ireland.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 848 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins; 1st edition (June 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060183330
• ISBN-13: 978-0060183332
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #302,518 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Trinity and Redemption review, December 28, 2005

By 

Judith Schonhoff "Judy" (Somerville, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Redemption: A Novel (Hardcover)

I just read Trinity, then the sequel, Redemption. I plan on submitting this review for both novels.

Trinity is an 800+ page saga about Ireland in the late 1800s early 1900s. It took me a good 100+ pages to get hooked on the book, but once hooked, I raced to finish it. I loved the description of Ireland, the religious conflicts, and the incredible characters. This book is great, read it now.

Redemption was also an 800+ page novel, however, not as gripping as Trinity. The first 300+ pages covered plot that had been described in Trinity. For those readers who read Trinity years ago, this may be a bonus. For someone who had finished Trinity a day prior, I wasn't interested. The book gets a bit more exciting with the description of the war being fought which eventually leads back to Ireland. The book then, unfortunately, wimpers out with a quick, gift packaged ending. I am not sorry I read this book, because it brought a bit more closure on the Irish saga for me...however, Trinity is the more impressive novel.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't believe the hype, December 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Redemption (Mass Market Paperback)

As a Uris fan and Trinity lover, I ran out to buy Redemption when it was released. What a letdown. It was a Trinity review with some Clancy-like battles that lasted forever. Never thought Uris would put out such nonsense to make a buck.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Can't believe I spent money on this book., August 22, 2001

By 

Mary Anne Kain - See all my reviews

This review is from: Redemption (Mass Market Paperback)

Written like an incredibly long, high school book report, a mere rehashing of the important events of "Trinity". The book added no more dimension to and seemed bereft of any sympathy towards the characters - I found the characterizations to be flat and uninteresting. The dialogue was incredible and sophomoric - I mean, let's be frank - people getting together to plan the throwing off of the chains of 700 years of oppression aren't going to sit around a table at secret meetings, under cover of darkness, yammering things like, "And forever, nothing of beauty has ever escaped his eye. No leaf, no sound, no drop of rain, no sweet word, no scent. He finds beauty in thunderheads and raging seas, and never a woman has he seen or touched did he not find beauty in. Along with his ravenous craving for knowledge and his fury against injustice, this man has gathered in beauty more fully than any human being I know...." Puh-leeeze. Give me a break - no one talks like this. I am sorely disappointed in this poor attempt at a sequel, but I'll finish it because I'm hoping it gets better (or at least more realistic). I'm glad I read "Trinity" first, because I never would have after reading this.