ExodusExodus
What it's about
In 1947, Kitty Fremont, an American nurse widowed by the war, is in Cyprus when she meets Ari Ben Canaan, a commander in the Jewish underground. He is planning to smuggle hundreds of Jewish refugees, most of them survivors of the Holocaust, past the British blockade to Palestine on a ship called the Exodus. From there, the novel follows them through the struggle to found the state of Israel, with long flashbacks to the history of the characters and their families.
Why it's worth reading
It spent months at #1 on the New York Times list, was one of the best-selling novels of its time and became a film with Paul Newman. It shaped how a generation of Americans saw the founding of Israel.
You'll love it if you liked
The Source, Winds of War or Gone with the Wind
Good to know
It's a historical epic written from a strongly pro-Israel point of view. Its portrayal of Arabs has been widely criticized.
By the numbers
- Readers92 out of 100 · counts 40%+42
- Critics0 out of 100 · counts 14%+0
- Bestseller70 out of 100 · counts 32% (its stronger lane)+25
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 15%+0
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero.
#1 New York Times bestseller (20 weeks at #1). 4.34★ from 102K Goodreads ratings.
Where it ranks
- #33 of the 251 historical novels we rank
- #52 of the 519 classics we rank
- #145 of the 1,404 books we rank
Bestseller
- #1 New York Times bestseller (20 weeks at #1)
Reads as
Moving
