Independent and used bookstores are, for me, as much weapons to my pocketbook as cheesecake is to my hips.I love seeking out those shops in small towns, some of which I was in (shops and towns) last week. In these communities, booksellers shared floor space with clothing boutiques; animal barns (where you could by fresh eggs and books alike); even elegant restaurants.Marginalia are real treats for me, seeing what the "ghosts" before me were thinking as they read.This time around I was looking for local natural history. No luck. It is mid-summer, and other buyers preceded me, one of the owners said.I found:George at the Wheel: Life in the Pilot-House, by Harry Castlemon (ne Charles Austin Fosdick), who wrote an adventure series target for boys. Two editions were printed in 1881, and I am the recipient of one of those copies (though my edition does not say which printing). This book was once owned by George Stockburger (decades ago, by the handwriting style).An Irish Publisher and his World, by John F. Feehan, a biography of the founder of The Mercier Press, an important Irish publishing house.How We Are Hungry, a collection of Essays by Dave EggersA reprint of Jane Harrison's Prologemena to the study of Greek Religion (now I can finally return my library copy, after 14 years of renewing it!)Leon Uris's The Angry Hills (wartime/love novel)Two by Lawrence Durrell: The Dark Labyrinth and MonsieurGeorge Long's translation of Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius (one of my favorite Roman emperors)Last week, at home, I purchased (new) The Making of a Sonnet, by Edward Hirsch and the lovely Irish poet Eavan BolandandMichael Chabon's Maps and Legends (worth it for the die-cut cover alone!)My reading is cut out for me until the end of the summer, along with what (name redacted from another site) recommended.I know libraries are for such expenses, but there's something about being able to dog-ear; mark-up; sniff (love the scent of new and old books alike); sleep with (almost as good as sharing a bed with a (certain type of) lover, not quite though).I didn't find what I was look for, but it turns out I found just what I needed.
I found The Angry Hills at a used book sale last Saturday. I've been a fan of Leon Uris for quite a long time, but only for two of his books: Exodus and Mila 18. Both of those books are intense, sprawling epics, mostly painted with sorrow, but shot through here and there with sunlight. I read The Haj once, but disliked it intensely for reasons I can't remember. Anyway, The Angry Hills sounded interesting due to its subject: Greece during the early portion of the Nazi occupation in the 40s. That part of WWII has always been somewhat opaque to me, mostly due to the fact that I haven't sought out any books specifically on the subject, as well as the confusing tides that played through Greece during those years: nationalists, the communists playing both sides, the collaborators, the Italians, the Germans, the British, etc.I found The Angry Hills somewhat disappointing. It almost felt like a different writer in comparison to the voice in Mila 18 and Exodus. The prose reminded me of a somewhat incompetent Alistair MacLean. Don't get me wrong; I enjoy MacLean immensely, but this felt like MacLean not firing on all cylinders. However, when I discovered that the book is Uris' second novel ever, the quality suddenly made sense. If you're a Uris fan, you might want to read this one. If you aren't, then I recommend trying Mila 18 to get the proper flavor of his writing.
What do You think about The Angry Hills (1984)?
Reading this at the same time as Operation Mincemeat was unintentional fun. Uris doesn't have anything deep or life-changing to say here, it's just an enjoyable novel about the escape of an American with valuable intelligence information from enemy-held territory.It was surprising how similar in tone this and Mincemeat were. As the author of the latter book notes, sometimes the truth can be as fantastic and thrilling as a fiction such as Angry Hills. As usual, Uris's characters are central to the story, falling into very formulaic roles and familiar tropes. A good beach/mindless read.
—brook
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.
—David B
The Angry Hills by Leon Uris is a fast paced story of war, love and espionage. Uris was a great storyteller and this book, although much shorter than its better known siblings, shows the genius of Uris. In the story, Michael Morrison is a budding novelist that finds himself in Athens at the moment of the BEF defeat. He is entrusted with a list that would have a large impact on the war and both sides were willing to go to all extremes to obtain it or keep the enemy from doing the same. The story has as many twists and turns as the Greek coastline and the reader is constantly wondering who Mike can and should trust. The author keeps the reader guessing to the very end. I enjoyed this book and recommend it to all.
—Thom Swennes
