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The Gun Runner's Daughter: A Novel
In 1995, Neil Gordon's Sacrifice of Isaac was one of the most acclaimed novels of the year. Newsday said it "immediately vaults Gordon into the company of John le Carré and Graham Greene." The Washington Post called it "one of those rare works of fiction that are both edifying and almost sinfully pleasurable." The San Francisco Chronicle described it as "the best kind of page-turner."
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Now Neil Gordon returns with The Gun Runner's Daughter, an equally compelling tale of moral and psychological suspense, the story of two lawyers who fall in love while they are on opposite sides of an arms-dealing scandal.
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For twenty-seven years, Allison Rosenthal has lived the life of the liberal elite, from summers in Martha's Vineyard to her studies at Yale. But when her father is indicted on federal charges and his profession--arms dealing--is exposed to public scrutiny, her placid life changes radically. And when her secret childhood lover is named as her father's prosecuting attorney, she must decide where her loyalties lie in a trial that is rocking the presidential administration.
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Does family come before politics? Love before law? Truth before loyalty? These are the questions the gun runner's daughter must face as she tries to negotiate the dangerous and murky world of her father's profession and the ambiguous morality of power politics in America and Israel. In this audaciously entertaining intellectual thriller, Neil Gordon brings the personal and political together with the mastery of a great storyteller.
------
Now Neil Gordon returns with The Gun Runner's Daughter, an equally compelling tale of moral and psychological suspense, the story of two lawyers who fall in love while they are on opposite sides of an arms-dealing scandal.
------
For twenty-seven years, Allison Rosenthal has lived the life of the liberal elite, from summers in Martha's Vineyard to her studies at Yale. But when her father is indicted on federal charges and his profession--arms dealing--is exposed to public scrutiny, her placid life changes radically. And when her secret childhood lover is named as her father's prosecuting attorney, she must decide where her loyalties lie in a trial that is rocking the presidential administration.
------
Does family come before politics? Love before law? Truth before loyalty? These are the questions the gun runner's daughter must face as she tries to negotiate the dangerous and murky world of her father's profession and the ambiguous morality of power politics in America and Israel. In this audaciously entertaining intellectual thriller, Neil Gordon brings the personal and political together with the mastery of a great storyteller.
- GenresFiction
316 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1998
9 people are currently reading
92 people want to read
About the author
Neil Gordon
50 books20 followersBorn in South Africa in 1958, but his family emigrated to the USA when he was 2 years old.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 12, 2025
CRITIQUE:
Sexual Politics and the Arms Trade
With one exception, this novel was an authentic, convincing and stimulating thriller set in the world of American and Middle Eastern politics, national security, international arms trading (both authorised and covert), global capitalism, criminal justice, and investigative journalism.
The exception to which I refer concerns the titular "gun runner's daughter", who by the end of the novel has qualified as a lawyer and business woman in her own right.
What I found unconvincing was the description of Allison/Esther Rosenthal, as having "small breasts, a thin waist and a Star of David that was lowered into her breasts."
This description was repeated half a dozen times throughout the novel.
It wasn't apparent to me (let alone would it be to a female reader) why a female lawyer and business woman had to be described in terms of the size of her breasts and her waist. Besides, it's well known that a predominantly male legal firm, faced with a choice between female honours graduates from Yale and Harvard, would choose the one with the biggest tits.
I don't mean this criticism to undermine the credibility, or desirability of reading, the novel. I found its prose well structured, really dynamic and enjoyable, though at times it was difficult to keep up with the many dimensions of the plot and Alley's almost male carnal appetite and activity.
Perhaps this is just another example of male fantasy construction, either by the author or by one or more of his characters.
The Personal and the Public
Paradoxically, Neil Gordon explained his approach to teaching and fiction in an interview:
His characters live normal personal lives within the framework of public events that govern us all.
Small arms trafficking
SOUNDTRACK:
Sexual Politics and the Arms Trade
With one exception, this novel was an authentic, convincing and stimulating thriller set in the world of American and Middle Eastern politics, national security, international arms trading (both authorised and covert), global capitalism, criminal justice, and investigative journalism.
The exception to which I refer concerns the titular "gun runner's daughter", who by the end of the novel has qualified as a lawyer and business woman in her own right.
What I found unconvincing was the description of Allison/Esther Rosenthal, as having "small breasts, a thin waist and a Star of David that was lowered into her breasts."
This description was repeated half a dozen times throughout the novel.
It wasn't apparent to me (let alone would it be to a female reader) why a female lawyer and business woman had to be described in terms of the size of her breasts and her waist. Besides, it's well known that a predominantly male legal firm, faced with a choice between female honours graduates from Yale and Harvard, would choose the one with the biggest tits.
I don't mean this criticism to undermine the credibility, or desirability of reading, the novel. I found its prose well structured, really dynamic and enjoyable, though at times it was difficult to keep up with the many dimensions of the plot and Alley's almost male carnal appetite and activity.
Perhaps this is just another example of male fantasy construction, either by the author or by one or more of his characters.
The Personal and the Public
Paradoxically, Neil Gordon explained his approach to teaching and fiction in an interview:
"My courses, whether writing or literature classes, like my novels, focus on the intersection between individuals and the political history that surrounds them; on the representation of lived political and historical experience in fiction; on the mechanics of the sympathetic imagination; as well as on the forms of the literary, political, and cultural essay."
His characters live normal personal lives within the framework of public events that govern us all.
Small arms trafficking
SOUNDTRACK:
February 20, 2013
I didn't make a note about this right after reading it and now I've forgotten it. It was a good mystery story, but a little too immersed in American and Israeli politics for me. I really liked the ending and didn't see it coming. It's a good exploration of justice - what is just, how justice is perceived depending on ones point of view, etc. Also where loyalties lie - within nationality, faith, culture and family. Actually, I'm liking it more as I think about it now, than I did while reading it! I would recommend it as a good read.
May 14, 2024
Boring
May 24, 2010
A young woman fights to keep her father from being convicted for selling arms to Bosnia. A convoluted, wordy, but readable story. Weak ending.
October 25, 2014
For some reason I found I simply couldn't connect with this book and found it a drag to get through.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews