Return of the Exiles

by Sally Watson

“No mama, no papa, no overseas pay” “The day that utterly transformed David’s life---and a score or so others---deceptively presented itself as a perfectly ordinary morning in Naples. Dawn erupted over the city, as ebullient as the inhabitants, if less noisy. Glittering silver fire over a bay already busy with innumerable small fishing boats, it glowed on the looming, still lava-encrusted slopes of Vesuvius, but passed over the clamor of the city a shouting pushing crowd off in all directions for the day’s activities. It lingered just briefly on two godlike soldiers of the Occupying American army enjoying a last furlough before discharge….” Another historical fiction gem by Sally Watson. Author “I am an American Anglophile who lived in England for nearly 25 years. I first visited England, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon and Turkey in 1955. I was fascinated by the history of the Near East, made many subsequent visits and many Arab and Jewish friends, a number of whom helped me get material for To Build A Land, The Mukhtar’s Children and Other Sandals. I have tried to get into the minds and feelings of the various peoples involved. I do like the people---if not always their governments! Among the recipients of author's and for everyone who cares about historical truth, who is interested in modern Israel, and who likes a good read.

Audible Audio

First published June 14, 2014

About the author

Watson is a YA historical fiction writer, mostly about the British royals. She moved to England in 1964 and lived there for 24 years. Her most well-known works are parts of her English Family Tree series. Most of her books went out of print in the 1970s, many eventually reprinted by Image Cascade. She has also written YA novels set in ancient Egypt.

Her most recent book is The Angry Earth, an adult story of the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811.

Reviews

[Dara Haldane-Lindley · Rating 4 out of 5]

TO BUILD A LAND Grows Up...And Beyond

For those unfamiliar with the world of Sally Watson, I offer an explanation of my review's title: TO BUILD A LAND was the first book of a trilogy beginning in the tumultuous era (immediately following an even more tumultuous era, World War II) encompassing the transformation of Palestine into the State of Israel. TO BUILD A LAND was targeted at younger readers (nowadays it would probably be classified as a Middle School book). When I first saw the title of RETURN OF THE EXILES, I thought, Hmm. Retitled, maybe slightly revised/updated version of TBaL? I soon learned there was much more to this new work than a mere updating. Although RoTE does include a number of characters featured in TBaL, they are by no means the stars of this saga. And
saga it is, covering the same years as TBaL ... but then extending into the nineteenth year of Israel's statehood, which conveniently allows the author to include the Six-Day War.

What did I like best about RoTE? What I liked best about the vast majority of the other Sally Watson books I've read: the characters, particularly Sara and her brother Dov (formerly David), the English-language -challenged Zilpah, and Sara's good friend, the Scottish-born Adam. (To tell how Sara and Adam's relationship evolves from "mere" friendship would constitute a spoiler; besides, it would take too long.) A less vital element that I liked very much was the game of quotations played by Dov, Sara, and most of their family members (and later extended to their English -speaking friends). One more feature that I very much appreciated was a two-part glossary: Part One, translations of Hebrew words and phrases; Part Two, the same treatment of Arabic words and phrases. I wish more novels set in non-English-dominated lands included the same feature!

What did I not like? There were two main things ( which, taken together, constituted the principal reasons for my rating of four, rather than five, stars). First, though Ms. Watson dutifully follows up on the later lives of several of the Israeli -American -British characters, some others of the Arab persuasion drop completely out of sight. While we might guess what side they would take in The Six-Day War, only the author could say for sure. The other thing is comparatively trivial, but I found it at first puzzling, then irritating: when most of her characters end a sentence with a (mainly rhetorical) question, they say, "mmm?" Well, while some people may finish a sentence that way, isn't it more likely that at least some would say, "yes?" or " no? " or "don't you think so?"

However, neither of these factors should discourage readers from diving into RETURN OF THE EXILES, with only three caveats. First, I would advise reading TO BUILD A LAND beforehand, as a way of getting acclimated to Ms. Watson's style and strong point of view. Second, relating to that point of view, she doesn't hesitate to demonstrate which side she ultimately takes. Third, if you are an admirer of Sally Watson's juvenile novels (as I most emphatically am), be prepared that RoTE is very much pitched to the adult reader, so don't be surprised when sex (not explicit, but mentioned) and violence, sometimes brutal, enter the picture.

I highly recommend this tremendous effort from the excellent, if under-appreciated, Sally Watson. Enjoy!