Damascus Gate

Name: Damascus Gate
Brand: Recorded Books
Availability: InStock
Author: Robert Stone
ISBN: 9781440772955

Author: Robert Stone

Narrator: George Guidall

Unabridged: 19 hr 36 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 11/06/2009

Categories: Fiction, Literary Fiction

Synopsis

Robert Stone receives critical acclaim for the philosophical layers of his writing as well as the intensity of his multidimensional characters. Setting this deeply provocative, best-selling novel in modern day Jerusalem, Stone puts a disillusioned American journalist adrift in the supercharged atmosphere at the end of the millennium. Christopher Lucas, unsure of his own beliefs, is wandering through Jerusalem, working on an article about religious mania. When he meets Sonia Barnes, dusky nightclub singer, devoted Sufi and mystic, he is entranced. As Sonia helps Lucas meet some of the visionaries and gurus who fill the city, the two suddenly find that they have become pawns in a fanatical bombing plot. Its target is no less than the Temple Mount, the ancient city's holiest site. Through visions ranging from Armageddon to Paradise, Damascus Gate captures the whirlwinds of spiritual fervor that swirl through Jerusalem. George Guidall's narration adds dramatic shadings to the physical and psychological landscapes Lucas traverses in this crossroad of nations.

About Robert Stone

Robert Stone has received most of the accolades and awards possible for a contemporary novelist, and he has been called the best writer of the post-Vietnam era. His many novels, which have enjoyed commercial success as well as critical acclaim, include the National Book Award winner Dog Soldiers, Damascus Gate, Bay of Souls, and A Hall of Mirrors. He is also the author of the short story collection Bear and His Daughter, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Will on November 01, 2008

An intense novel that portrays politics in Jerusalem. In this tale, extremists of both the Christian and Jewish persuasion are involved in a plot to destroy the Temple of the Mount. The main character is an American writer. Colorful local and international characters abound. Sonia is an NGO type, lo......more

Goodreads review by Diane on December 07, 2014

The seeds of an excellent thriller are contained in this book. The author, however falls into several book-killing traps. In writing this story about the Middle East, he begins by describing each setting as if he were writing a descriptive travelogue- type book and knocks the reader over with so muc......more

Goodreads review by Joel on January 04, 2013

A novel of uncommon ambition and density. It's odd to see this labeled as a thriller. It's not, even though it does have elements of one. Those narrative elements are functional enough, but not the main attraction. The story is internal, not external. Stone is interested in the headspace of his flawe......more

Goodreads review by Leanne on December 08, 2017

After watching an absolute chilling old documentary on Christian Zionists, called Waiting for Armageddon, I realized that I had never written a review on this wonderful novel that I read two years ago. The Christian Zionists scare the hell out of me. They believe that the end of days will happen whe......more

Goodreads review by Richard on January 13, 2019

I don't know of anybody who's writing novels like this anymore, big, meaty, messy things that combine history, politics, and religion with tense plots and compelling characters. Like Graham Greene on steroids. I'm a big Stone fan, and while I enjoyed this book slightly less than A Flag for Sunrise,......more