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4.2 AVERAGE
4.2 AVERAGE
What a phenomenal book! I can’t believe how long it took me to find it! So beautiful in its pain and it’s writing. I was so captivated by how Asher processes his life and describes his way of seeing it. Having grown up in a strong religious faith, this kind of dilema is close to my heart. I felt like he was a real person and I just wanted to sit down and talk to him! So good.
The end was so hard to experience. I felt deeply for Asher, his art, his people, his parents and everyone experiencing the story. So painfully beautiful. There is this one quote:
I looked at my right hand, the hand with which I painted. There was power in that hand. Power to create and destroy. Power to bring pleasure and pain. Power to amuse and horrify. There was in that hand the demonic and the divine at one and the same time. The demonic and the divine were two aspects of the same force. Creation was demonic and divine. Creativity was demonic and divine. I was demonic and divine....Master of the Universe, will I live this way all the rest of my life? Yes, came the whispers through the branches of the trees. Now journey with me, my Asher. Paint the anguish of all the world...
There are so many more. Definitely a re-read!!
The end was so hard to experience. I felt deeply for Asher, his art, his people, his parents and everyone experiencing the story. So painfully beautiful. There is this one quote:
I looked at my right hand, the hand with which I painted. There was power in that hand. Power to create and destroy. Power to bring pleasure and pain. Power to amuse and horrify. There was in that hand the demonic and the divine at one and the same time. The demonic and the divine were two aspects of the same force. Creation was demonic and divine. Creativity was demonic and divine. I was demonic and divine....Master of the Universe, will I live this way all the rest of my life? Yes, came the whispers through the branches of the trees. Now journey with me, my Asher. Paint the anguish of all the world...
There are so many more. Definitely a re-read!!
Dit is het lievelingsboek van mijn moeder. Nu ook van mij.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is, for me, a long novel. There were parts I wanted to hurry through and parts I wanted to savor. My taste for intricate twists was not satisfied in this book, but my taste for beautiful, crushingly sad writing, was. I will likely never read this book again, but I won’t need to because its message and style are unforgettable.
Years ago I started — but didn’t finish — Potok’s first novel, “The Chosen”; I feel a call after reading this book to finish that. I think I’ll answer.
Beautiful and tragic. Even if you know nothing of Jews, the themes of family, purpose, will, gifts, humanity and history are herein so painstakingly revealed as to prick the soul into bleeding, well, whatever it is that souls bleed. If there is an overarching moral to this story, I would personally have to say that it would be that all choices have consequences, but those choices that fly in the face of one’s own accepted culture, tradition, and even religion, are those with the weightiest of consequences. Yet even in rebellion, we find a species of orthodoxy that can be denied, but not destroyed. We shape and are shaped by the part of world we live in and experience, even if our only goal is to give our part of the world a voice that can be heard by all who listen. If we manifest anything other than ourselves, misery is destined to eventually be both our inheritance and legacy.
Years ago I started — but didn’t finish — Potok’s first novel, “The Chosen”; I feel a call after reading this book to finish that. I think I’ll answer.
Beautiful and tragic. Even if you know nothing of Jews, the themes of family, purpose, will, gifts, humanity and history are herein so painstakingly revealed as to prick the soul into bleeding, well, whatever it is that souls bleed. If there is an overarching moral to this story, I would personally have to say that it would be that all choices have consequences, but those choices that fly in the face of one’s own accepted culture, tradition, and even religion, are those with the weightiest of consequences. Yet even in rebellion, we find a species of orthodoxy that can be denied, but not destroyed. We shape and are shaped by the part of world we live in and experience, even if our only goal is to give our part of the world a voice that can be heard by all who listen. If we manifest anything other than ourselves, misery is destined to eventually be both our inheritance and legacy.
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It isn't true that all challenging books are ultimately great. I've read plenty of difficult books that just weren't worth it. This was one of the most challenging books I have ever read. It was worth it.
Magnificent. A book that makes me realize how much I'm letting down my potential, not because of how well it's written (although there's that, too) but simply because its subject is art and the creation of art, and how much one should allow the world to interfere with the same. The writing is often sublime and transcendent, the subject matter is fascinating, the power of the material is evident. This is a treasure.
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As soon as Asher Lev is old enough to hold a pencil in his hand, one thing quickly becomes clear: this boy can see and, above all, draw. Soon he does and has nothing else on his mind. Much to the chagrin of his parents, who are devout Ladow Hasids and their son's gift poses religious challenges. When Asher Lev becomes the first pupil of the world-famous sculptor Jakob Kahn, everyday life becomes a gauntlet.
This book is about art and how it is perceived. Potok manages to bring different perspectives from various realities of life to bear on a subject that, according to the dictionary, has no definition. And he does it masterfully. The book focuses on Asher Lev's personal development and his conversations with his father and his teacher. His father wants to understand him and can't. Jakob Kahn shows Asher Lev what art can be and unfolds his potential. Conflict is inevitable.
Much of this book resonated with me, and not just because my parents are artists. If you like philosophy about people, life and art, but also don't shy away from social conflicts and the dark side of the sterilized, money-oriented art market.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Antisemitism, War
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated