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4.2 AVERAGE
4.2 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
A richly developed, transportive classic about a young artist torn between the expectations of his Hasidic community and his deep-seated impulse to create. Potok crafts an incredibly distinctive narrative voice for Asher and the storytelling style did take me a minute to get into, but I was so glad I stuck with it and was able to sink into the story. Asher's art felt so real that I had to keep myself from Googling it and the way Potok describes how he sees the world as an artist is so fascinating. This is tragic but also a little triumphant and has a poetic intensity to it that makes every line thrum with tension.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
sad
A beautiful book about family, faith and art. Loved it so much.
reflective
slow-paced
So much to think about! Potok very complicated emotions and situations without judgement and really leaves the reader to do some examination.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What a stunningly beautiful book. This coming-of-age story is a slow build, but I was never bored, always looking forward to picking it up and finding myself sucked in to Asher Lev’s growing up. He is an artist born into a family and culture that struggles to accept his gift - at times he struggles, too, but the gift doesn’t let him go. The final 70 pages are propulsive and emotional as Asher comes into his own, and I left feeling this will be in my top books of all time. A masterpiece.
I absolutely loved this book. Potok's writing style is immediately engaging and his characters draw you in from page 1. The story is full of religious controversy, which I found to be very though provoking. I read it for my book club and thought it stimulated lots of great discussion. I highly recommend it!
Poignant and beautifully written. The first time I read this was in the early 80s on a bus, back and forth from my summer job. A Catholic school girl, I new little about Hasidism and less about art but became fascinated with the religion and Chaim Potok’s writing. Forty years later and I can’t put the book down; a moving, emotional coming of age story.
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes