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4.2 AVERAGE
4.2 AVERAGE
Reading #1 - 2010
I relate to Asher Lev's journey of feeling out of place in my faith community and the struggle to find my identity.
Reading #2-2017
I was entranced again by the struggle and angst. Potok continues to be a favorite author, the way he delves into father/son relationships, religious loyalty, and the tension of the individual within a group. This time of reading I was more aware of the usage of the past tense as Asher Lev tells his story. I also loved the way in which the end mirrors the beginning and his use of the window and keeps coming back to the ending until that becomes the climax of the story.
I relate to Asher Lev's journey of feeling out of place in my faith community and the struggle to find my identity.
Reading #2-2017
I was entranced again by the struggle and angst. Potok continues to be a favorite author, the way he delves into father/son relationships, religious loyalty, and the tension of the individual within a group. This time of reading I was more aware of the usage of the past tense as Asher Lev tells his story. I also loved the way in which the end mirrors the beginning and his use of the window and keeps coming back to the ending until that becomes the climax of the story.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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:
Complicated
An absolutely wonderful story told against the backdrop of the rich culture of the orthodox Jewish community.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Lovely, lovely writing, and I loved the insight into a gifted artist's mind. How does Potok write so quietly and still make me need to keep turning the pages late into the night?
Potok creates a home for his reader in a world foreign to so many of us. It is not always a welcoming or comfortable home, but a real one. He isn’t afraid to write without translating — Jewish lifeways or technical art terms — something I used to struggle against and now deeply enjoy. The story addresses Asher’s genius as such, but over the course of the novel it becomes clear that drive to be authentic, rather than the best, is what makes him great. The last special piece of this book is the nuanced treatment of the Hasidim as they come to terms with Asher’s talent. The men in the story (Rav Lev and the Rebbe) play out this conflict, as is typical with Potok, and Asher allows himself to be bent to the will of the greatest competitor until he approaches the level of “creation” with his art. In the final pages, only Gd and his mother remain significant to him. A moving story that will stay with me until I pick up the next one.
I first read this book for a class on macro organizational behavior in my MBA program. I know, that seems like an odd choice for a business class, but it generated a terrific discussion, and hooked me on Chaim Potok. It takes up the story of Asher Lev, a child who is a gifted artist with parents who neither understand nor approve of his passion for painting. It follows his struggles to fulfill his innermost desire to paint juxtaposed with his loyalty to his Jewish faith and his love for (and frustration with) his parents. It is a terrific coming of age story, with the added twist of a young man learning to balance his involvements in secular and spiritual worlds that are both important to him.
From the start I could not put down this book. It had a weird attraction over me. Although this religion is far from mine, I found the whole story tangible in my soul. What a masterpiece!