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4.2 AVERAGE
4.2 AVERAGE
I cannot even BEGIN to say how much I loved this book. It was assigned reading for school and let me tell you it was the best dang book I have ever been assigned in English class!
It was such an amazing book and something I now suggest to pretty much anyone if they ask for a book suggestion. If you haven't read this book READ. IT. NOW.
It was such an amazing book and something I now suggest to pretty much anyone if they ask for a book suggestion. If you haven't read this book READ. IT. NOW.
Asher Lev is a boy growing up in a cloistered Hasidic community in Brooklyn after WWII. He is pulled in different directions by his faith and art. Both are part of his identity, yet they are incompatible. Art isn't just something Asher does; it's how he sees and feels the world. It is a compulsion. His art is often blasphemous and drives a wedge between him and his father, and between him and his entire community. Asher struggles with the conflict between his orthodox traditions and his individualism.
Suffering is a major theme of the book. I kept waiting for something good to happen for Asher. For his father to come around. For his Jewish community to understand him. For Asher to plant himself in one of his two identities and end the struggle. For the suffering to be resolved. Spoiler alert: it never does and that made the book even more powerful.
Sidenote: The book is a semi-autobiographical account of Chaim Potok's life as an artist/writer/rabbi. His painting "Brooklyn Crucifixion" is central to the book.
Suffering is a major theme of the book. I kept waiting for something good to happen for Asher. For his father to come around. For his Jewish community to understand him. For Asher to plant himself in one of his two identities and end the struggle. For the suffering to be resolved. Spoiler alert: it never does and that made the book even more powerful.
Sidenote: The book is a semi-autobiographical account of Chaim Potok's life as an artist/writer/rabbi. His painting "Brooklyn Crucifixion" is central to the book.
I really liked this book. A good portrayal of artistic genius in context of deep religious conviction (Hasidic Judaism). I tried to retell the story to my husband and failed miserably. It gave me appreciation for the author's ability to convey the subtle yet profound struggles of Asher Lev.
This was assigned reading for my high school world religions class. It was a topic I was completely unfamiliar with but it really sparked thinking in a primarily Christian program. It is definitely an emotional book that ends in the most spectacular way
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a coming-of-age novel of a Jewish artist. While it deals with how a conservative Jewish father disapproves of his son wasting time making drawings, it also deals with how art can be a channel for the daemonic or the divine. Aside from my personal reservations about Potok's style (he never uses contractions, and it makes his characters feel impersonal to me), I think it was a good book.
I think this is the third time I've read this gem and it gets better every time. Definitely one of my all time favs. I could discuss it forever and never truly resolve all the questions it brings up - the hallmark of a great book.
This is one of the few books I have ever felt deserved more than 5 stars. I am at a loss of words of how to describe the depth of this book. So many layers and the book leaves the reader with more questions than answers. It is brilliant.
This book was amazing. It took me a while to finish, but just because I didn't have enough time. Not being a Jew, I didn't know most of the references, but a few from The Chosen. I could clearly see the setting, and the characters were well described. If you like art, you would love this. I really don't know how to describe it, just go read it!
This was the first book I read by Chaim Potok and definitely the best. It is such a fascinating look into a completely different worldview than my own: that of a Hasidic Jew growing up in New York mid-twentieth century. Aside from that, Potok describes the young Asher's artistic genius brilliantly, and made me more aware of a visual artist's way of seeing things. The characters are richly developed and the story is heart-wrenching.