My Name Is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok

4.2 AVERAGE

ashlea_davie's profile picture

ashlea_davie's review

5.0
I can't even begin to categorize all the feelings that this book elicited. It's a beautiful, hard book, and I wish I'd read it years ago.

atgmaildotcom's review

5.0
a favorite, a simple happy and mind calming set of pages

quitejessi's review

5.0
October 2023
Still resonates on second time through.

April 2022
I'm going to have to sit with this one for a while.
hannahfletcher's profile picture

hannahfletcher's review

4.0
Vibes: Meditative and melancholic

Experience: I enjoyed reading this mostly for the catharsis of hearing a story that hits so close to home. I loved how real the characters are, and the writing was beautiful. Good show not tell type of story that left me wanting just a bit more plot.
danacoledares's profile picture

danacoledares's review

4.0
Reminded me a lot of The Namesake.

storymi's review against another edition

3.0
Ergens tussen de drie en vier sterren. Heel knap geschreven. Zit vooral psychologisch gezien en qua karakters goed in elkaar. Daardoor wel zware kost. Het is geen vrolijk boek.
sunday_evening's profile picture

sunday_evening's review

5.0
challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
if youre reading this book for class and have parent issues dont do what i did and procrastinate and read 100-150 pages in one sitting every time
bookmaven17's profile picture

bookmaven17's review against another edition

4.0
slow-paced
frogqueen's profile picture

frogqueen's review

4.25
reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
  • ultra-orthodox jewish boy with a gift for painting struggles to reconcile his passion with his upbringing
  • a really meditative novel, very slow and very focused on the question of how much does a person owe to their community and how much does a community owe to any given individual within it
  • the ending was pretty unsatisfying as a reader but i think it fit well enough and gave enough resolution to the issue
  • also i continue to be impressed with how expressive chaim potok can be while writing such short, dry sentences
  • the biggest negative is how slow the book is. like really really slow. i get that that's just his writing style but my god can it be a drag. also made it feel like not much happened over the course of the novel.

nina_zenikwaffle's review

3.75
challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
Read for English. Start was horrid but end was good