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wyatt1004's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
mary00's review against another edition
4.0
The only reason that I am giving this 4 stars rather than 5 is because it did not draw me in, until the end, quite as much as its predecessor.
That being said, Chaim Potok is a brilliant writer. I believe that this work will stand the test of time, just as his other masterpieces before it will. Asher Lev is one of the top few most memorable characters in all of the fiction that I have read. This follow-up novel felt true to the Asher Lev of the first book.
That being said, Chaim Potok is a brilliant writer. I believe that this work will stand the test of time, just as his other masterpieces before it will. Asher Lev is one of the top few most memorable characters in all of the fiction that I have read. This follow-up novel felt true to the Asher Lev of the first book.
emerygirl's review against another edition
3.0
This wasn't as good as my name is Asher Lev, but still a very good book.
martidc's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
one of my favorite books
arielml's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
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
4.0
papidoc's review against another edition
3.0
Sequel to "My Name is Asher Lev," and not as compelling in my mind, but still worth the foray. It continues the story of Asher Lev the painter, now a grown man but still struggling with how best to balance his secular involvements with the spiritual/religious.
cimorene1558's review against another edition
4.0
A tough book, more so than the first one, which is also pretty tough.
coinchantal's review against another edition
5.0
Great follow up after the first book. The writer really makes you part of Asjer life. During the whole story you feel the depression, the abondement and the loneliness of the main character. Great book!
leahreadsalot's review against another edition
3.0
I was disappointed to this follow up of Potok's "My Name is Asher Lev" and what I remember most is that it wasn't memorable!
kymme's review against another edition
4.0
I love Asher Lev. I read My Name is Asher Lev a million or so years ago, after a few other Potok books were assigned in high school and I liked them. I had no idea another Asher Lev book existed, and I was delighted to find this book and learn what happened to him. I love that he becomes a world-famous artist with a family, but is still a devout Hasidic Jew, despite making some wonky choices for that community, like having cut off his payos and wearing a fisherman's cap to cover his head. I love the way Potok's books let non-Jewish readers fully in to a world we could never otherwise know. (And I love that Google exists now so I can look things up that I couldn't in high school.) This story is full of surprises about how different people act--religious and worldly and artistic constraints are all woven with personalities of real-seeming people. Asher comes back to his family of origin, back to the Ladover Hasids, for a week that turns into a month that turns into something else. I'm glad to get to know Asher again, as well as his wife, kids, parents, and friends, and I'm sad to finish this book and say shalom (or sholem?) to them. For me the second half moved a bit slowly, and the ending at first seemed to me somewhat a copout, but it blends the themes of Asher's life across both books perfectly, so it works.