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krism 's review for:
My Name Is Asher Lev
by Chaim Potok
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.