A review by deb_weiss
My Name Is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok

5.0

What a phenomenal book! I can’t believe how long it took me to find it! So beautiful in its pain and it’s writing. I was so captivated by how Asher processes his life and describes his way of seeing it. Having grown up in a strong religious faith, this kind of dilema is close to my heart. I felt like he was a real person and I just wanted to sit down and talk to him! So good.

The end was so hard to experience. I felt deeply for Asher, his art, his people, his parents and everyone experiencing the story. So painfully beautiful. There is this one quote:

I looked at my right hand, the hand with which I painted. There was power in that hand. Power to create and destroy. Power to bring pleasure and pain. Power to amuse and horrify. There was in that hand the demonic and the divine at one and the same time. The demonic and the divine were two aspects of the same force. Creation was demonic and divine. Creativity was demonic and divine. I was demonic and divine....Master of the Universe, will I live this way all the rest of my life? Yes, came the whispers through the branches of the trees. Now journey with me, my Asher. Paint the anguish of all the world...

There are so many more. Definitely a re-read!!