Excellent book. Excellent story. The two books I've read by Chaim Potok have both delivered. True, at times I felt like I was reading My Name is Asher Lev again, but that's bound to happen seeing as the background of the characters is similar and some of the themes intertwine, but the author deals with such great ideas and themes that his books are superb. This story deals with two Jewish teenagers who have very different upbringings. One of the teenagers is a Hasidic Jew who is raised by his tzaddik father in silence. While the son suffers under this way of being raised, there's a point to it all and the reader comes to, or tries to, understand it. And that's in a very small nutshell. Good read. Give it a try if you haven't yet.
2.26.2009
The Chosen: A Review
Excellent book. Excellent story. The two books I've read by Chaim Potok have both delivered. True, at times I felt like I was reading My Name is Asher Lev again, but that's bound to happen seeing as the background of the characters is similar and some of the themes intertwine, but the author deals with such great ideas and themes that his books are superb. This story deals with two Jewish teenagers who have very different upbringings. One of the teenagers is a Hasidic Jew who is raised by his tzaddik father in silence. While the son suffers under this way of being raised, there's a point to it all and the reader comes to, or tries to, understand it. And that's in a very small nutshell. Good read. Give it a try if you haven't yet.
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5 comments:
I love this book.
hey, just want to recommend a book to you before the baby comes..
"the New Contented Baby book" from Gina Ford.
This is indeed one of my favorites. Someone once told me, however, that I would never understand the book fully because I was not a son, and had never experienced a father/son relationship. What do you think?
Jo,
I think we can understand the book to a point because we all have relationships. That being said, sure, I'll never have a father/son relationship, but I don't think Chaim Potok only expected those with father/son relationships to get the idea of the book. I'll never be a Jew, but does that mean I won't fully understand the book? Not so. What do you think?
I agree with you. I think anyone who presumes that there is a certain way to understand a novel needs to take a step back and understand the purpose of literature. Am I going to understand a painting or sculpture the same way as you do? Does that mean I understand it any less? I would submit that the answer is no. And for that reason, I think that I can, if I want to, understand the book fully, and in my own way, without being a son. (I feel like I should say, "So there..." at the end of this comment. Just kidding...)
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