About this title: In Potok's first novel, Danny Saunders must reconcile his rigidly repressive Hasidic heritage with his thirst for secular knowledge, and with his friendship with Reuven Malter, a liberal Jew. As always, Potok's primary concern is the way Jewish traditions often conflict with the values of contemporary society, and how a sensitive, thinking person copes with that.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Fawcett
Date Published: 1982
ISBN-13:9780449203347ISBN:0449203344
Description: Good. 0449203344 Mass market paperback, previously read used book in good condition, varying degrees of shelf wear, some spine creases, m..._ read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Fawcett, Westminister, Maryland, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1995
ISBN-13:9780449213445ISBN:0449213447
Description: Good. 0449213447 Mass market paperback, previously read used book in very good condition, may have slight worn corners and varying degre...02608918 _ read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Fawcett, Westminister, Maryland, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1995
ISBN-13:9780449213445ISBN:0449213447
Description: Good. 0449213447 Mass market paperback, previously read used book in good condition, varying degrees of shelf wear, some spine creases, m...02504866 _ read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: SparkNotes, New York, New York, U.S.A.
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9781586635046ISBN:1586635042
Description: Good. 1586635042 Mass market paperback, previously read used book in good condition, varying degrees of shelf wear, some spine creases, m..._ read more
"This was a re-read for me -- last read probably in 1969 0r 1970. What strikes me now is the description of a lifestyle that has vanished or become part of the great melting pot of America. (And of the quote of one of the boys in my high school English class, when we read this who said on the homogeneity of our society, "America is not a melting pot. It's an acid bath."
Anyhow, the initial part of the book charmed me again, and I found lost in the world of Reuven and Danny, and their unlikely, but hard won friendship. We so often hear about friendships across faiths, but all too often forget that it can be equally as hard to bridge differences within a common faith, yet across very different upbringings and beliefs. The friendship the boys build is a true one, though, as I said, hard work. Sometimes the obstacles come from their different beliefs, or sometimes, painfully so, from the different dynamics in their families. It struck me when Danny's father said "You think it is easy to be a friend?" to Reuven when they first meet. "If you are truly his friend, you will learn otherwise."
The second half of the book was much harder for me to read and I stalled out a couple of times. Part of it was the nitty gritty of the stuff the boys were learning and the debates -- and part of it was the dysfunctional relationship between Danny and his father. It comes clear in the end, but is painful reading and not a parenting style I can endorse.
What really grabbed me in the second half, though, was the description of the nation's response to Roosevelt's death and to the discovery of the true abomination that was the holocaust. For the former, it brought me back to 1963 when Kennedy was assassinated, and how we as a nation responded. For the latter, it opened up the wounds made by the idiots who are trying to deny the horrors of the holocaust these days.
This was not the easy "trip down memory lane" re-read I expected it to be. None-the-less, despite the discomfort it raised in me, I am glad I took the time to re-read."
"I really enjoyed this book I had never read it before and it was a great book to read as an adult. We had a great discussion in our book group and it really made me think about how parents can parent so differently and still get great results. I know that I need to work more on getting my children to resect me more so that I can hope that they will listen to me when they grow older and respect my opinions. It was a fast read and a great discussion book."
"I really enjoyed reading this book. I took this one at a slow and steady pace and enjoyed digesting every little bit. I only wish it were more fresh in my mind so that I could say something more meaningful, but I'll just say that it was inspiring and intriguing, and I recommend it to anyone."
"Danny Saunders was raised in silence to save his soul. His father saw that his mind was so keen that his soul would be lost if there was not some awful tragedy to break his soul into a living space. So his father raised him in silence, never speaking to him until Danny learned to listen to that silence, to hear in the silence the cry of millions of his people as they were slaughtered, starved, beaten, and experimented upon by Hilter's army. It did not make Danny a rabbi, but it saved his soul in the end. It gave him the ears of a psychologist as he could listen to that silence.
As I read this, I kept thinking about how God has raised us in silence. We are only allowed communication with him in certain ways, through rituals, through scripture. All else is silence. In this silence, we long for a closer relationship. We suffer. We hold respect for God and the methods used for communication. And in that silence, we hear the suffering of the world, of each child that dies every five seconds of hunger. We hear that silence, and, I hope, it gives us a heart."
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