About this title: Considered Potok's greatest book, this 1972 novel is about Asher Lev's attempts to function as an artist--a goal that is sometimes in conflict with his Orthodox Jewish background.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Fawcett
Date Published: 1973
Description: Fair. No dust jacket as issued. Signed by previous owner. Nice soft cover, lightly read, shelf wear/tear/bends on cover, light creases on spine, aging to pages, stk #2034h9. 350 p. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Fawcett, Westminister, Maryland, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1990
ISBN-13:9780449207147ISBN:0449207145
Description: Good. 0449207145 Mass market paperback, previously read used book in good condition, varying degrees of shelf wear, some spine creases, m..._ read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Knopf
Date Published: 1972
ISBN-13:9780394461373ISBN:0394461371
Description: Good. Moderate shelf wear. Black out name on inside cvoer page. Red smudge inside cover page. GoodwillnyBooks is committed to providing each customer with the highest standard of customer service. You may return new items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Fawcett
Date Published: 1984
ISBN-13:9780449207147ISBN:0449207145
Description: Very Good. Slight shelf wear with age toning. GoodwillnyBooks is committed to providing each customer with the highest standard of customer service. You may return new items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 1996
ISBN-13:9780449911686ISBN:0449911683
Description: A wonderful copy with some minor edgewear to the cover. Previous owners name inscribed inside front and page edges. -, Trade PaperBack, Very Good / read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Fawcett
Date Published: 1984
ISBN-13:9780449207147ISBN:0449207145
Description: A wonderful copy with some minor edgewear to the cover. Previous owners name inscribed inside front. -, Mass Market PaperBack, Very Good / read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
"I was fully prepared to not like this book. I attended Brandeis University and while I have many wonderful Jewish friends, and felt it was a wonderful experience, I had mostly negative encounters with Hasidic Jews, who wanted nothing to do with anyone besides themselves. I could not connect to their belief system or they way they refused to acknoweldge others. Some aspects of the culture are so far distant from something I understand and appreciate and I felt a bit hesitant with weather I not I wanted to enter this world.
That being said, I LOVE LOVE LOVE this book. I still struggled with connecting to Asher Lev's father, who constantly refers with fear, anger and intolerance to the Other Side. As in, anything and anyone not Hasidic Jewish. I gradually felt more and more empathy for him and his mother, but I struggled with them the entire novel.
Asher is not an easy person to connect to either, as he is a genius artist, born with a gift I cannot comprehend. But watching him develop his talent and grow more introverted and socially awkward was really fascinating. I enjoyed his journey and his need to nurture his art. How it consumed him.
It is a wonderfully written book, and I highly recommend it, especially to anyone who loves to paint."
"As an artistic person ( and this adjective includes a wide variety of creative endeavors, not simply painting on canvas), I have often struggled with my belief that art should uplift and even exhalt mankind; and yet, in contrast, I also have felt it is necessary, for the progression of individuals and humanity, for even the darkest of human emotions and actions to be expressed through artistic mediums. God is truth, and His creations encompass truth in its entirety; not exclusively those truths which are beautiful and joyous to behold, but ugly truths which make us look into our souls and incite us to action. Asher Lev struggles with his religious beliefs (doctrines from God), and his artistic talent (a gift from God). He must decide how to utilize his God-given talent within the context of his devotion to his family, his community, and his God, while at the same time being true to himself and depicting this in his paintings. In the end, he finds his truth. His decision made me gasp aloud."
"Books like this are wasted on the young. I'm so glad I was a lazy middle school student and didn't read it because I would have missed most of the meaning and then passed over it now.
Though it started slow for me, sputtering out of the gate with 3 stars, it soon picked up speed and crossed the finish line with 5 stars - not because the story was racing, but because my mind was. You will see religiously devout parents through the eyes of a child; you will see the Hasidic Jewish world through the eyes of an artist, you will see Christianity through the eyes of Jew. And in the end you may see a little less black and white in your own world.
What I enjoyed most was riding shotgun with a boy who begins as a prodigy and ends as an artist. You see his mom and dad, the conflicting worlds of art and his religion, and masterpieces like the David and the Pieta through his eyes and you hear his thoughts as he processes all this information to create great art himself. It's fantastic. You won't need a seatbelt but you will need your brain. Enjoy the ride."
"I really enjoy reading books by Chaim Potok and this book is probably my favorite. It is the story of an orthodox Jewish boy born with a gift for art and how his family and religious community deal with it. Asher struggles to find a way to be at peace with both art and his religion. At times the book is heart-wrenching. I actually read this for the first time when I was newly married and I related to Asher and his struggle to be true to himself while respecting his parents and his religion. This time I found myself relating to his parents, too. I felt for his mother who was torn between her husband and her child. I also understood his father somewhat as I thought about what I've been teaching my children and my hope that they will accept and live by these teachings. It will be hard to watch them find their own paths, as it was extremely difficult for Asher's father to accept he had his own life and way to live it."
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