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The Chosen

by Chaim Potok

3.98 · rating details · 25,909 ratings · 1,880 reviews

"Anyone who finds it is finding a jewel. Its themes are profound and universal."
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
It is the now-classic story of two fathers and two sons and the pressures on all of them to pursue the religion they share in the way that is best suited to each. And as the boys grow into young men, they discover in the other a lost spiritual brother, and a link to an un...more

Paperback, 304 pages

Published August 27th 1996 by Ballantine Books (first published January 1st 1967)

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Jul 05, 2007

Elisabeth rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: anyone interested in history, Judaism, forgiveness or friendship,

My brother Matt suggested this book, and I'm very glad that I read it. (And glad that he was there to fill me in a little more on the history it brings up.) It is very well written, and enjoyable as well as educational. It helped me better understand the Jewish faith and branches of Judaism, the horror of WWII, what is unique about American Jews, and some of the conflict over the Israel as a Jewish state. Leaves you with a warm feeling and lots to think about. "The Talmud says that a person...more

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Aug 14, 2007

Radhika rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: the cast of the ringer.

Shelves: thecrapfrommatergayyyy

i was litterally gnna shoot myself when reading this boook. i couldnt evn stand it so i decided to buy the audio version on itunes and that was even worse and cost me like 20 dolllaa. i wass like heyllll nawww im not reading dissss but den i did cuzz i kinda had too. its about a jewish nerd who gets hit in the eye when the rivalryy jewish team hits him. they dont like eachother or something i dont know. it was all downhill from there. ysaaaaa heardd???

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Jul 26, 2008

Paul rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: fathers, sons, friends

Shelves: fiction

Well, I just finished this book last night and I must say I was deeply moved by the whole experience. I remembered there was a reason I liked it so much back in high school. I love the relationship between the two main characters, Danny and Reuven. They've reminded me that there are definite friendships that I cherish highly, and that true friends are hard to come by. But when they do, you know in your heart that you will never leave them for the rest of your life. I guess after readin...more

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May 16, 2008

Madeline rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: everyone

Recommended to Madeline by: English teacher

Shelves: 2008, wishlist, favorites

This was required reading for my sophomore-year honors English class; upon reading chapter one, I prepared myself for great disappointment, firstly because the chapter was entirely about baseball (which although I’ve tried to enjoy I can’t seem to get in to, I’m sorry to say), and secondly because it was so descriptive. It was hard to imagine me being interested in something so...flowery (in some time I’ll post a review on another required reading, the oh-so-detailed Great Expectations, which ha...moreThis was required reading for my sophomore-year honors English class; upon reading chapter one, I prepared myself for great disappointment, firstly because the chapter was entirely about baseball (which although I’ve tried to enjoy I can’t seem to get in to, I’m sorry to say), and secondly because it was so descriptive. It was hard to imagine me being interested in something so...flowery (in some time I’ll post a review on another required reading, the oh-so-detailed Great Expectations, which hasn’t improved for me even through chapter thirty-six).

Coming into the later chapters of The Chosen, I began to enjoy it a lot more. Not only was the storyline interesting and the characters likable, but its deeper meaning was insightful and reminded me of the events happening in the U. S. concerning Jews and the Holocaust—about Mr. Malter rallying for a Jewish state, about Reb Saunders opposing this movement, and most prominently sticking out in my mind, the quote from the Hasidic boy who told Reuven that "Hitler destroyed the Jewish body, but you destroy the Jewish soul" (paraphrased). It gave me a certain perspective that makes me regret not having read the book sooner.

This is one of those books that I love, but can’t really explain why. With Dune it’s easy: great story, great characters, it’s got everything I’ve ever asked for. With Harry Potter, it’s got great people, great creatures, great symbolism. With The Hobbit it gives you a fun story and lovable characters. But, like The Chosen, books like The Invisible Man, 1984, and Fahrenheit 451 all leave me mind-boggled. I love those books. They make me think. They make me wonder. It’s like the brief, fleeting moment in Algebra when you realize that you’ve got it! and it’s all clicking into place: there are no words to describe how you feel when you realize, Hey, I understand what the author means by this, I see it’s deeper meaning—all just before the feeling goes and you’re left paralyzed by the knowledge that you’ve understood what it’s all about, even if you don’t understand it now quite as completely as in that moment, but instead of the movement of clicking into place it’s like you’ve understood it all along. With these kinds of books, there’s a supernatural element to them that entirely surpasses other novels, and your literary understanding is taken to new levels and into new lights.

These are the kinds of books I want to be reading for the rest of my life.

The Chosen is one of those books...and as much as I’m disliking Dickens at the moment, I’m glad I had that bit of required reading.(less)

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Dec 16, 2007

Lucy rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: everyone

I love how Chaim Potok is able to create a story about so many different things. There are dozens of topics within his books to discuss, enjoy and ponder, but he manages to twist and turn his story, so at its end, you get the Rubik's cube sides all neatly back to the same color.

Like My Name Is Asher Lev, which I loved, Potok writes about a Jewish boy torn between his own genius and his orthodox father's expectations. Danny Saunders, a genius boy with a photographic memory, is destine...moreI love how Chaim Potok is able to create a story about so many different things. There are dozens of topics within his books to discuss, enjoy and ponder, but he manages to twist and turn his story, so at its end, you get the Rubik's cube sides all neatly back to the same color.

Like My Name Is Asher Lev, which I loved, Potok writes about a Jewish boy torn between his own genius and his orthodox father's expectations. Danny Saunders, a genius boy with a photographic memory, is destined to take his father's place as the community tzaddik, or spiritual leader of Hasidic Jews. To teach his son compassion, he parents him with silence, like his father did before him, and the only time father and son talk is when they discuss the Talmud, a Jewish book consisting of different rabbi's discussions of Jewish laws and ethics.

But, the father-son relationship is only one side of the thematically complicated but narratively simple story. There is much food for thought about friendship ("You think it is easy to be a friend? If you are truly his friend, you will learn otherwise") which Danny's father, Reb Saunders, tells the narrator of the story, Reuven Malter, and certainly proves to be true. There is a fantastic development about the Zionist movement, and the opposition within the Jewish community against Israel to be created after the second World War. There is an interesting, albeit outdated, flirtation with psychology and Freudism. And much, much more...especially if someone could simply live inside my head and answer back whenever I had a "and what do you think about this?" moment.

I find that one of Potok's greatest achievements is his ability to narrowly write a story that happens in a close, sheltered environment about a specific religious belief, and have it easily apply to many different beliefs and situations. I found myself thinking to myself most of today about how this story, about a community of ultra-orthodox Hasidic Jews, has a lot in common with my current community. This place, where I live, has the broadest spectrum of believers/non-believers, practicing/non-practicing, ultra conservative/ultra liberal members of my own religion. The characters in the story are living and functioning in an almost self-contained environment. Their schools are Jewish. Their sports teams are Jewish. Their stores, hospitals, friends and neighborhoods are Jewish. The conflict is not "us vs. them" but "old us vs. new or changing us" and "holier us vs. secular us". They don't see the world around them.

Ding, ding, ding!!!

Like poor Reb Saunders had to discover by isolating his son from his best friend, and what David Saunders knew, but didn't have the courage to proclaim, good exists in all shapes and sizes and from all walks of life. It exists down the street, where perhaps the homes aren't matching brown stucco craftsman style. It exists at the other school. It exists in literature and areas of study and even at the church with the different shaped spire. There is goodness everywhere.

This belief of mine is fundamentally different from Reb Saunders, who explained that each person is born with a tiny spark of goodness which is enveloped in a shell of ugly and evil. It is the responsibility of the parent, the church, the community to protect that spark, encourage it, feed it so that it can grow and expand to eventually fill the shell and push out the evil.

While there is certainly plenty of evil surrounding us all, I think it only gets more bold and has more room to grow when we huddle around our goodness. It, goodness, is bigger than we allow it to be. We need to link goodness to goodness and charge down the street, all ablaze together.

Kind of a tangent, but I love books that make me go off down one. I can't say this book is a favorite, because it didn't make me feel the way a book needs to, but I'm certainly glad I've read it and happily encourage anyone who hasn't to do so.(less)

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Nov 01, 2007

Christine rated it

· review of another edition

Also try The Promise, Davita's Harp, and the Asher Lev books. I first read these when I was younger, and I still read them over and over. The relationships in these books are quiet and beautiful, and the stories have a real depth of emotion. Read Chaim Potok now!

However, some people feel differently about this book:

Radhika rated it: 08/14/07

bookshelves: thecrapfrommatergayyyy

recommends it for: the cast of the ringer.

i was lit...more

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Jun 09, 2008

Anne rated it

· review of another edition

Think you got a great education? Follow these teenage boys as they learn about one another, their faith and their relationship with their fathers. The rigorous studying that they do is foreign to today's youth. A classic in so many ways.

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Jul 01, 2007

Alina rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: everyone except immature boys

(...as immature boys won't be able to understand/appreciate a close and beautiful bond between two heterosexual boys)

I loved this book. I read the Asher Lev books in high school and loved them, but this was great in a whole different way. Explicit (although not too 'in your face') theme of seeing and not seeing, a view of Jewish life and culture in America during and post WWII, and beautiful/touching portrayal of many different types of relationships (with family, friends, and strang...more

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Jul 11, 2008

Dana rated it

· review of another edition

I should really give this book five stars. I am just not feeling that generous today, but it is deserving of five stars IMO. Though I read this over four years ago, I continue to think in the reserves of my little brain about the juxtaposition of the two fathers, and their parenting styles. Read the book and then let's discuss: the use of Silence as a teaching tool and as an entire concept to contemplate. How much cruelty can we assign to silence? Is it a choice made out of wisdom at times? Or ...more

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Jan 03, 2012

Tanu Das rated it

· review of another edition

Recommended to Tanu by: Richard

Shelves: classic, cultural, emotional-drama, excellent-prose, favorite, favorite-protagonist, social-issues, the-eternal-quest, well-developed-plot, all-time-favorite

NEW YEAR RESOLUTION NUMBER 62: READ EVERYTHING WRITTEN BY CHAIM POTOK.

I think I might actually end up fulfilling this resolution (unlike most of the others), because “the chosen” was a masterpiece.

It's a poignant story about friendship, father-son relationship, about 2 Jew families on the other side of the Zionist movement and the reaction of American Jews to the horrors of holocaust. It’s about two deeply religious boys, trying to strike a balance between modernity and ...more

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Nov 24, 2008

Alisa rated it

· review of another edition

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...more

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Mar 22, 2009

bookczuk rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: bookcrossing, good-but-made-me-sad, made-me-uncomfortable, worth-the-reread

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...moreThis 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.(less)

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Aug 29, 2007

Kelsey rated it

· review of another edition

Vomit. I just wasn't really into it. I understood it and stuff, I just think there are better books.

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Oct 14, 2008

Poiema rated it

· review of another edition

The Jewish Talmud exhorts a man to do two things for himself. First, acquire a teacher. The other is to choose a friend.

Danny Saunders got the package deal when he made the acquaintance of Reuven Malter. Theirs is a Jonathan and David friendship, the two-bodies-with-one-soul type of friendship that happens rarely in a lifetime.

As the oldest son of the tzaddik (righteous leader) of a strict, Hasidic Jewish sect, Danny is the chosen. Upon the death of his father, he will be exp...moreThe Jewish Talmud exhorts a man to do two things for himself. First, acquire a teacher. The other is to choose a friend.

Danny Saunders got the package deal when he made the acquaintance of Reuven Malter. Theirs is a Jonathan and David friendship, the two-bodies-with-one-soul type of friendship that happens rarely in a lifetime.

As the oldest son of the tzaddik (righteous leader) of a strict, Hasidic Jewish sect, Danny is the chosen. Upon the death of his father, he will be expected to step up as head of the dynasty. Thus his father, the brilliant but eccentric Reb Saunders, focuses his full attention upon the proper upbringing of his son.

But what is a proper upbringing for a genius? Listen to the agonizing dilemma of Danny's father:

"A man is born into this world with only a tiny spark of goodness in him. The spark is God, it is the soul; the rest is ugliness and evil, a shell. The spark must be guarded like a treasure, it must be nurtured, it must be fanned into flame. {Snip} Anything can be a shell....anything. Indifference, laziness, brutality, and genius. Yes, even a great mind can be a shell and choke the spark.

Reuven, the Master of the Universe blessed me with a brilliant son. And he cursed me with all the problems of raising him. Ah, what it is to have a brilliant son! Not a smart son, Reuven, but a brilliant son, a Daniel, a boy with a mind like a jewel. Ah, what a curse it is, what an anguish it is to have a Daniel, whose mind is like a pearl, like a sun. Reuven, when my Daniel was four years old, I saw him reading a story from a book. And I was frightened. he did not read the story, he swallowed it, as one swallows food or water. There was no soul in my four-year-old Daniel, there was only his mind. He was a mind in a body without a soul. It was a story in a Yiddish book about a poor Jew and his struggles to get to Eretz Yisroel before he died. Ah, how that man suffered! And my Daniel enjoyed the story, he enjoyed the last terrible page, because when he finished it he realized for the first time what a memory he had. He looked at me proudly and told me back the story from memory, and I cried inside my heart. I went away and cried to the Master of the Universe, 'What have you done to me? A mind like this I need for a son? A heart I need for a son, a soul I need for a son, compassion I want from my son, righteousness, mercy, strength to suffer and carry pain, that I want from my son, not a mind without a soul!"

Reb Saunders makes a very unusual choice for his son. He chooses to raise him in silence. Except for weekly dialogue over the Talmud and Torah, no words pass between father and son. Though it seems cruel, it is the father's best hope that the suffering it creates will fan into flame that spark of a soul that lies within Danny.

Reuven becomes the counter-balance for Danny's relationship with his father. As a more liberal Jew, Reuven is able to bring a rational element into an otherwise emotionally volatile situation. Without their friendship, it is easy to see that Danny would crumple either from rage or simply from the heavy load of expectation he carries as a burden.

Ultimately, Reb Saunders can claim at least partial victory for his son's upbringing. Danny will break the the multi-generational traditions of his ancestors; he will not step into the chosen role of Tzaddik. Rather, he will be a "tzaddik for the world", a different kind of a healer in his chosen field of psychology. But he will remain a practicing Jew, a man with a soul in whom the spark of life burns brightly.

I loved this book. It was fascinating to look behind the scenes at the traditions of the most orthodox sect of Judaism. The Jews have remained a people apart, separate from the nations. This story gives a glimpse of the challenges they incurred as a people group after WWII. The struggle was to keep their traditions intact, but at the same time to acclimate to their new home country of America. Rich, rich, rich. I have scouted out two others by the same author The Promise, which is a sequel to The Chosen, and My Name is Asher Lev, which some feel is Chaim Potok's best work.
(less)

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Oct 03, 2009

Emily rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, classics

I'm really struggling with how to review this book. It was beautifully written. The relationships between Danny and Reuven and between Reuven and his father were real and touching. I enjoyed learning about different systems of Jewish faith and the interactions (or lack thereof) between their communities. The historic insights into WWII and its aftermath, particularly the realization among American Jews of the extent of the Holocaust and the formation of the state of Israel, were fascinating....more

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Dec 04, 2008

Antof9 rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2007-read, made-me-cry

I read this one on a business trip in the NYC area, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's the kind of book I immediately wanted to read again once I finished, but I know I'll have another chance to read another copy ... another day :)

I'm fascinated by the writing in this book. It's compassionate, literate, educated, and also ... contains one of the best bits of sports writing I've ever read

The second one started to come in shoulder-high, and before it was two thirds of the way to the pla

...moreI read this one on a business trip in the NYC area, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's the kind of book I immediately wanted to read again once I finished, but I know I'll have another chance to read another copy ... another day :)

I'm fascinated by the writing in this book. It's compassionate, literate, educated, and also ... contains one of the best bits of sports writing I've ever read

The second one started to come in shoulder-high, and before it was two thirds of the way to the plate, I was already standing on second base.  My glove was going up as the bat cracked against the ball, and I saw the ball move in a straight line directly over Schwartzie's head, high over his head, moving so fast he hadn't even had time to regain his balance from the pitch before it went past him.  I saw Dov Shlomowitz heading toward me and Danny Saunders racing to first and I heard the yeshiva team shouting and Sidney Goldberg screaming, and I jumped, pushing myself upward off the ground with all the strength I had in my legs and stretching my glove hand till I thought it would pull out of my shoulder.  The ball hit the pocket of my glove with an impact that numbed my hand and went through me like an electric shock, and I felt the force pull me backward and throw me off balance, and I came down hard on my left hip and elbow.

I'm still trying to figure out why we don't know Danny's sister's name. I'm not sure if we ever get it, but it's certainly not mentioned the first time she enters the picture in Chapter 12. Interesting.

One of my favorite quotes in this book is from Reuven's father, when asked about his friend Jack Rose: "Honest differences of opinion should never be permitted to destroy a friendship."

I finished this book with a lot of questions. What was Potok's life circumstance when he wrote this? Is it autobiographical? Who is Danny? What about Billy and Mr. Savo? Where are the rest of his books (I want to read them)?(less)

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Mar 26, 2008

Abigail rated it

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Recommends it for: People Who Read...

Shelves: fiction

Potok was one of the giants of my adolescence, and I returned to his work countless times throughout my youth, always with a profound sense of coming home. It is an odd thing that an author whose oeuvre is infused with such a specifically Orthodox-Jewish worldview should speak so strongly to the theologically rebellious young daughter of a Christian minister... Or, perhaps it isn't strange at all. Potok is the master, after all, of depicting the conflict between secular and religious impulses, a...more

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May 02, 2008

Josh rated it

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Dear Mr. Potek,

You're dead. But since you believe in an afterlife, I feel okay writing to you anyway.

Despite being a finalist for the National Book Award, written about lovingly by critics, lauded across the country and even transferred to the stage, your novel The Chosen is absolute garbage. It is a disgusting attempt to justify child abuse with good intentions and you should be deeply ashamed of yourself for it.

In your book, a father wrecks irreperable harm ...moreDear Mr. Potek,

You're dead. But since you believe in an afterlife, I feel okay writing to you anyway.

Despite being a finalist for the National Book Award, written about lovingly by critics, lauded across the country and even transferred to the stage, your novel The Chosen is absolute garbage. It is a disgusting attempt to justify child abuse with good intentions and you should be deeply ashamed of yourself for it.

In your book, a father wrecks irreperable harm upon his intellectually gifted son, because he feels God cursed him with a brain, but without a soul, and that he must systematically abuse and neglect him so that pain will help him develop a soul so that the son can take the father's place as Rabbi and leader of his people. And in your emotional climax, he says he does so because he didn't know what else to do. It's his personal failure as a parent that the child must suffer for.

Not only is this the same sort of reasoning that people use for beating children--I didn't know what else to do, it wouldn't stop crying, it wouldn't behave, etc...--but it assumes that that there is no other way for a child to experience pain other than being inflicted by a parent, which anyone who ever experienced childhood can say is false. Childhood is nearly all pain from myriad sources. Parents don't need to aid the process.

Moreover, the father does all of this, not in the interests of his child, but in his own selfish interests trying to install his life, his values on his child, and to force him into a path that he chose for him despite knowing full well that the child doesn't want it.

And to make it even sicker, the father's principle joy in the book is that his son finds a friend to talk to as an outlet which allows the father to continue his systemic abuse of the child.

This is a disgusting book, something I have NEVER said before about any book.

Perhaps it's because you made the abused child understand and appreciate the abuse at the end of the novel, and say it would raise it's child in a similar fashion, or perhaps it's because I recently received a letter from my father explaining that the years and years of abuse he inflicted on me, which included beatings, neglect, disinterest and countless bizarre rituals intended to teach me some sort of obscure lesson about mysticism were inspired by reading your book. By your fucked up book.

Do you understand Mr. Potek? Your book justified child abuse as the right way to raise a child to teach it compassion, and put that out there in the world. And others followed. And that's your legacy. That's sick. You're sick. And I'm glad you're dead. And I hope it hurt when you died.(less)

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Mar 02, 2008

Kane Keating rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Anyone

Recommended to Kane by: A School Teacher

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Summary: This book is about the relationship between to young boys named Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders. They form a special relationship through a nearly fatal accident playing a baseball game. Through this occurence they soon form a special relationship that shows religious value, wisdom, and culture. Reuven is a Orthodox Jew and Danny is of Russian Hasidic Jew background. Their story is of the life lessons they learn from each others worldview. Their relationship was unheard of in the Jewis...moreSummary: This book is about the relationship between to young boys named Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders. They form a special relationship through a nearly fatal accident playing a baseball game. Through this occurence they soon form a special relationship that shows religious value, wisdom, and culture. Reuven is a Orthodox Jew and Danny is of Russian Hasidic Jew background. Their story is of the life lessons they learn from each others worldview. Their relationship was unheard of in the Jewish commnity, due to the strong different views each family had. Through their religious differences they learn about how similar they really are, and the struggles they share. Growing up Danny always had a brilliant mind that urged him to learn more than the views of his father, a tazadik. He and his father had a special relationship growing up. His dad raised him in silence, only speaking to him during the study of the talmud. This act frustrated Danny and compelled him to learn more about the religion he could not make out. He would read many books on the history of the Jews and uses his knowledge to become more open minded about the different views on Judaism. Reuven is the character that has the ability to talk to Danny about his issues. Together they learn and attain more knowledge than anyone of their age. They soon go on to aspire to obtain their goals in life. Reuven wants to become a Rabbi, and Danny a psychologist. the rest of the story is about the issue of Danny not wanting to take the inherited spot of his father. He would rather break free from the family tradition and learn more about his interests. In the last part of the novel Danny's father excepts his chosen path and faces the reality of the outcome. This act demonstrates the breaking of silence as his dad allows his sons decision knowing he has a good head on his shoulders. It is the sign of love, affection, and understanding. This novel is a great example that Mr. Sauneders son may have not become a tazadik, but he does feel his task is complete. His son is religious with a good head, but has chosen a different path to help people in society.
Worldview Connections: The worldview connections are quite obvious with the religion involved. The content of the story is based upon the different religious sects of the Jewish community. It is based during WWII and the obvious struggles the Jewish people had to endure. Living in Brooklyn the two boys could only listen to the radio about the tragedies to their people. After the war another conflict arose about the making on a Jewish homeland in Philistine. This brought conflict to the people because the hasidic people felt they should wait to the second coming of Christ before another homeland is established. As for the other Jews they tried to make haste on creating the homeland which would help cease war over there. Many rallies were held and soon the Orthodox(Zionist) Jews had there wish. The story of Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders help relay the message of two friends who struggle to maintain their freidnship through the quarrals of war over religion.
Personal Review: I thought this book was fairly entertaining. I did not have any expectations going not really understanding what the book was about. The book was a little slow, but I enjoyed the read due to the nature of it. The religious information and conflict was very interesting to learn about. I never really understood Judaism until I read this book. The book had a lot of intellectual discussion about life and how to view it. It made me think about my religion and how I view things. The novel allowed me to think about taking religion seriously and learning with intent, rather than going through the motions It offered so much insight into their strict moral ways of life, and reasons for it. The historical content and strong connection the boys held made for a entertaining novel. (less)

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Oct 24, 2008

Gwenevere Sew Many Books rated it

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Synopsis

Rather than allowing feelings of hatred & difference to make enemies out of two teenage boys, they choose the harder path of forgiveness and love and in return find an amazing friendship that is strengthened through difficulty and conflict.

My Review

I had finished reading all but the last chapter of this book when I decided a three star rating would fit this novel perfectly. The book was an easy read filled with uplifting advice from father to son and ...moreSynopsis

Rather than allowing feelings of hatred & difference to make enemies out of two teenage boys, they choose the harder path of forgiveness and love and in return find an amazing friendship that is strengthened through difficulty and conflict.

My Review

I had finished reading all but the last chapter of this book when I decided a three star rating would fit this novel perfectly. The book was an easy read filled with uplifting advice from father to son and friend-to-friend. Nothing was hidden or required deep thinking to understand. Had I decided to use my dictionary to look up all of the Jewish terms it would have taken me longer to get through, but I decided to leave my dictionary on the shelf and felt that nothing was lost in not understanding what some of the Jewish terms meant.

When I began reading this book I was trying to anticipate the lessons and themes and to look for them in unlikely places. I was unsuccessful in my efforts because most everything is laid out nicely through the dialogue. This makes for an easy read but perhaps a bit less profound because the reader isn’t really challenged to find the message the author is trying to present. So by the time I got to the last chapter, I was certain that the questions that had been raised throughout my reading were not going to be answered and if they were it was going to be done so hastily that I wasn’t going to really love it.

I was wrong. Once I finished the book, I was amazed. The final chapter exceeded my expectations and wrapped up the conflicts in the book so well that it boosted the rating to 4 stars. After I finished the book I just sat and looked out the window and thought about a lot of things, mostly about the kind of parent I pray to be and of the amazing friends I have had throughout my life whose opinion and perspectives have helped open my eyes to new ideas and have helped me become a better person. It also made me think a lot about how or if I have returned that kind of generosity and friendship. Am I guarded or am I willing to trust others enough to share my honest opinions? If I am honest with others how do I present my ideas, am I harsh and forceful or am I willing to let others disagree? Perhaps more important, am I willing to love without being loved in return?

In addition to these thoughts, the book is filled with Jewish history, which has spiked my interest and desire to read more about the end of WWII and the formation of the state of Israel in Jerusalem. How could I possibly give a book that initiated so much thought and has compelled me to read and study more an average rating? I can’t. This book receives 4 stars. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick read that will leave you uplifted and thankful for something.

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Dec 04, 2008

Shauri rated it

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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.

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Feb 25, 2009

Jenny rated it

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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.

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Mar 31, 2008

Jen rated it

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Recommends it for: all my friends

Shelves: jewish, fiction, brooklyn, new-york

I loved this book. I feel like I learned a lot--about Orthodox Judaism, Hasidic Judaisim, and how Jewish people in America responded to the discovery of the concentration camps at the end of WWII. It's also a touching story about friendship and family that people of all backgrounds can appreciate. I knew I was really hooked, however, when I was reading it one morning on the train, and when my stop came up, I stood on the platform afterwards in order to finish reading this very exciting part--whe...more

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Aug 23, 2010

Mike Puma rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2007

This should be required reading for college courses in Gay Studies/Gay Literature. It is small wonder that Potok's inspiration for writing came from reading Brideshead Revisted. Reuven's narration, particularly the ways he describes Danny, is a virtual textbook case of repressed desire. This repression is consistent with one of the novel's themes: silence.

Having read this book, originally, many years ago, I did not pick up on Reuven's infatuation in the same way I've since come to r...more

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Feb 22, 2008

John rated it

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Shelves: contemporary-fiction

My favorite quote from this book:

I learned long ago, Reuven, that a blink of an eye in itself is nothing. But the eye that blinks, that is something. A span of life is nothing. But the man who lives that span, he is something. He can fill that tiny span with meaning, so its quality is immeasurable though its quantity may be insignificant. Do you understand what I am saying? A man must fill his life with meaning, meaning is not automatically given to life. It is hard work to fill...more

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Jun 28, 2007

Lillian Chen rated it

· review of another edition

I read this on the price is right road trip, bought in Oberlin, OH, our 1st stop, at an used bookstore. I asked my friend Harry to recommend a book, and he pulled this one out, and said half jokingly, half seriously, that I would understand him and Jon if I read it, who are both modern orthodox jews. I can't say of course that I completely understand Jewish identity now, but this book was definitely interesting from a jewish historical and cultural perspective. Although it was sometimes kind of ...more

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Sep 21, 2007

Leftbanker rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: novels

I can't remember how old I was when I read this book, like 12 or 13. I had never met any Jewish people and I barely knew what it meant to be a Jew. After reading this book I felt like I was an expert, at least in Hicksville, USA where I was living.

On a side note, as I write this the church bells at San Valero, a XIV Spanish iglesia (not a cathedral I've been told), are going off like crazy. It's for a wedding and this means that there are also fireworks going off, which means the ...more

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Jan 19, 2008

Ray rated it

· review of another edition

This classic novel is set in the WWII-era Jewish neighborhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Its teh story of a deep friendship between adolescents Reuven (Modern Orthodox son of an intellectual) and Danny (brilliant Hasidic heir to the office of head 'rebbe' of the sect). On the surface its lots of fascinating religious debate. But really its the story of a how two friends together navigate the delimnas of adolescence.

Beautiful, deeply interesting story, but a master novelists (and e...more

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Sep 09, 2007

Wanrong rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: anyone interested in Judaism

This is not a book that I would normally pick up on my own, but a colleague had recommended it as a book that would allow me to learn about a very different world (Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn!) when we were talking about Scandinavian mystery writers and how they bring a fresh perspective to the genre. Beyond the Jewish parts (which may or may not appeal to all), this turned out to also be a book about friendship (two Jewish boys growing up together), parent-child relationships, which are far more...more

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Aug 07, 2007

Dayna rated it

· review of another edition

This book was a lot better than I thought it was going to be. I found a dusty copy on a bookshelf at home, and so I picked it up not knowing that it is actually something of a classic. It illustrates the differences (and friction) between a couple of sects within Judaism through the story of two boys, both Jewish, growing up in homes that practice and approach their Faith differently. Set around the end of WWII and the birth of modern Israel ... it's about the reactions and attitudes of Jews in ...more

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About Chaim Potok

American author and rabbi. Herman Harold Potok was born in the Bronx to Jewish immigrants from Poland.

His parents, Benjamin Max (d. 1958) and Mollie (Friedman) Potok (d. 1985), gave him a Hebrew name, Chaim Tzvi. His Orthodox education taught him Talmud as well as secular studies.

He decided to become a writer as a teenager, after reading Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisite...more

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Trivia About The Chosen

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Quotes from The Chosen

“Human beings do not live forever, Reuven. We live less than the time it takes to blink an eye, if we measure our lives against eternity. So it may be asked what value is there to a human life. There is so much pain in the world. What does it mean to have to suffer so much if our lives are nothing more than the blink of an eye?

I learned a long time ago, Reuven, that a blink of an eye in itself is nothing. But the eye that blinks, that is something. A span of life is nothing. But the man who lives that span, he is something. He can fill that tiny span with meaning, so its quality is immeasurable though its quantity may be insignificant. Do you understand what I am saying? A man must fill his life with meaning, meaning is not automatically given to life.

It is hard work to fill one's life with meaning. That I do not think you understand yet. A life filled with meaning is worthy of rest. I want to be worthy of rest when I am no longer here.” — 115 people liked it

“As you grow older you will discover that the most important things that will happen to you will often come as a result of silly things, as you call them --"ordinary things" is a better expression. That is the way the world is.” — 20 people liked it

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