The Chosen (Reuven Malther, #1) in Never too Late to Read Classics

Dec 30, 2016 Josh Caporale rated it really liked it

4.5 stars

I started a collection of Chaim Potok novels with the intent that he would not disappoint me in my quest in immersing myself in a great work of literature while also becoming much more informed about Judaism. By no means did Potok disappoint. I felt that The Chosen, being an earlier work of his, would be a great starting point and a great starting point it was. I felt that what I read was a great and important story about a time, place, and circumstance that I am now much more aware thr 4.5 stars

I started a collection of Chaim Potok novels with the intent that he would not disappoint me in my quest in immersing myself in a great work of literature while also becoming much more informed about Judaism. By no means did Potok disappoint. I felt that The Chosen, being an earlier work of his, would be a great starting point and a great starting point it was. I felt that what I read was a great and important story about a time, place, and circumstance that I am now much more aware through the point of view of a perspective that is not my own.

While the paperback version I read did not have a summary on the back, the plot is not too difficult to understand. The story is told through the eyes of Reuven Malter, an Orthodox Jew that lives with his father and has a maid, Manya, that tends to them during the day. Reuven's father, David, is a respected teacher and Zionist. Reuven, who dreams of being a mathematician, tells his story with a sense of logic and in many ways we could relate to his "matter of fact" disposition. The main story in this text is Reuven's relationship with a Hasidic Jewish student from another school by the name of Danny Saunders, whose father, Reb Saunders, is a respected figure in his community. During a baseball game where Danny and Reuven's teams are competing, a ball that Danny hits slams right into Reuven's eye and it requires medical attention. While they relationship starts as what seems to be a bitter rivalry, it quickly turns into Danny and Reuven's relationship and how two people from different backgrounds and different ways at approaching life find common ground and an ability to benefit from one another. This novel also explores how each sees themselves as Jewish men, while also as men that are looking to pursue what they wish, regarding of their religion. For Reuven, it is mathematics, while for Danny, it is psychology.

I learned a lot about Judaism, especially Hasidic Judaism, in this text at hand. Chaim Potok does a great job informing readers about this religion through the eyes of Reuven and his experiences and also through the teachings of David Malter and Reb Saunders. At the same time, Potok makes this an entertaining work and one that possesses a realistic tone and sense of humor. There was also that sense that just about everything was explained, which resolved any issues that may have developed. If there was any criticism, I would say that came from its tendency to be a bit stand-offish and how the displaying of information may create a dense atmosphere for the reader, but only to the point where it took a half-star from the final score. I feel that the reason for Reb's silence toward his son, Danny (Reb only spoke to his son while they were studying), says a lot about the tone of how this story was told and how these lives were lived.

Being an ordained rabbi, Chaim Potok did a remarkable job telling this story and gave me a greater understanding about Hasidic Judaism and the explanations to what seemed like complexities through Reb Saunders' very own stories.

You can find my video review from Literary Gladiators here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA3r7... ...more

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