The Chosen

by Chaim Potok

“Whenever I do or see something I don’t understand, I like to think about it until I understand it.” He talked very rapidly, and I could see he was tense. “I’ve thought about it a lot, but I still don’t understand it. I want to talk to you about it. Okay?” “Sure,” I said. “Do you know what I don’t understand about that ball game? I don’t understand why I wanted to kill you.”

A jarring excerpt, and rather peculiar.