Book Review: The Chosen by Chaim Potok

Chaim Potok's The Chosen is a book I feel like I should have read in junior high. It's a Ballantine Book; one of those small paperbacks with the newsprint paper that leaves ink smudges on your fingers, and weighs in at just under 300 pages. Add to this the very subtle "after school special" feel you get from it. You know what I'm talking about--dramatic, filled with not-so-subtle lessons, and just a tad precious.

I probably shouldn't have started out with that "after-school special" comment, because the truth is that in spite of all that, I enjoyed The Chosen very much. It grabbed me and held onto me; I was completely unable to stop thinking about it for 24 hours (which is about how long it took me to read it, all told) and even now, I still think about some of the ideas the book brings up. I can already tell the story is one of those that will stay with me for a long time.

The Chosen (which takes place between the end of the Great Depression to a few years after the end of WWII) is the story of two exceptional boys from different Jewish backgrounds who meet under lonely and difficult circumstances and become best friends. Their families are different, their fathers (both of whom figure largely in the story and in each boy's intellectual development) are seemingly at odds, and neither boy quite fits in with the world around him. When the book begins the boys are just entering that passionate and impetuous phase of adolescence; and so is the world around them as America's role in the war grows.

On a historical level, the book is a revealing look at the era just during and after WWII. Any mention of WWII will always bring to mind Hitler and the horrors he committed, but rarely have I had the opportunity to view those atrocities from an insider's point of view. And even these boys are not truly on the inside; they are helpless witnesses, touched on a personal level, but unable to take any action to effectively fight the nebulous monster bent on destroying their ancestry and birthright.

Beyond this, it's a fascinating glimpse into the world of Hasidic and Orthodox Judaism, a world I already have a more than passing interest in. The devotion to study and tradition exhibited by the main characters is inspiring, and in many ways very appealing. I have always been intrigued by the aspect of Jewish tradition that is all-encompassing, bleeding into every aspect of life--what you eat, how you cook, an entire 24 hours of every week--the things that make it not merely a belief, but a way of life.

One thing missing from the book was any kind of female point of view, or even any female character of substance. Now, it doesn't bother me if a book is man-focused. Some books (although appealing to both genders) are masculine, and some are essentially feminine. But The Chosen mentioned the role of women in this unique community just enough to make me curious, and then never followed through. It was a little tease that didn't satisfy.

Truly, this book explores so many themes, it would be impossible to deconstruct them all in one blog post: male friendship, father-son relationships, independence and loyalty, tradition and submission, the quality of silence, and standing out in a crowd. I would love to find a book similar to The Chosen, but written on a more adult level. I really found it only touched on issues that I wanted to delve into deeply and explore to the utmost. It piqued my curiosity and set me on the road to further study.

Warning! Reading Can Ruin Your Life!

For most people summer seems to be a time for activities, road trips, and the great outdoors. Not for me. For me summer has always been a time to unplug the phones, lock the doors, and hide away in the darkest corner I could find with a flashlight and as many books as I could carry.

When I was in school summer was my cherished time. All that time wasted during the school year on assigned books and math worksheets (not that I actually did many of those assignments, come to think of it) gave way during the summer months to uninterrupted, unadulterated reading. My parents and friends knew better than to bother me. I would take cartloads of books to the downstairs guest room in my parents house and set up camp, coming up only for meals, and that only occasionally.

Now that I am older, this hermitous instinct that takes over my brain from late May to early September gets me into trouble. I lose friends who think that my lack of communication means I have become a snob and don't have time for them anymore. My children wear their pajamas all day long and eat cereal bars and macaroni and cheese for every meal. (My children obviously love this aberrant habit of mine and doubtless wish it would manifest itself throughout the entire year.) My work--well, my work gets done, but reluctantly; while I, like the dog in the old adage, curse this distraction that ironically allows me to buy the very books which tempt me away from it. And my blog.... well, obviously, my blog languishes. This blog post is my apology to my readers, and my plea for understanding and forgiveness.

I have, however, been able to burn through a number of books so far this summer, some bad, some good, some excellent; and I can't wait to tell you all about them. Here is a preliminary list of some of the books I've read in the past few weeks, including the ones I have on my plate right now:

Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie

The Chosen by Chaim Potok

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

The Southern Vampire Series (first 3 books) by Charlaine Harris

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas

Turbulent Souls by Stephen J. Dubner

Choosing a Jewish Life by Anita Diamante

Hamlet by Shakespeare

The Tales of Mutt-Bly Akarkin by Michael Chester

No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Readings by Michael Dirda

So now I have to ask... How do you like to read? Do you have a favorite time of year to hole up and surround yourself with words? And, as always, my favorite question of all... what are YOU reading this summer?