It was one of those “coming of age” stories. Set during World War II, we find two Jewish 15-year-olds going through the motions of adolescence in Brooklyn who must come to grips with their ideas of God, the world, their people, and the differences their respective flavors of Judaism embody. Secular and Orthodox Jews did not commonly intermix in friendship and most certainly not in marriage. This is mostly still the case. The story follows the boys, one Secular and one Orthodox, as they struggle to reconcile their religion with Freud, war, Zionism, baseball, and the paths that have been set before them.
This tension between Secular and Orthodox Jewry is a part of my religion I am not fond of. Orthodox Jews tend to look down upon the Secular and the Secular view the Orthodox as fanatics. Extremism has no place in the world, and Potok flays apart the issue for the reader step-by-step. I’ve always felt that both types bring something unique to the table and I found that, for the most part, Potok echoed this mentality. I don’t normally discuss religion (or the politics of Israel) on this site, but I had to make an exception in this case cuz, well, this book was kind of about religion.
For non-Jewish readers, The Chosen may seem a little overwhelming. It has a lot of terminology and vocabulary in Hebrew and Yiddish that may go undefined for several pages. The boys are also insufferably polite and well mannered, but I guess that’s the way things were back then. Or maybe I’m just a schmuck.
Either way, it’s only about 250 pages and goes by quickly. It’s wistful, sappy, and just a little bit cheesy. And probably required reading in most Jewish day schools.
Comments (6)
you have hereby been ex-communicated from this blog. i bet i get 0 hits now.
Posted by p-man | February 10, 2007 8:15 PM
Posted on February 10, 2007 20:15
next p-man post: "obscure jewish kid-lit explaining the history of the middle east" either that or "stoner-bands not-all-that-much-like-phish."
Posted by skorloff | February 10, 2007 8:15 PM
Posted on February 10, 2007 20:15
yes! just call this number for your prize: 1-800-thequeen-gets-freaky
Posted by p-man | February 10, 2007 8:15 PM
Posted on February 10, 2007 20:15
Ooo! Ooo! Is it: The Queen Elizabeth Sex Tape???
Posted by cherz | February 10, 2007 8:15 PM
Posted on February 10, 2007 20:15
URL: http://
keep your pantyhose on.* i just got cable and i'll post tonight. *bonus points if you name the movie reference.
Posted by p-man | February 10, 2007 8:15 PM
Posted on February 10, 2007 20:15
URL: http://
you need to hurry up and post something new. Your review of "The Chosen" isn't exactly setting the blogosphere on fire.
Posted by skorloff | February 10, 2007 8:15 PM
Posted on February 10, 2007 20:15