My Name is Asher Lev

Ok, first topic. Yes, I just read this book, recommended by my friend Prone to Wander who just read it. (I love having reading friends!) Then I read The Chosen; then I read The Gift of Asher Lev. I enjoyed the second one even more than the first. All three of these books are by Chaim Potok. The Asher Lev story is about a boy in a Hasidic Jewish family who has a remarkable gift for art. The problem is, Hasidic Jews don't have an appreciation for art other than pictures from Bible stories, OT Bible stories, that is! The story is about the conflict this causes within Asher himself, with his parents and finally with the whole Hasidic community. It is written in first person and is very much inside Asher's head. It's not a happy story, but I could NOT put it down! I read the whole thing in 24 hours. It is one of the best written books I have ever read. Then of course I had to read the sequel which takes Asher to the Cote d'Azur and Paris where he has been exiled. Now he is married with two children and a very successful artist. Because of a death in the family he has to return to Brooklyn. The story is about him and his children's relationship with his parents, and again the community. I liked this book even better than the other one. It wasn't as sad, in a way, but it was just as riveting. I've learned a lot about Hasidic Jews, too. Then I went online and looked up about Hasidic Jews and learned even more. There are about as many "varieties" of them as there are Protestants!!! We always think all Jews are the same. One group thinks the other group is going to hell. And that is where the book, The Chosen starts out. Two boys' baseball teams playing each other. The one team thinks the other team are reprobates. However, two boys become very close friends because of an accident at the baseball game. That book is about their friendship. I learned a lot about their history through that book, too. So, Em, when you have a chance, yeah, get that book/those books and read them. Then we can talk!!