The Chosen: A Novel

This book was pretty good. I thought the beginning was the best part of the whole story. I am not Jewish, so I did not understand all the terminology. I think Jewish people would be able to understand and connect better to it. But it did send out good messages and themes. Although at many points I found myself forcing myself to go back to reading it, I was assigned to read it for Honors English. It was boring at some parts, to the point where once or twice I awoke to find that I had fallen asleep while reading it. But other parts are very interesting, like the beginning, for example.

The Chosen is a heart warming tale of two friends, Danny and Robert, who meet after a baseball accident. They both have completely different fathers and Jewish beliefs, but overcome these challenges to become great friends. Though the book is a little under 300 pages, it will keep you on the edge of your seat. I like the plot between the friends and it it will keep you reading. The style is the same as some of his other books such as My Name is Asher Lev. They are both about Jewish families and both take place in Brooklyn, New York. They also take place in the 1940's and post World War 2. It is a book you will surely enjoy and love. It is a keeper!

This book is a true story about the meaning of friendship, but also about the heartache it can cause. Two jewish boys (one orthadox, the other reformed) form a special friendship. While they may start out as enemies, they end up with a friendship that takes us all the way through to their college years. While both value the bond that they share, one is controlled more by his father and his duties to the community, while the other is forced to just deal with it. I couldn't put it down. It truly stirs up every emotion a person can have. You feel as though you are right there with them and it is as if you are a part of the book. The story also describes to some degree the Jewish religion and the differences that the two kinds of jewish communtities can have and how it affects their friendship. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5, because it can drag at some points, but not for long. In my opinion this book is a must. It shows how we all have to take a stand in our lives and how we all need support to sometimes do it.

I read The Chosen for my literature class at school, and I enjoyed it very much! Chaim Potok did a wonderful job of portraying the life of two young Jewish-American boys. Based in Brooklyn in the 1940s, we first meet the narrator, the modern Orthodox Reuven Saunders, as a 15 year old. An incident occurs to where he becomes close to his Ultra-Orthodox (Hasidic) counterpart, Danny Saunders. One is a mathematician and the other aspires to become a psychologist. Both are brilliant scholars of the Torah and the Talmud. Although I had little knowledge of Jewish customs and cultures, after reading this book, I learned some aspects of Judaism I never knew before. Potok defined many Jewish and Yiddish terms that otherwise I would not have any clue understanding. He made this a novel which looks into the lives of two brilliant young men who struggles to preserve their friendship and their own beliefs.

Chaim Potok wrote one of the most memorable books I have ever read. "The Chosen" clearly displays the effect of religion on teenagers. The two main characters, Danny Saunders and Reuven Malter, meet during the most unusual of circumstances. Danny actually injured Reuven while playing in a baseball game. Throughout the years, they developed a long-lasting friendship. The respect and devotion they show towards one another display the coming of age of two young men. This novel is perfect for anyone who enjoys reading about the importance of maturing over time.

Sometimes a tragic occurrence can be the catalyst that sparks a bond of friendship between two people of dissimilar backgrounds. This is demonstrated aptly in Chaim Potok's novel, The Chosen, first published in 1967. In this outstanding book, two fifteen year old boys, Reuven Malter, the son of a secular Jewish professor, and Daniel Saunders, the son of the Rabbi leader of a very conservative Russian Hasidic sect, confront each other on the baseball field. The lives of these two boys and their families are forever altered when Daniel hits Reuven in the eye with a line drive shot, nearly blinding him. At first Reuven feels terrible contempt toward Daniel, but in time the boys grow to understand and respect each other and there develops a bond between them that overcomes their significant differences.
The story takes place in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, starting in 1944 when World War II is coming to an end and the full tragedy of the holocaust is being discovered. It follows the lives of the two boys as they finish their studies at Yeshiva and go onto Jewish college together. Reuven learns about the very different upbringing of his friend when he moves in with Daniel's family for a few weeks while Reuven's father is away. He learns that Daniel's father does not speak to his son except during prayer services, and only then to test him on his knowledge of the Talmud. Reuven learns that Daniel is expected to follow in the family tradition and inherit his father's position as head Rabbi of his sect. But he also learns that Daniel has different desires and is torn by his loyalty to his father. "Reb Saunders's son is a terribly torn and lonely boy", Reuven's father explains. "There is literally no one in the world he can talk to. He needs a friend. The accident with the baseball has bound him to you, and he has already sensed in you someone he can talk to without fear."
The story is told through the eyes of Reuven. Through his eyes we experience the difficulties of trying to comprehend another culture so different from one's own, and we see the growth of Reuven's understanding of Reb Saunders and his approach to parenting. Reuven also learns that possibly there is a greater purpose to seemingly random events. As his father explains, "Reuven, as you grow older you will discover that the most important things that will happen to you will often come as a result of silly things, as you call them-`ordinary things' is a better expression. That is the way the world is." This book is a compelling novel that tells a story of growth and understanding and the meaning of true friendship. I recommend it.

The book The Chosen is a classic story about friendship and discovering what kind of a person you are inside. The setting is New York City, in two Jewish neighborhoods during World War II. The two main characters, Reuven and Danny, meet each other after Danny smacks a hit off Reuven's eye in a baseball game. Reuven is angry at first, but after encouragement from his father, he and Danny become friends. Reuven is then invited to Danny's house to study the Talmud with Reb Saunders, Danny's father and the tzaddik or leader of the Hassidic Jews in the area. Although Mr. Saunders doesn't agree with Reuven and his father's views, he permits the friendship. While Reuven is a bright boy, Danny is brilliant and "one in a million". He is, however, plagued by the fact that his father never speaks to him as part of his preparation to inherit the position of tzaddik. Danny would rather pursue a career in psychology, but he is terrified of telling this to his father.
Years pass and both boys are attending a Jewish college together. Everything is going smoothly until Reuven's father leads a rally in the city promoting Palestine as a Jewish state. Reb Saunders is enraged that his son is friends with someone whose father believes in such things. He tells his son never to speak with Reuven again and threatens to pull him out of college if he disobeys. After two years, the silence ban is lifted and Mr. Saunders shocks Danny by announcing that he knows about Danny's wishes to go to psychology school and he agrees to pay his way. Both Danny and Reuven are thrilled and everything ends happily.
All four of the main characters in this story were extremely plausible and well rounded. They had strong opinions about their faith and were overwhelmed at times by the complexity of life. Both fathers had good intentions, but struggled at times with the magnitude of raising a son and juggling their jobs. I enjoyed the style of the book because it was in first person as Reuven told it. I was able to see inside Reuven's mind and understand the struggles in his relationship with Danny and his father. I don't think that I would have enjoyed the book as much if it had been in third person. This story has a very strong theme, which can be linked to almost any friendship that anyone, anywhere, will ever have in life. The main theme is that strong friendships, no matter how complex or troubling, are very important in life. Both Danny and Reuven learned so much from each other and they became much better people because of that. A smaller theme is that you should never judge a person when you haven't met them and spent real, quality time with them. Reuven was so angry with Danny for hitting him that their great friendship almost never took place.
I felt that Chaim Potok did an excellent job with this story. He molds the life of young Jewish boys at that time with a compelling and compassionate tale of a friendship that will last a lifetime. He explored the characters' minds and their feelings toward life in general. However, I felt that the story was a little predictable and that once you were led down a path, the story continued that way. There were few shocking twists in the story. Also, I felt that there was little suspense or action in the first few chapters. The story starts fairly slowly compared to later chapters. It would have been nice also, if the boys' school life had been explored in greater detail as there was never even a classmate's name mentioned anywhere in the story. Lastly, I wish that more had been foreshadowed in the end about Danny's brother's future. Levi seems to be the one to inherit the tzaddik title even though he seems gravely ill at times with an unnamed illness.
Overall, this is a great story that I would recommend to anyone. It really makes you think about life and the importance of those close to you.

After recently viewing a public television special on Hasidic Jews, I found reading The Chosen to be a very special experience. The author depicts in a very sensitive manner the relationship between two teenagers who come from very different Jewish backgrounds. Also, Potok portrays beautifully the loving relationships between fathers and sons. He focuses on the pain parents and children must endure when children do not choose to follow the expectations of their parents. This is a wonderful coming of age book that I recommend for teenagers and adults alike.

The Chosen by Chaim Potok was never excited or intense in its events that took place in the story of Reuven's and Danny's lives together. However, so many things can be learned from the story that make up for the lack of action. Potok embedded messages in this story through the way Reuven changed and looked at things differently as he matured and grew older. Potok displayed a situation in which Danny was torn between pleasing his fatherand doing what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. The Jewish culture is a mystery t the majority of readers, and Reuven's and Danny's lives would seem strange to most, but the general situations of decision making and continuous maturation lead to many similarities between everyone and these two boys. The Chosen was thrilling not for action, but for all the knowledge one gains from it in Jewish culture and history, and what everyone around the world shares.

I think that overall The Chosen was an informative book to read. It not only teaches about different religious faiths and views in our world, but it also goes through the lessons of growing up. Both main and minor charactersin the story contribute to the lessons taught in the novel. It teaches forgiveness, freedom, and most importantly, acceptance. The novel goes through the lives of two young Jewish boys, and shows that through the story their lives are changed by one another. In addition to important live lessons shown, it teaches the level of destructiveness that can be caused by lies and secrecy. Through the course of the novel, you witness both characters maturing and becoming different, and it causes you yourself to think of your own life, because it's easy to relate to the varied conflicts. The Chosen is worth reading because you learn and you relate.

The Chosen is a very interesting, if a little slow, novel. The main characters are both Jewish, but the novel appeals to a wide audience beyond Judaism, because of its universal themes of family, friendship, secrecy, and understanding others. The story is about two friends, Danny and Reuven, who come from very different branches of Judaism. Due to their families different viewpoints, their friendship is pulled a part, but they are gradually reunited. Throughout this plot, the reader can learn many different lessons, such as loyalty to a friend, especially when that friend is in through, and understanding others' points of view. The Chosen's lack of female characters was a weak point, but overall it is a pretty good book.

The Chosen is a novel that revolves around two adolescent boys, Danny Saunders and Reuven Malter, who are a part of Jewish society though they differ in their specific faiths. This book is filled with lessons to be learned and information about the Jewish faith and the Zionist movement that anyone can benefit from. The themes of friendship, secrecy, acceptance, tradition, and angst all play pivitol roles in the maturation of the two characters. Specifically, Danny learns that he has a right to live his own life despite growing up in an extremely tradition-based household. Reuven learns to accept different methods of teaching and thinking, despite the fact that he doesn't agree with them. The absence of female characters is inconsequential in the plot because they do not have a dominant role in the Jewish society. There are many minor characters met a long the way as well who all convey a certain message that Reuven and Danny can benefit from. Overall, The Chosen is a novel that will teach one to open his/her eyes to the differences in the world and they can help positively shape our lives.
We are all very prejudiced. We judge each person by what they look like, what they sound like, and where they come from. This book destructs all of our prejudiced ideas when two boys of the most prestigious groups of Jews become friends. Their friendship is continuously strong through all of the bonds that are broken by the rules of their religion. It teaches life lessons concerning family life, and facing your deepest fears. It had a strong plot and reading what helpful in learning more about the Jewish religion that caused Reuven and Danny so much trouble. Every family has problems, and without pushing away the strong iron gates of secrecy is unable to reach mutual understanding or resolution, which slowly breaks apart the family they thought they new.
The Chosen by Chaim Potok is a book about friendship, conflicts, and the clashing of two worlds that are similar but different. It contains lots of information concerning Judaism to help the non-Jewish reader understand what is happening. It is a book where secrecy abounds and the characters are often hurt as a result of this secrecy. Overall, The Chosen contains many good lessons about friendship and accepting others. This book, while not my favorite read, was gripping at times and is a good read for older readers.
Chaim Potok's novel, The Chosen, was a narration appeals to both the young and the old, by the means of eloquent lessons Potok preaches. It is the story of two teen age boys, Reuven and Danny, who find that even though they live in radically different worlds, they have more in common than they know. The book accompanies the adversity faced in adolescence, with the rich Jewish heritage shared by both boys. The novel seems more real than other fabricated fiction because it speaks to all of us. It focuses on humanistic qualities that we are often blind to in own lives. Life, we realize at the completion of the novel, is something that is fleeting. We are faced with choices and those choices drastically affect our lives. But, what if we were "chosen" and we didn't have a choice? How would you choose to live? The lessons you learn after reading are life-altering, but the quality of the book is determined by how you receive those lessons.
The Chosen is a great book for everyone. Chaim Potok created a miraculous story about friendship, secrecy, and differences. Although both protagonists, Danny and Reuven, are Jewish it does not affect the overall comprehension of the story. This bildungsroman has a powerful and inspirational plot that relates to everyone. It displays the true meaning of friendship and what being a friend means. Even the minor characters instill hope in the reader, and teach moral life lessons, like not taking things for granted. This book reveals inner turmoil that is present in everyone. The Chosen also helps give insight on the Jewish religion. Throughout the maturation of Danny and Reuven, the reading audience matures too, learning life lessons valuable to everyone.

Every so often you go through a period of reading lacklustre books that make the lazy demon in you think of stopping, then you pick up a book like this and your thirst for the written word returns with a vengence!
I was recommended 'The Chosen' some years ago, and turned to it after just such a lull and it truly delights; its a great story well told that gives the reader an insight into the conflicts that lay within Judaism;Danny the orthadox Hassid and Rueven become friends after Danny injures Rueven in a baseball game.The story flows with wonderful imagry from the hospital with Mr Savo and Billy;the streets the two boys live in;the Hassidic home of Reb Saunders,the historical background of WW2 and the birth of Israel;how the mass murder of 6 million Jews brought on a re think of passive waiting for a messiah in a harsh and modern world.
This is great writing;up there with Bellow, Bashevis Singer, Malamud and Appelfeld.

I accidentally came across this book. My brother was forced to read this book for school and I decided to read it myself despite the fact that at first I didn�t expect much.
Still I started reading and soon was captivated. The warmth and love that dominates this book took me over. potok describes different opinions and different personalities with a lot of affection and acceptance of their differences.
The book tells the story of two Jewish boys that come from different ways of life and their growing friendship despite the differences and all that happens around them in the world.
Upon the first glance it may seem that this book talks about what it is to be a Jew. It does deal with this issue but in seeing only this side of the story, I think, you lose the real beauty and depth of the story. It deals with so many universal issues, issues that are greater than religion .one of the issues is what it is to be a human being in an ever changing world, a world which you cant always understand. Other issues are what it is to be a friend, a son, a father, deals with the growing pains and the realization of truth and that there isn�t one global truth.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to fall in love with amazing characters, who wants a book that provokes feeling and thought.
This is one of the rare books that make you thankful for being alive and thankful for being able to read.

I recommend "The Chosen" to all, Jewish or non-Jewish. I myself am not Jewish, but the material discussed, though rooted in Jewish religion, pertains to all. This story is about a boy who learns about life through his father, his religion, and through his best friend, whom he first thought of as an enemy. I couldn't put this book down once I started it. After reading it, you feel as though you have experienced it. Chaim Potok is a very talented author whose words read like a movie. I recommend this book for anyone who's seeking a good story!

I only read this book in 4 days while I was on a road trip and those 4 days could not have been better spent than reading The Chosen. It was superb (the best way to put it).
The book is about a Jewish teenager in the 1940's. He's not a traditional Jew, he's more of a modern world. One day, this kid DOES meet up with a traditional Jew and they eventually become best of friends. Their friendship becomes dampered because the traditional Jewish way of thinking is to never mingle with people who are corrupted, which, of course, is everyone but themselves. It gets even worse because his father is a Rabbi.
I truly enjoyed this book for its beautiful content and a great story. I give it full marks!

this book is what fiction should be like. although it's intelligent, historical, meaningful, thematic, complex, what's at the core tying all these things together is sympathy, such that these characters can sneeze or look at the yard and you're totally enthralled. How much better then when they're unusually interesting people involved in fascinating things. life is made and shown to be deeply fascinating. you ride along in their lives as if they are alternate lives of your own, and afterward feel that you yourself truly have lived through something. This book is what happens when someone has a true genius for his art - there's no need for him to show off, you're simply swept along.

I read this book last year because my mom suggested to me. I started to read it at first and slighty after the baseball part I got bored. Then A few months later I picked up the book and read it again and found that it was very intresting. Being a reformed jew I found that I acutally did not realate much to the hasidic and othordox jews. I did however know the terms and I did not find it difficult to read. I do not understand how people could find this book boring and I think that if they would of given the book a chance they would of enjoyed this book.

I'm not Jewish but my co-worker who is Jewish recommended this book to me. I found it to be very engaging from beginning to end. This is a coming of age story of two teen-age boys who form an unlikely friendship set against the backdrop of the end of WW II.
The reviewers who called it boring apparently don't understand that good storytelling doesn't have to be all about slam-bang action. It's lamentable that popular culture has become so action-oriented that so many cannot appreciate a quiet, well-told story such as this one.
This book reminded me of "A Separate Peace", another novel that is often assigned for school reading. If you like the one, you will probably like the other and sadly, if your taste runs only to action and adventure you may not "get" either one.

This book struck me as a fine book for an intelligent teenager- it seems a bit too sweet and shallow, a bit unexciting, for adults. I was able to finish it but I didn't feel like I got anything out of it that wasn't fairly obvious (except surprise that back in the 1940s modern Orthodox Jews and Hasidim lived in the same Brooklyn neighborhoods).

These two very religious Jewish boys in the throes of adolescence at the "end" of WWII in America will win your heart, if not your soul. They have so much in common, and so much that tears them apart. Their relationships with their fathers, their relationships with each other, create heartwarming and challenging memories that are as relevant today as the day they were written. With deep insight into the challenges that Zionism created at its inception, it becomes far more easier to comprehend its continued complexities today. Highly recommended, beautifully written, a very pleasurable reading experience.

Well, it's been another year, but the Chosen is still the best book I've ever read. I made some errors on my last review, so I'll change them. I did not WRITE the Chosen, I READ it (which is what I meant to say, except that I was too busy applauding Chaim Potok). And I have since found out that the term for one who is born jewish but becomes more religious later is "b'aal teshuvah", not "born-again-jew". (But it kinda works, doesn't it?)
For people who are still confused about all the Jewish terms: LOOK THEM UP! I didn't know much about Judaism before I read it either, so I read through dictionnairies, encyclopedias, etc... NOW I know enough to UNDERSTAND WHAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT. (And aren't books much more FUN that way?)
Reuven is clearly NOT a secular Jew. He is Orthodox. (Modern Orthodox, as it is called now.) No secular Jew goes to synagogue, is instructed in yiddish and hebrew in a yeshiva,(or even goes to a yeshiva) studies talmud, wears a yarmulke and prays with teffilin, ok?
Clearly, Reuven's character is portraying the few thousand orthodox jews who think that the current-day-Israel has the right to exist, despite passages in the Torah that say otherwise. (I think Potok, who is also Orthodox, is one of them too, and the fact that there were enough Orthodox Zionists in the High School show that he was really trying to set these characters apart, even among the orthodox.)
The theme here is not that Danny is more religious than Reuven. It's that BOTH are religious, and that each thinks the other way is wrong.
This often occurs among M.O. (Modern Orthodox) and U.O. (Ultra-orthodox, including Hasidism).
The interesting thing is, according to the HALACHAH (I hope I spelled that right), or "religious laws", they are both "religious".
ex: torah forbids touching face and sides of head with a blade, so hasidism grow beards and "sidelocks" (peyes). However, M.O. use an electric razor (no blade), so technically, they are still fulfilling the commandment.
Every time I read this, more insight is gained. I still say this book, although fictionnal, is a valuable reading material for the secular and reform jews of today who still can't comprehend why "anyone would want to live like that".
This book has impacted my life and I will always be grateful to Chaim Potok for writing it. He is a genius, and I hope he continues to write many more masterpieces of literature.
(I eagerly look forward to the finishing of Asher Lev's story, which Potok is supposedly working on.)

I loved this book from the first time I read it. It is a friendship story and there are few of those while there are many love stories. It is also a friendship story between two intellectual teenagers. It is hard for such to find someone who can share his world. I remember what it was like-and still is.
One thing that isn't noticed but I wonder about. Danny Saunders seems like an allegory of the Jewish people. He is "the Chosen" raised in a severe way and taught that he is destined for a high calling which he does not quite want. He is devoted to his father(who "brought his people up out of the land of Russia"). But he cannot understand him and is always trying, not with complete success to convince himself and others that his father loves him. At the end all is explained. I don't know if all that was the writer's intent but I often wonder. At any rate as a Christian I sometimes think about the Jewish people as if I was Reuven Malter and they are Danny Saunders. Like Reuven I sometimes wonder why God seems to treat them so hard...
By the way, someone called Danny a "rebel son". He was certainly not that. He was straining himself not to rebel. In our culture many hold submission in contempt but sometimes it takes as much strength of will to submit as to rebel. Danny was growing and learning. But he never scorned his father and people and certainly never rebelled. One can be different from one's family without turning against it.

A trivial criticism: while Rebbe Saunders certainly did have a remarkable amount of power, is the emigration an example of that? It does seem that he was the first one in the community to have a decent idea.

Another bit of trivia. I have read in "God on the Quad" by Naomi Schaefer Riley, a book about American religious colleges, that the feuding between professors and rabbis in Jewish colleges as described in the book and it's sequel The Promise, is based on a real life phenomenon.

Jason Taylor(son of John Taylor whose password I am using with his permission)

I was in my mother's room one day, kind of bored, when she handed me the chosen. She told me it was a very beautiful story and made her cry and that I should read it. I was 16. I rolled my eyes. I am not a person who cries and I certainly didn't feel like reading some book that my mother thought was beautiful. But I was bored and had nothing to do and so I started reading it. The intersting thing about the book it that it starts very simply. To make a long story short I really liked the book and it had a pretty strong impact on me. Its the story of a boy living in New York. The captivating thing is that this boy is very different to us, he has a religion and culture that is strange to me as I have never been exposed to it in my life (Orthodox Judaism). He is very different from most people arround him, and in the book he shares with us his deepest feelings about this. The book had a very strong impact on me as it allowed me a glimpse of a different world, viewed from the eyes of a boy so different from me, but in many ways so simmilar. His loneliness, his difference echoed my own.
I strongly reccomend reading this book as it gave me a perspective I didn't have before, it was a beautiful and captivating story and gave me a window into a new world.

A friendship is difficult to maintain, and good ones are always the hardest to find. For Reuven Malter half of the dilemma is already solved, he has been appointed a friend by that person�s father. But before he gets that far, he has to meet him first.
Danny Saunders, a Hasidic Jewish boy, living merely four blocks away from Reuven, is introduced as an extremely �conservative� and radical follower of a Jewish sect. His father, Reb is the leader of a church and Danny himself is destined to become a rabbi for it is in his blood, �the family dynasty� as he puts it. Your assumption of Danny�s strict Hasidic rules and guidelines quickly diminish as Reuven and Danny�s friendship grows.
The first words ever passed between the two are durin an asphalt baseball game were a little less than friendly. If you want to get on someone�s good side, chances are calling their denomination of religion an abomination to the basic fundamentals of the religion they practice probably isn�t the best choice of words.
Well, anyway, to make an extremely great story a little shorter, Reuven pitches the ball to Danny, Danny hits it sending the ball flying towards Reuven�s head, nailing him in the eye and landing him in the hospital for a week. Many things happen to Reuven during his stay at the hospital, he meets two new people that become distinct, but not well developed characters. Danny visits Reuven in the hospital twice, this marks the beginning of a friendship throughout the entire book. Two characters who you would never dream would get along let alone develop a lifelong friendship filled with many conflicts and obstacles along the way.
Reuven, the main character of the book is a moderately libral Jew, considering his friend Danny. His father offers him advice on the many problems his friendship with Danny brings up.
Danny is a troubled character, on the outside it seems completely opposite. He is tortured day after day by his father�s methods of raising him. He wants to become a psychologist, he reads many books about the subject, and even learns German to read one in it�s original language. All of this he hides from his father.
David Malter is Reuven�s father, he is a source of guidance for Reuven, Reuven is forbidden to see Danny when Reb Saunders discovers the fact of his pro Zionist ideals.
Reb Saunders is the very stern father of Danny. He pressures him to study the Talmud and become a rabbi like himself. He doesn�t speak to his son unless they are studying the Talmud.
Chaim Potok creates a novel moving on many levels. His style is somewhat simple in summarizing entire chapters in the last couple of sentences, almost like the very end of a great Wonder Years episode. All of the characters are extremely round and well developed. An extremely good book worth everyone�s time.

The Chosen is ok for a general book. But as a classic it is not that good. It was a deptessing tale about two people that could not be friends because of religous differences. What religion in this age? nothing any more decremination will be almost completely terminated in 100 years so Chaim took people's time to read about a unrealistic plot and it has become a classic! I could write about me and my friend's father that had some differences so then we can't be friends.
For a plot this stupid it was an excellent book but the plot was to radical.

I am a 17 year old Junior. This book was assigned as a summer reading project. It was excellent in every regard. I do not think this book would overwhelm or bore younger students, it is a simple, easy, and very enjoyable read. Not only was this book simple, it is inspirational. I feel this book has changed me, changed the way I look at life, change the way I approach life. I am not saying this will happen for everybody, I'm a teenager still looking for meaning in my life. But if it affects me this strongly, I am sure it can have at least the slightest beneficial influence on you.

Simply put The Chosen speaks to all of us.
The story is of family loyalty, cultural conflict, love, and most importantly the strenght of a true friendship. What more can I say that hasn't been said? Just this...if you haven't read this novel please do because it is excellent and will draw you into a world and culture you may not know about(or want to know more about). What do you have to loose? If you have read story please reread it and try to find new and interesting ways to view the whole strory. Above all enjoy!!!

Like few authors have, Chaim Potok vividly illustrates the precious bond of friendship and its profound impact on choosing one's destiny as well as one's path to becoming a man. From worldly issues of war to personal issues of faith, Potok delves deep to provide a moving story.
Potok subtly but brilliantly depicts the inability of humans to get along with each other. In the midst of WWII when the Jews are experiencing extreme persecution, still they bicker with members of their own faith over rather trivial issues. While the central conflict is between the two Jewish sects, many other more underlying conflicts exist. Potok illustrates the existence of conflicts inside conflicts thoroughly enough to show that that this situation does not just apply to the Jewish faith. From a Hasidic Jew to Liberal Jew, Hindu to Punjab, Shinto to Taoist, Chinese Buddhist to Shin Buddhist, humans have an incapability of keeping peace and good nature not only with each other but within their own faith as well.
On a less global matter, Potok also portrays the difficulties of the transition from adolescent to adult from the perspectives of two Jewish boys. A young Hasidic Jew named Danny struggles with choosing his path in life. He wants to please his rabbi father by becoming a rabbi himself, but at the same time yearns to have the close bonded relationship his best friend Reuven has with his father so he can tell him that his true passions in life lie away from a strict Jewish life. Reuven struggles with his father's illness as well. Their paths to manhood are twisted and rocky, but each boy makes the trip with the other's friendship.
The theme of friendship is explored comprehensively as well. Despite Potok's tone of multiple conflicts, the two boys of very different Jewish background come together to form a bond carried through the toughest of times. During a long-term separation they both find a piece of themselves missing and are not really happy until reunited.
The novel is an inspirational story of a struggle between paving your own path in life and walking one paved, while all at the same time making sure the path leads you to happiness. Potok always makes sure you feel for the character in every situation and in turn teaches lessons to be applied to all of our lives.

It made me laugh and it made me cry. I wished the story wasn't over after I was done, and then I read it again. When I found out there was a sequel I did a little dance. I love this book and everyone should read it. It's a book about friendship and war, men and their children, and life. You fall in love with the characters and you fall in love with the story. I have never come across a book that has had such a strong force over me like this one, and it should be read by everyone who has a father, a religion, or a friend.

Not only does The Chosen present an entertaining story of the relationship and maturity of two young men, it also presents a deeper theme of the mental maturity of all people and the essence of human nature. Potok introduces the two main characters, Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders, as rivals, or enemies, however, through the fateful accident during the baseball game the two are brought together and become the closest of friends. The two are practically inseparable and each plays a major role in molding the mind of the other, effectively helping each other come to decisions concerning each one's own future. Together, the two experience adolescence and eventually adulthood while sustaining a friendship that endures their religious differences and forced separation by Danny's father.
From the beginning, The Chosen is packed with symbolism such as the baseball game, Reuven's friends in the hospital and Potok's references to sight, which run throughout the novel. In the story, the baseball game is simply a contest between schools and the bringing together of Reuven and Danny. Symbolically, the game represents two groups of Jews playing the "greatest American past time," baseball, showing that they, as Jews, can be as American as everyone else. Additionally, the game sets the attitude of each Jewish sect with respect to the other, which is, of course, unfriendly. The irony of this situation lies in the current world events during the time of the setting of the novel. WWII and rumors of the holocaust are evident in the background of the novel. Even with the extreme persecution of the Jewish people, these two groups of Jews in America let their petty differences and religious disagreements lead to feelings of hatred among themselves.
An enlightening novel, The Chosen presents the journey through life of two friends and relates to all people, for all people must first discover their place in the world and then have the courage to pursue their dreams. Only then is life lived to the fullest and happiness finally achieved.

The chosen by Chaim Potok is a novel that traces the development of a young protagonist. What makes the chosen so different from other books is its focus on the development of two main characters instead of one. While the story is told through the point of view Reuven Malter, Danny Saunders is an integral part of the plot. They are both Jewish teens growing up in New York City during the time of World War Two. However, Reuven is the son of a more modern, open-minded man, while Danny Saunders is the son of a strict Hasidic rabbi.
The story begins at a baseball game with Reuven's team playing against Danny's team. When Danny steps to bat he hits the ball straight into Reuven's face, shattering his glasses and sending him to the hospital. Danny visits Reuven in the hospital and at first Reuven doesn't want to talk to Danny, but eventually the two of them overcome their differences and become friends. Their friendship faces many obstacles, including prejudice from both sects of Jews, but Danny and Reuven stay close, even through a period where they are literally not allowed to speak to each other. This friendship is an essential part of the story and is used to show how people from different backgrounds can accept each other's differences and use them to grow as individuals.
Religion is another major part of the story and is consistently used as a means of showing the similarities and differences between Danny and Reuven. Danny's father wants his son to take over as tzaddik, or leader of the Hasidic community when he gets old enough. While Reuven's father is less strict about what he wants his son to do and will except and decision he makes. The friendship between them helps each boy do what they want to do and not allow religion or their father's to decide their fate.
The theme of sight is an important one in this book. When Reuven is hit in the eye, he first begins to look beyond the strange appearance of the Hasidic Jews and let go of his prejudice. Potok stresses the importance of looking beyond appearances and accepting people as they are.

I really enjoyed this book when I was assigned to read it in school. There was so much layered into this character's life as he delved into his Jewish faith and compared it to that of another boy who seemed to be part close friend and part rival. I loved seeing how they each grew through their beliefs and also suffered because of them.

I really liked the historical aspect of the book. Though a work of fiction, it helped me to understand many ideas among the Jewish followers. A little too slow at times for my tastes (particularly the Talmud discussions). A certain amount was necessary to comprehend the background and situation but it went a bit overboard for me.

Overall I thought this was worth the time invested in reading it and I feel like a gained new insight into the Jewish faith and relationships in general.

A novel so fresh, honest and symbolic as to reach below our cultural appearance to pierce the depths of the human spirit must be labeled as striking. When indulging in the journey of two teenage boys as they tread through the complicated web of the Jewish religion, one cannot help but be swept away by a tide of impressive literature. Filled with an abundance of figurative language, from a fateful baseball game, set in the heart of a great American pastime, to the last religious debate, The Chosen puts to light the finest inner struggle; the bond and duty of a son to his father, and perhaps more importantly, to himself. Danny Saunders becomes, through the course of the novel, a most prominent example of a mind begging to be set free. And as his once archrival (Reuven Malter) descends from the realm of a more liberal Jewish sect, Danny opens his eyes to the world outside of his religion. Danny discovers the courage to explore the many facets of knowledge separate from Talmud.
Chaim Potok slips in so many hidden emblems behind Billy's unseeing eyes and pressed between the pages of Danny's psychology textbooks, that even the most efficient hunter cannot help but miss a few of his carefully aimed shots. By indulging in this novel, the inner recesses of the human race merge into a single, striving being, yearning for our own place in the trite society of the 21st century. With the comprehension of this simple yet complicated tale, comes the ability to see beyond the physical world into the depths underneath. The book eloquently presents the true struggle of the human spirit through such characters as Reb Saunders, the father who lives through his remarkable son, and Danny Saunders, as he searches for his own path, separate from his father's. The Chosen enriches each individual's own quest for destiny. Just as the day the first ink spread the title on a cover, today's world could learn a great deal from the trials and triumphs of Danny Saunders, Reuven Malter, and each of their lives.

The Chosen by Chaim Potok is about two boys, Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders, who meet at a baseball game, when Danny accidentally hits Reuven in the eye with a baseball, and Danny and Reuven become instant friends.While they are friendly, they have some problems. I thought that the book was a good portrayal of how good friends should always stick together, but I found that the author, Chaim Potok is confusing at times. He used Hasidic and Hebrew words that the reader if not Jewish might have difficultly understanding.The book was good for someone Jewish; otherwise, it was a flop.

The book begins with two boys divided by their religion. Throughout the book is a wonderful portrayal of how friendship can overcome boubdaries. The Jewish language causes a bit of a stunbling block. However,the reader can simply bypass that block by looking at the context describe in the surrounding sentences. This book is an eye opener about common Jewish people and how they handle different struggles. I recommend it to everyone who is interested in a heartwarming book that crosses all religious boundaries.

"The Chosen", by Chaim Potok, is a narrative about two Jewish boys, Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders, who are from different Jewish sects. The novel is all about their friendship and about them growing up together and the troubles they face due to their different religious interpretation. The boys are raised in different styles Reuven is raised in a regular manner, while Danny's father raises him in silence. Silence is a recurring, mysterious theme of the novel and the way they are raised greatly affects what they become in life. Silence is Danny's father Reb's way of raising Danny so that he will become a good rabbi by learning the ability to figure things out independently. Unfortunately, silence also separates Reuven and Danny when Reuven's father stresses the need to form a Jewish state. He supports "Zionism" while Danny's father does not and this causes Reb to forcibly separate the two boys.

In the novel Potok uses silence as a literary device that gives the text depth and mystery. The style of Potok's writing is sometimes very mysterious and, for me at least, confusing. The steady moving story shows the ways friendship can mature and change through different uncontrollable factors. It also gives insight into the different beliefs about raising children. I would recommend this book for someone who is prepared to think on a deeper level about the things of life, about differences, and about what can unite us.

I don't understand how people can say that this book was slow and boring. Perhaps they did not understand it. I read the book at the beginning of this year for English and loved it. Our teacher helped us to understand the conflicts and underlying themes. This book is a challenge if you want to unerstand all of it. Chaim Potok uses a lot of symbolism. Many times what is happening really symbolizes something totally different. This was a good school book, but it would not be as good without class discussions.

Although often assigned to young adults, this book is really meant to be re-read throughout life, as it can be understood and enjoyed on many levels as the reader matures. The old "ParDeS" method of analysis (an acronym for Hebrew words meaning: literal, moral, allegorical, and mystical) can be applied to this story, and it is excellent on each of these levels. Literally it is a moving story about growing up, friendship, families, making choices, and finding one's place in the world rather than letting it be assigned by others. Morally, it shows different life choices in a remarkably non-judgemental way--the two diametrically opposed families each find a way that fits their character to make meaningful choices and contributions to the world without compromising their principles, and both are partially successful, but both pay a price. The sons must choose for themselves which elements to retain and which to reject from their traditions. Allegorically, it shows the tension between the interior life, symbolized by the Hasidic family, and the exterior life, symbolized by the politically activist Orthodox family. Neither way has all the answers, and both suffer (the Hasids mentally, both father and son; the Orthodox, physically, again both father and son). Each son has to learn to adopt elements from the other approach to grow up a complete person. It is on the mystical level, however, that this book touches me the most. The terrible silence of the Hasidic father, which seems so senseless and destructive to his talented but tormented son, is revealed to have a transcending reason. This is like the experience so many of us have with a God Who remains silent despite even the most desperate attempts to make contact with Him. We can't see why a supposedly loving God would be so cold and remote when we cry out to Him the most. This book provides a model which might apply to this, perhaps man's oldest and most painful question.

The Chosen was a great book, written by a great author. I finished this book in a matter of two weeks and I am still thinking about it. The book was so good, at night before I went to bed at night I thought I would read a chapter. That didn't always work out, I would just keep going through chapters, until I realized that it was close to eleven o'clock or sometimes even midnight. The book was so good I couldn't put it down.
I found I liked Chaim Potok's way of descriptive writing, explaining every aspect of the novel and every scene in geat detail, not seeming to miss anything, or leave anything untouched. At the beginning of the book, you see a great example of this within the first few pages. After that its just captivating. Some parts were really heart-wrenching and others were intense, such as in the baseball game in the beginning of the novel. Chaim Potok makes you feel what the characters are feeling and makes you want to get back at the person whose hurting them, in some way, but you can't because its just a book. A great example of this is Danny's "evil" father, or so I thought until the end, when he explained his ways, and everything came into perspective, like pieces of a puzzle falling into place evenly and smoothly.
I really like Mr. Potok's way of writing and will probably be reading another one of his novel's very soon. You can tell in his writing that he likes the subjects that he is talking about, and that he does a lot of research on them, or that he is just very well informed about the topics that he speaks of. That is what makes his writing even more unique.

This book gives a lot of detail and insight into the lives of two jewish father son relationships. if you can get past understanding the yiddish and hebrew terms you will find a very good insightfull book. the two boys leid very different lives and met by a chance incounter. they become instant and very close freands. as they grow older and hae different things expected from them they help each other trew lifes tryals and tribulations. recomend this book to anyone whos looking for a great book about life.

As a teacher, I use this book to teach 8th graders about history. Of course, it's lessons go so very deep. Fathers, sons, traditions, expectations, choices, responsibility to name so very few. Told against the backdrop of the the end of second World War and the founding of Israel, the story is timeless. Although it certainly doesn't hurt to be well versed in Jewish history, this book is about applicable to all young people (and the not so young). A beautiful tale of coming of age and learning.

"The Chosen", by Chaim Potok, is a narrative about two Jewish boys, Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders, who are from different Jewish sects. The novel is all about their friendship and about them growing up together and the troubles they face due to their different religious interpretation. The boys are raised in different styles Reuven is raised in a regular manner, while Danny's father raises him in silence. Silence is a recurring, mysterious theme of the novel and the way they are raised greatly affects what they become in life. Silence is Danny's father Reb's way of raising Danny so that he will become a good rabbi by learning the ability to figure things out independently. Unfortunately, silence also separates Reuven and Danny when Reuven's father stresses the need to form a Jewish state. He supports "Zionism" while Danny's father does not and this causes Reb to forcibly separate the two boys.

In the novel Potok uses silence as a literary device that gives the text depth and mystery. The style of Potok's writing is sometimes very mysterious and, for me at least, confusing. The steady moving story shows the ways friendship can mature and change through different uncontrollable factors. It also gives insight into the different beliefs about raising children. I would recommend this book for someone who is prepared to think on a deeper level about the things of life, about differences, and about what can unite us.

I don't understand how people can say that this book was slow and boring. Perhaps they did not understand it. I read the book at the beginning of this year for English and loved it. Our teacher helped us to understand the conflicts and underlying themes. This book is a challenge if you want to unerstand all of it. Chaim Potok uses a lot of symbolism. Many times what is happening really symbolizes something totally different. This was a good school book, but it would not be as good without class discussions.

Although often assigned to young adults, this book is really meant to be re-read throughout life, as it can be understood and enjoyed on many levels as the reader matures. The old "ParDeS" method of analysis (an acronym for Hebrew words meaning: literal, moral, allegorical, and mystical) can be applied to this story, and it is excellent on each of these levels. Literally it is a moving story about growing up, friendship, families, making choices, and finding one's place in the world rather than letting it be assigned by others. Morally, it shows different life choices in a remarkably non-judgemental way--the two diametrically opposed families each find a way that fits their character to make meaningful choices and contributions to the world without compromising their principles, and both are partially successful, but both pay a price. The sons must choose for themselves which elements to retain and which to reject from their traditions. Allegorically, it shows the tension between the interior life, symbolized by the Hasidic family, and the exterior life, symbolized by the politically activist Orthodox family. Neither way has all the answers, and both suffer (the Hasids mentally, both father and son; the Orthodox, physically, again both father and son). Each son has to learn to adopt elements from the other approach to grow up a complete person. It is on the mystical level, however, that this book touches me the most. The terrible silence of the Hasidic father, which seems so senseless and destructive to his talented but tormented son, is revealed to have a transcending reason. This is like the experience so many of us have with a God Who remains silent despite even the most desperate attempts to make contact with Him. We can't see why a supposedly loving God would be so cold and remote when we cry out to Him the most. This book provides a model which might apply to this, perhaps man's oldest and most painful question.

The Chosen was a great book, written by a great author. I finished this book in a matter of two weeks and I am still thinking about it. The book was so good, at night before I went to bed at night I thought I would read a chapter. That didn't always work out, I would just keep going through chapters, until I realized that it was close to eleven o'clock or sometimes even midnight. The book was so good I couldn't put it down.
I found I liked Chaim Potok's way of descriptive writing, explaining every aspect of the novel and every scene in geat detail, not seeming to miss anything, or leave anything untouched. At the beginning of the book, you see a great example of this within the first few pages. After that its just captivating. Some parts were really heart-wrenching and others were intense, such as in the baseball game in the beginning of the novel. Chaim Potok makes you feel what the characters are feeling and makes you want to get back at the person whose hurting them, in some way, but you can't because its just a book. A great example of this is Danny's "evil" father, or so I thought until the end, when he explained his ways, and everything came into perspective, like pieces of a puzzle falling into place evenly and smoothly.
I really like Mr. Potok's way of writing and will probably be reading another one of his novel's very soon. You can tell in his writing that he likes the subjects that he is talking about, and that he does a lot of research on them, or that he is just very well informed about the topics that he speaks of. That is what makes his writing even more unique.

This book gives a lot of detail and insight into the lives of two jewish father son relationships. if you can get past understanding the yiddish and hebrew terms you will find a very good insightfull book. the two boys leid very different lives and met by a chance incounter. they become instant and very close freands. as they grow older and hae different things expected from them they help each other trew lifes tryals and tribulations. recomend this book to anyone whos looking for a great book about life.

As a teacher, I use this book to teach 8th graders about history. Of course, it's lessons go so very deep. Fathers, sons, traditions, expectations, choices, responsibility to name so very few. Told against the backdrop of the the end of second World War and the founding of Israel, the story is timeless. Although it certainly doesn't hurt to be well versed in Jewish history, this book is about applicable to all young people (and the not so young). A beautiful tale of coming of age and learning.

Chaim Potok's emotional heart-warming story The Chosen captivates its readers from page one. The intense ball game grabs the reader and involves him in the lives of Reuven and Danny from the start. Potok knows how to hold the reader's attention and concern him with the day-to-day happenings in both boys' lives. The historical events show accurate reactions toward events such as D-day rejoicing and pure sock after President Roosevelt's death. Every character has a role; there weren't any extra personalities to detract from the main action of the book. Potok introduces the different beliefs among the Jewish sects and helps the reader to better understand the religion and its affect on father son relationships. Reuven and Danny's friendship strengthens as they come to realize that their father's way of doing things isn't always the only right way.
Danny and Reuven's friendship get them through some of their toughest ordeals. It is even able to survive the ban set by Reb. Saunders. True friendship stands the tests of time. I know that when I need advice or support, my true friends are there to help me though whatever problems I'm having, even if they don't live in the same state. This novel has helped me realize how important real friendships can be.
This book is highly recommended for those looking for a compelling insightful novel. It is great for anyone struggling with a friendship because it helps the reader to realize how important friendships are. The friendship between Danny and Reuven gets stronger through each hardship they go though.

The Chosen encompasses some of the most important ideas that human beings face during the course of their lifetimes. Potok investigates the theme of self-discovery in the growth of both Reuven and Danny as individuals. These characters start out with blinders on in regards to the real world, but due to a high intellect are able to see past what their social surroundings have hidden from them. Reuven has an easier time with this than Danny mostly because of his father's guidance while Danny on the other hand must rely on books at the library.
The concept of questioning one's own religion or lack of is apparent when Reuven compares his particular sect of Jews to the orthodox followers of Reb Saunders. Reuven wonders if the Hasidic ways are really right which leads him to examine his own beliefs. Danny even takes this so far as to break away from the traditional Jewish hierarchy which would have forced him to fill in the position of tzaddick and starts on his way to becoming a psychologist instead. This situation illustrates the struggle to find an answer in religion, the same struggle that is common to all people.
The competition between two similar groups of individuals as seen in the early baseball scene can be compared to almost any fight between two types of people. Potok uses the friction between the orthodox Jews and the "apikorism" to remind the reader of how out of hand things can get when people take small ideas such as physical or religious differences too seriously. We can use the situation to help us recognize the inconsequential issues that we face in our daily lives.

The Chosen seems very unrealistic and unbelievable. Some times , Chaim Potok uses Jewish words that only people who are Jewish or study Judaism could understand. Potok uses a word and then a few pages later gives a brief definition of that word . The book brings up the topic of Danny and Reuven's friendship and how odd it is that the two could be so close . Potok discusses this far too much in this novel and it seems very unrealistic . When teenagers get caught doing things that they are not allowed to do by their parents, they usually get reprimanded and have some type of punishment. In this novel the parents do not ask as most parents would. However, this book gives great details on how Hasidic Jews act, what they wear , and how they follow the Talmudic Laws . This book gives the reader a great insight on how all of these aspects affect how they run their lives . This novel helped me understand more about Jews and their beliefs on how they lives there life based on the Torab .

The blink of an eye is in itself nothing. But the eye that blinks that is something. A span of life is nothing. But the man who lives that span, he is something. He can fill that tiny span with meaning, so its quality is immeasurable though its quantity may be insignificant. Chaim Potok THE CHOOSEN
That passage there, makes any amount of time spent reading a book so worth while. YOu can't get that from a movie, you cant get that feeling out of a drink, you cant get that high out of a joint. YOu have to read, and you have to read the great classics, if you want knowledge. If you want to know what live is all about, read that quote until you get it. I also highly recommend reading the Bible, both the Old and the NEW testaments.

The readers sit, captivated by the novel, The Chosen. This summer I was one of those readers. I think that the reasons for this captivation are the two boys' friendship, the changing of their understanding of religion, and the phases of growing into men. All of the reasons above come together in friendship because their friendship changes, as they understand religion and manhood. These changes in friendship are especially hard for Rueven because he has to understand Danny and Danny's father. These misunderstandings between Rueven and Danny's father make the conflict very exciting. One of the major arguments that make the boys' friendship very tense is about Zionism. This argument is between Rueven and Danny's father. The book is also very powerful because as you go through it you begin to understand the politics that are going on at that time. Rueven starts talking about Zionism and how so many people want it. Reb Saunders, Danny's father, becomes very angry, and comes back with a speech that ends with, "True Jews do not say such things!" (199). This makes Rueven think about what a true Jew is; although Rueven is very religious. It also makes Rueven think about their contrast in thoughts before speaking to Reb Saunders again. Their friendship changes as well because Danny doesn't want his father to get so angry, but he secretly agrees with Rueven on Zionism. This is an example of a religions and political phase changing a friendship phase in their lives. The Chosen is a coming of age book. The main point the author, Chaim Potok, is trying to get across is the change from boyhood to adulthood and how this change affects the boys' friendship and their friends. The book changes from a childhood story to a deep moving story about two men. This is done by starting out with a childhood activity: playing baseball. As the book progresses the boys' conflicts become more sophisticated and their ideas about religion change as well. An example of a younger conflict is Rueven not wanting to become friends with Danny although Danny is truly sorry for what he did. This is resolved by Rueven's father who knows Danny. He tells Rueven to befriend Danny and finally Rueven gives in. An example of an older, more sophisticated conflict is about Danny. He should become the next rabbi, but he wishes to go to college instead. Reb Saunders does not want him to go, and Danny does not want to see his father angry with him. He decides to go to college, convinced by Rueven and his own inner feelings. This is a conflict only an older and more mature boy would have. Through these changes the boys' friendship really changes. When Rueven is in the hospital he really grows from a boy into a teenager. He does this by learning that Danny is not an enemy. As they grow into men their friendship goes through phases of talking and not talking. This is because Reb Saunders forbids Danny to talk with someone who is in favor of Zionism. I think that when they are not talking they grow and learn more. This is because they have to learn to keep their friendship alive in silence. The Chosen is an amazing book for many other reasons as well, such as the politics, Danny's regular reading periods with Rueven's father, and Rueven's father learning to deal with his health. The ones I have discussed are the ones that I think hold the book together. I think that Chaim Potok did a very good job at getting his message of how boys grow up and the different phases of their feelings that help them grow into men across. The story really draws you into the book so you are living with the boys, trying to help the along. I really enjoyed this book and I would greatly recommend it.

A touching book which relates to all readers. The Chosen is a symbollic and uplifting experience. Chaim Potok succeeds in defining two different sects involved in Judaism. It possible for the reader to experience the problems each character conquers. The Chosen, although about Judaism, can be related to by all people which go through religious questioning. Chaim Potok shows that all dreams can come true. Overall, this book was the best I have ever read and I recommend it to all readers.

Mr. Potok has done a great job; from the moment he starts the book, til the very last word, I felt as if I were actually part of the story. The way he portrays the character makes it so you feel as if you've known that character for your entire life. This book only goes to show that friendship really is forever, despite what happens in life. I truly hope that readers, young and old, will discover this book, and enjoy it as much as I did.
Some words however, were in Hebrew or some other foreign language, and were hard to understand. Context clues didn't help my frusteration. I suggest that a glossary should be added, or maybe a Hebrew-English dictionary.
Because of the uncomprehendable words, I am forced to only award this book 4 stars.

I have my book club to thank for this one. I'd never heard of it, or even the author, before. Of course, starting with the two main characters playing baseball together was sure to make me love the book from the start.

What I loved so much about the story was the reflections it gave me on friendship and being a father to my son. I just hope I can have the kind of communication with my son that Reuven's dad has with him. It is also a beautiful reminder to be circumspect in one's judgement of others.

While full of rich themes and complex characters, this book is not for those looking for action and a fast moving plot. Through the story of two Jewish boys, it deals with the value of friendship, but also with the reality of being born into a lifestyle that one must eventually choose for oneself, or reject. The author blends rich dialogue with a detailed plot making it easy to sympathy with characters and situations. Additionally it offers a unique behind the scenes look at Hasidic Jews.

This famous book is as flawed as it is fascinating. Basically an historical narrative about how a small Orthodox Jewish community in New York City coped with the strains of World War II, the horrifying revelations about the Holocaust, and the unexpected and dramatic rise of the State of Israel, the book reads like a literary newsreel. Were it not for the fascination of the historical events themselves, however, the book would be quite boring. The characters are shallow and stereotypical in both their words and actions. Much of the book is long winded narrative and preachy monologue. It is almost like a 300 page religious discourse. Some of the book's more serious flaws are listed below.

(1) The main character's father, Rabbi David Malter, provides a long explanation to his son, Reuven, for the rise of the Hassidic movement that splintered Jewish Orthodoxy into rival sects back in the 1700s. He describes the founder of Hassidism, Israel Ba'al Shem Tov, as a genuine spiritualist, whose miracle cures were accomplished via his practical knowledge of healing plants and herbs, not via superstitious incantations and mystical powers as later legends would report. But the father's attitude to subsequent generations of Hassidic leaders is considerably less charitable, depicting them as greedy powerbrokers preying on the fears and superstitions of their followers.

(2) This jaundiced view, however, is contradicted by the Hassidic rabbi, Reb Saunders, who is father of the other main character, Danny. This man is extremely erudite and seems to differ from Rabbi Malter only in dress and outward comportment, not in matters of substantive belief or knowledge.

(3) The only serious point of contention between the two rabbi-fathers concerns the Zionist movement, which Reb Saunders adamantly opposes due to its secular nature, while Rabbi Malter actually becomes one of the movement's major North American spokesmen. This leads to a two-year rupture in the friendship between the two teenagers, Reuven and Danny.

(4) Unfortunately, the author Potok allows his own enthusiasm for Zionism to intrude here and fails to give a fair hearing to Reb Saunders' opposition to Zionism. Reb Saunders had a brilliant brother back in Europe who left the faith, became a secular Jewish intellectual and professor, and eventually was murdered in the Holocaust. Reb Saunders cannot accept Rabbi Malter's belief that the establishment of the State of Israel will serve as a vindication of the Holocaust victims, many if not most of whom were secular Jews, since that State too would be a secular entity. Reb Saunders' view is very reasonable, and it continues to be shared by many Hassidic adherents to this day (cf. the Naturay Karta Movement), but Potok fails to give it due consideration and seems to ridicule it as reflective of the kind of primitivism that evidently he feels characterizes Hassidism in general.

(5) Potok's prejudice also shows when, following a series of Arab attacks on Jewish settlements in Palestine following Israel's unilateral declaration of independence in May 1948 (a declaration that actually violated the terms of the UN Partition Plan for Palestine), the Hassidim terminate their anti-Zionist campaign at the local yeshiva. I have known anti-Zionist Hassidim personally, and anti-Jewish Arab violence does not mitigate their own anti-Zionist beliefs at all. Rather it confirms to them that Zionism itself, as a destabilizing movement, alone bears responsibility for all the tragic violence in Palestine, whether Jew against Arab or Arab against Jew. Perhaps this depiction of the sudden silence of the anti-Zionist Hassidim reflects Potok's own experiences growing up, but the reader should not believe for one minute that anti-Jewish Arab atrocities alter in any way shape or form the anti-Zionist beliefs of Hassidic groups like Naturay Karta; indeed in many ways these atrocities actually strengthen their resolve to oppose the Zionist movement.

(6) Conversely, while Rabbi Malter deplores instances of anti-British and anti-Arab violence committed by Jewish terror groups like the Irgun (Menachem Begin's organization), his disillusionment is ephemeral and within a few days he returns to his pro-Zionist lobbying efforts. Rabbi Malter's reaction is almost a caricature of Jews: wringing their hands over moral dilemmas but unable, in the end, to allow those dilemmas to catalyze within them a new perspective that will help them repudiate their ill-founded and unwarranted beliefs. Rabbi Malter stands exposed, in this regard, as a morally shallow person, making cynical utilitarian calculations without even being aware of it. And there is clear evidence that the more ruthless and cynical Zionist leaders, to this day, know that whatever crocodile tears ethical Jews like Rabbi Malter might shed, as soon as they wipe them away and dry their cheeks their enthusiasm for Zionism will return unabated, and indeed strengthened.

(7) This is perhaps the most glaring example of Potok's own prejudices marring the novel, since Rabbi Malter emerges clearly as the hero of the book, which concludes with Reb Saunders retreating into a kind of self-imposed shell and appearing a much less self-confident and polished person, ill equipped to deal with the complexities of balancing traditional religious values and customs with the exigencies of the modern world.

There admittedly is a lot of interesting material about the inner workings of Orthodox Jewish life: daily prayers, dietary laws, Sabbath and Festival celebrations, and most of all Yeshiva studies, including detailed depictions of Talmudic study and Talmud classes, with their unique culture of erudite exegesis. The book seems to assume a certain amount of Jewish background knowledge, however.

If you are interested in a general depiction of Orthodox Jewish life that accurately characterizes today's Jewish communities, both in and out of Israel, this book is worthwhile reading, but be vigilant for the kinds of flaws and prejudices mentioned above.

Reuven Malther and Danny Saunders are two 15 year old boys who share a friendship while growing up in Brooklyn during World War 2. At first it seems that they are quite different as Danny is a Hasidic Jew while Reuven is merely a Orthodox Jew, but actually they are quite similar. Both boys spend hours each day studying, debating and dissecting the Talmud, an ancient book of Jewish wisdom. They are both fixated on the past to the extent that one wonders if they are aware of what is happening in the city around them. The Talmud is everything to them and its value is unquestioned.

Although the relationship between Danny and his father is what we would now call dysfunctional Danny has great respect for the man, distant, cold and unsympathetic tho he may be. Later we learn why Danny's father shows no love for his son. Danny's father sees religion, morality and redemption as an all or nothing sort of a thing. Everything is either black or white, there are no shades of gray. A person either has God's favor or he does not. There is no in between, no middle ground and no matter of degrees. Most importantly there no sympathy for anyone who is anything less than perfect. Love would only weaken the boy, or so Danny's father believes.

It has been said that religion is the cruelest form of tyranny because it is tyranny of the mind. After reading this book I would agree. Danny is able to reject his arranged marriage to follow his dream of becoming a psychologist. But just like Michael Jackson, Bobby Fisher and Macaulay Culkin, Danny never experienced a normal childhood so what sort of psychologist could he be? I wouldn't take my problems to him.

I just finished The Chosen, and it has to be one of the best books I have ever read. Both Danny and Reuven have their own special talent, and although their friendship is unlikely, it is extremely strong. For Danny, Reuven is a lifeline - someone he can talk with honestly. Danny also has a large effect on Reuven's development. Reuven experiences another world that he never had more than a glimpse of earlier. This story is touching and realistic. I would recommend it to anybody.

The book had a different subject than from what am used to. I had to read it for 8th grade English and about quarter of the class enjoyed it. It was very into the Jewish religion, however, many people didn't know much about it and found it sometimes difficult to understand. The main subject seemed to be the physical silences between charcters that occurred throughout the novel. Many different silences occur through different events in the plot, as different family views get in the way of a friendship. It was a novel that was a bit difficult to understand, and not the best plot I have ever read.

The positive outcome from reading The Chosen is that I learned about Hasidic Jews. I never knew much about these very unusual people , but after reading, I have come to understand them. In fact some of the issues they deal with, are common to many teenagers. This novel is mainly meant for adults. Most kids or teenagers who read this inn my class got bored and weren't able to understand most of the book. I recommend this book to a more mature reading audience.