Chaim PotokThe Gift of Asher Lev: A Novel

But I dreaded the ending because I felt strongly that I would hate it. I was right. Only a superbly written book evokes such strong emotions. Potok’s characters get under your skin and into your blood until their struggles become your struggles and their heartaches become your heartaches. Enter the world of Asher Lev and discover how he tries to walk the fine line between creating schismatic paintings and living as an observant Ladover Hasidic Jew. This is the second of a two-book series but can easily be read as a standalone.

Great squeal to My Name is Asher Lev

The Gift of Asher Lev by Chaim Potok is a continuation of his previous book (My Name is Asher Lev). Having read My Name is Asher Lev, I wanted to know what life had dealt the central character: where his journey through life as an artist had taken him; what became of his troubled relationship with his parents; and, whether he resolved the conflict between his career choice and his religious faith.The Gift of Asher Lev gets off to a promising start with an introductory quote by Rainer Maria Bilke: "Surely all art is the result of having been in danger, of having gone through an experience all the way to the end, to where no one can go any further (l. 25)." This is a wonderful mood-setting quote, but unfortunately the savoury sensation it evokes is swiftly lost in the story's opening paragraphs.The first chapter is awkward and stilted. A major drawback of the introductory chapter is that too many background characters are thrown at the reader from the outset. The reader is not given sufficient opportunity to enter into a "literary" relationship - or formulate an affinity - with such characters. Consequently, the characters feel distanced from the reader as a decision has not yet been made as to how the reader feels about them.The central character, however, remains as real and true to the reader as he was in the previous story. Asher Lev has since matured into an amicable sort, who outwardly is comfortable with his identity, but inwardly he remains complex, conflicted, and troubled. Asher's exile from his homeland's Ladover community rests heavily upon him. He is often haunted by the voice of "a ghostly sibilance from the Other Side" (l. 58) and his thoughts are shrouded in pain, concern, and regret. As Bilke's above quote hints, the reader witnesses this iconic artist struggle with the contention that his work has become repetitive.It is during Asher's moments of emotional angst, the periods when he draws solace from the replayed words of his beloved mentor, and the depictions of Picasso's apparition that the author's words become eloquently seamless and are savoured by the reader. Although the reader may bemoan that such inner ruminations are too sporadic and disappointingly interspersed, it is their rarity that lends to the clever construction of this novel. For it is within these infrequent revelations of ghostly vibrations, replayed familial words, and Asher's innermost ruminations that the reader receives a glimpse into the existence of a riddle within the novel - a riddle that slowly unravels and only becomes clear towards the end.Despite the lure of the unanticipated extra layer of complexity to this novel, delivered in the form of a cleverly conveyed riddle, the ending was initially met with severe disappointment and even disgust. But this disappointment was short-lived as, upon reflection, it became apparent that the book title itself is a riddle - a riddle that only rightly exposes itself in bits and pieces over time. To the author's credit, he successfully carries the puzzle throughout the book without the riddle being readily detected or prematurely unravelled. The beautifully conveyed moments that depict Asher's inner emotional turmoil, cleverly and effectively serve to distract the reader from the presence of the story's riddle.

Beautifully written. If you like Potok you’ll enjoy this book

My mom gave me a copy of this book years ago and I tried to read it but I had a hard time starting it so set it aside. A few years later I picked it up again and with fresh eyes I dove into the book. Between this and "My Name is Asher Lev" Chiam Potock created a character in a world that I have visited over and over again. I can't even begin to guess how many copies I've purchased to give away.As an odd and unusual child these books helped me understand that it is ok to be who I am regardless of the expectations people had of me and that it is important to be your true self.

Sequels are always challenging. For the reader, they promise the potential enjoyment of the first novel, with the added expectation that something new will be added which will extend the story arc of the first. For the writer, there is the challenge of recreating a well received world, but also rising to the task of extending the story and motifs raised in the first, whilst avoiding the pitfalls of repetition. “The Gift of Asher Lev” takes us back into world of Asher, picking up some twenty years later when he is a successful artist with a wife and family living in France. The death of Asher’s uncle brings him back to New York, the Hasidic world and all of the tensions and conflicts of his youth. Potok adeptly re-introduces us to the rituals of Hasidic existence, the inner life of Asher’s thoughts and covers off what has happened over the transpiring period. Jacob Kahn is dead, the Rabbi has grown old, Asher’s mother and father are now in their late sixties. Potok makes an extensive use of flashbacks to bring back the conversations and lessons of those characters who are now deceased, shifting backwards and forwards in time. Some of the most powerful scenes in the novel are Asher’s “conversations” with Picasso; imaginary exchanges which are very real to him and influence his life as much as the living members of his family.At the heart of “The Gift of Asher Lev” is the succession plan for the ailing Rabbi, and the hinted at intention that it is the wish of Asher’s father and the Rabbi for Asher’s son to ultimately become the new Rabbi in the future. The novel ends quite abruptly with Asher returning to France and his family remaining in Brooklyn, leaving a number of unresolved threads in the story. Does Asher’s son become anointed as the next Rabbi? Does Asher’s family remain indefinitely in Brooklyn while he lives in France? Is Asher’s artist’s block overcome? The novel, like its predecessor is rich in characterisation, and yet the plotting seems to fall down at the end after spending a number of chapters building to a climax. And as a result, after promising so much, is unsatisfying. Some would argue that enough is hinted in previous chapters for the reader to decipher their own ending; and whilst this is true for some of the plot lines, there is still a feeling that the book is missing a chapter. Ultimately the sequel to Potok’s masterpiece “My Name is Asher Lev”, is resigned to a nostalgic revisiting of a predecessor which was infinitely greater than its offspring.

Good character development Excellent plot with interesting facts about orthodox Jewish life and arts

Old but in great shape.