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The Chosen
The Chosen | Chaim Potok
In 1940s Brooklyn, two boys who have grown up within a few blocks of each other, but in entirely different worlds, meet for the first time in a bizarre encounter -- a baseball game between two Jewish parochial schools that turns into a holy war. With dramatic force and simplicity that seizes the heart, "The Chosen" depicts the powerful bonds of love and pain that join father and son, the communions and quarrels of friendship, the true religionist's love of God, and the tumults by which the heart is made human.
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GingerAntics
The Chosen | Chaim Potok
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I think my English teacher would be surprised I have a copy of the tagged book. I struggled SO MUCH with this book and truly hated it. Even thought I haven‘t read it yet, I know she would be pleasantly surprised I‘m willing to give it another shot.
@ozma.of.oz #sundayfunday #TheChosen #ChaimPotok

BookmarkTavern What a lovely thought! Thank you for sharing! 2y
BookmarkTavern What a lovely thought! Thank you for sharing! 2y
18 likes2 comments
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Rache834
Danny l'eletto | Chaim Potok
Pickpick

davvero molto bello come libro, mi è piaciuto moltissimo. me l‘ha consigliato come lettura estiva la mia professoressa di italiano/latino. leggerlo ne è valsa la pena! lo consiglio a tutti

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GingerAntics
The Chosen | Chaim Potok
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This was required summer reading between freshman and sophomore year of high school. At the time, I absolutely hated it entirely because of Danny‘s father. At 15 years old, I couldn‘t fathom why a father would be that damaging on purpose. As an adult, I see him, and parenting, in a different light. I‘ve wanted to reread this for a while.
#ChaimPotok #TheChosen

GingerAntics I have to say this copy is much nicer than the mass market paperback I had in high school, too. 4y
BookishMarginalia Indeed! I read this in high school too. 4y
GingerAntics @BookishMarginalia I think it‘s a common book for high school students to read. It seems it depends on your relationship with your parents if this book angers you as a teenager or not. The one friend I still have from high school, we bonded over our shared frustration with this book (including the fact we‘d both thrown it across the room on multiple occasions) the first time we met. 4y
11 likes3 comments
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Blueberry
The Chosen | Chaim Potok
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Currently reading for f2f bookclub. 100 pgs in. I would give it 3 stars so far.

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JLaurenceCohen
The Chosen | Chaim Potok

Chain Potok portrays the Hasidic Jewish community in New York during WWII. Reuven and Danny grapple with the meaning of family, duty, and tradition, as Danny, son of the rebbe, would rather study Freud than Talmud.

BookNerd9906 Just picked these up at the used bookstore. Looking forward to reading them in the new year. Which one was your favorite? 6y
JLaurenceCohen @BookNerd9906 probably The Chosen. 6y
19 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Anna40
The Chosen | Chaim Potok
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The first 20 pages drew me in - I never thought the description of a baseball game could be this suspenseful

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jmofo
The Chosen | Chaim Potok
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#ErinSueC please don‘t tell Mr Potok I once tore The Chosen in half in my sleep. It was a borrowed copy from a coworker, too 🤭 #crimesagainstcovers challenge

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rachaich
The Chosen | Chaim Potok
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Pickpick

I feel I learnt a great amount from this, not only about Judaism and differing strands, but also the impact of the end of WW2 and what happened following that.
A deep thought novel which is keeping me mulling over much of it.

BarbaraBB Potok has written such great novels about judaism. 💜 6y
rachaich @BarbaraBB that's so true. I find everything about his writing is insightful in a non teachy way! 6y
BarbaraBB Me too! And his stories are often heartbreaking without being overly sentimental. I loved 6y
14 likes3 comments
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rachaich
The Chosen | Chaim Potok
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Starting this one today... I've read a few others by this author. Hoping this is as good :)

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wanderlustforwords
The Chosen | Chaim Potok
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Pickpick

4⭐️
Compelling. Two sects of Judaism, Hasidic (Orthodox) and Revisionism. Two NY boys during WWII, from opposite sects, caught between the rules (and their Rabbi fathers)governing the past, present and future. Potok is a wise teacher addressing Jewish tradition and change using this coming of age story. I fell in love with the story, become disenchanted and back in love. I learned. I felt for the characters. It‘s a good one! And, there‘s a sequel.

Louise I remember being very moved by this book years ago. Potok is a powerful writer! 7y
wanderlustforwords @Louise I was confused why I was as emotionally affected as I was. He has a quiet power that slowly eeks it‘s way into the bones. 7y
Louise Yes! And it stays with you, long after the words have vanished. 7y
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ManyWordsLater Try My Name Is Asher Lev. I miss the characters daily. 6y
wanderlustforwords @Louise It does and I find that astonishing! 6y
wanderlustforwords @ManyWordsLater Jess, I will! He‘s powerful at writing characters and images that stick. 6y
16 likes1 stack add6 comments
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BooksBecomeYou
The Chosen | Chaim Potok
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My date for the morning, in preparation for my first ever live, in person, book club meeting tonight. Excited to discuss a terrific book with new friends.

revenge4porgy One of my favorites by Potok! 7y
BooksBecomeYou @revenge4porgy This was my first Potok. The sequel is on my April TBR. 7y
revenge4porgy I forgot what‘s the sequel?? 7y
BooksBecomeYou @revenge4porgy It's called The Promise. 7y
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MsLeah8417
The Chosen | Chaim Potok
Pickpick

Loved this BOOK!!

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MallenNC
The Chosen | Chaim Potok
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#Riotgrams Day 19: Favorite School Read Here are picks from elementary (Charlie), middle (The Chosen), and high school (Prince of Tides). These were all supplemental readings, which may be why they still stand out. It's been a while so I have a hard time remembering the books we covered in class! @bookriot

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Court7
The Chosen | Chaim Potok
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At the moment the only thing I really understand about this book is that it was beautiful and moved me in ways I do not fully comprehend.

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Redwritinghood
The Chosen | Chaim Potok
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Getting ready to see the play adapted from this book at my favorite local theater.

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Centique
The Chosen | Chaim Potok
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#decdays #ahamiltonchanukah

Happy Chanukah everyone! Living in NZ, Judaism is one of the religions I know least about. In 45 years I‘ve only ever met one Jewish person here! I‘d be keen to learn more if @Cinfhen can point me out more books 😊

I loved this book but I see it wasn‘t a fav of yours @Cinfhen 😄 I do like a ponderous book about academics or writers - a quirk I have! But more fun for me because the subject was entirely new to me.

Centique Also we haven‘t had Hamilton 😩 7y
AlaMich If you‘re interested in learning more about the lives of Orthodox Jews, there is (edited) 7y
Centique @AlaMich thanks! I‘ll go stack it. 😊 7y
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AlaMich The above is a bit of a different perspective I think, although it‘s been a very long time since I read The Chosen. 7y
tricours I‘m stacking that one too! And The Chosen. 7y
AlaMich Annnddd....if you would like to read about women who revolt against the strictures of Orthodox Judaism, there is what you might call a sub sub genre of memoirs from some of those women. (edited) 7y
Centique That sounds fascinating @AlaMich I think I saw shorts for a movie like that years ago? 7y
AlaMich @Centique There have been a number of documentaries/shorts made on this topic. One of Us is a recent one and very interesting. 7y
ScientistSam For non-fiction, Harold Kushner writes very approachably about Judaism. I love his book To Life. And Rabbi Telushkin has written some interesting books (huge, so I just dip into them) like the book of Jewish Wisdom. 7y
Centique @ScientistSam thanks, I‘ll look those up! 7y
Cinfhen I love this thread!! Having been raised in a very traditional Jewish household where our belief & faith was so ingrained in our daily lives I never thought about books on the topic. I will definitely do some research and get back to you with a list!! As with every religion there are always fanatics, which shock me just as much to discover. This was an eye opening memoir 7y
Cinfhen I just don't want you to think the Jewish religion is all extremist!!!! I've been told this is a good one too 7y
Centique @Cinfhen yay! More books is a good thing 💕 And I definitely will take any extremist stuff as being from the edge and not the middle. Every religion has those unfortunately 😣 7y
Cinfhen True 😔 7y
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MiyakoBunny
The Chosen | Chaim Potok
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Pickpick

Where the heck has this book been all my life!? I‘m honestly embarrassed that I haven‘t read this book sooner 🤦🏻‍♀️! It‘s a great book with extremely good insights into not only the varying degrees of Jewish culture and histories but also around that specific time period and it‘s profound impact on the Jewish people amidst the backdrop of this wonderful almost coming of age story of friendship, family, & tradition.

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MiyakoBunny
The Chosen | Chaim Potok
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“Treat the son as you would the father, because one day the son will be the father”

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MiyakoBunny
The Chosen | Chaim Potok
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Time to knock 📚🥊this off my TBR list

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MiyakoBunny
The Chosen | Chaim Potok
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❤️Mini Book Haul 📚🤗-Couldn‘t resist snagging a few books for myself at B&N whilst book shopping for my eldest upcoming bday🎂

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bookandcat
The Chosen | Chaim Potok
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Pickpick

Book 12 of #vacation. It's about two Jewish boys becoming friends in NYC around the time of WWII, but one of them is Hasidic. At times reminded me of A Separate Peace due to the coming of age nature of it. But it is also kind of like a Sophie's World type book, where the bookitself is a device to explain different philosophies and traditions among Jewish sects and thinking about the Holocaust, Zionism, etc. Story is a 3 but info is useful.

Libby1 I love Chaim Potok. 7y
bookandcat @Libby1 this was my first Potok book! I'm intrigued by his work! 7y
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erzascarletbookgasm
The Chosen | Chaim Potok
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This book tells the story of two Jewish teenage boys' complex friendship and their relationship with their respective fathers in 1940s Williamsburg, Brooklyn. An enlightening read about the Jewish history, culture and polarization after WWII.
#fathers #junebookbugs @RealLifeReading

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Cinfhen
The Chosen | Chaim Potok
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Pickpick

Book 2 of my #birthdayChallenge completed ✅ I'm struggling to review this one. It's written pretty simply but the content was complicated. Multiple themes; identity, religion, faith, loyalty, philosophy, psychology, history, belonging, statehood, tradition,family. For me, the first half dragged. However, the book became more personal when the subject matter turned to American Jewry and the need for a Jewish Homeland. I respect what the author did.

Cortg Good review! I read this last month. Yes, it was a little slow getting into it but I really enjoyed it. 8y
ValerieAndBooks Good review. I did like it from the beginning but it definitely did pick up more at about where you said it did. I thought the anti-Zionist perspective was interesting because usually that comes more from the Palestinians. So, do you think you'll read the sequel sooner rather than later? I buy most of my books used so it may be a matter of when I can find it! 8y
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ValerieAndBooks
The Chosen | Chaim Potok
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Pickpick

This novel examines the lives of two Jewish boys growing up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn during the 1940s. Danny is from a strict Hasidic sect and his father is the zealous leader who expects Danny to take over someday. Reuven's dad is a Talmud scholar. Danny and Reuven become best friends but there are conflicts because of their backgrounds. Liked this novel a lot, although the 2-3 females in it were very minor characters. Continued in comment👇

ValerieAndBooks The conflicting views on Zionism between the characters were also interesting. I plan on reading the sequel "The Promise " soon. I still prefer Potok's "My Name is Asher Lev". 8y
ValerieAndBooks @Cinfhen feel free to add your thoughts when you're done 😊 8y
ValerieAndBooks P.S. Potok himself refers to Danny's family's views as "zealous" more than once -- I was not attempting to judge in any way. 8y
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Cinfhen I finished this book a few hours ago...it's still marinating in my mind...will share thoughts soon. I was pretty ambivalent throughout most of the book but the last third of the novel started to feel somewhat personal @ValerieAndBooks 8y
Cinfhen @ValerieAndBooks Have you decided on your 1968 read? I'm considering 8y
Cinfhen Although mixed reviews on Litsy. My other option 8y
ValerieAndBooks Not sure if I made a good choice or even if I'll stay with it, but I've started 8y
ValerieAndBooks @Cinfhen forgot to tag you above. Some of the 1960s choices in literature are kind of .... 😳 8y
46 likes9 comments
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Cinfhen
The Chosen | Chaim Potok
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Snuck in some reading while having a lunch date with my son ?He ordered Arugula, jalapeño pizza with fries and I had fish & chips with a delicious market salad (but it got cut off in the picture, along with the book)
I'm about 100 pages into my book now and it's getting better? #birthdaychallenge

saresmoore Delicious! 8y
Reviewsbylola Yum!! 😍😍 8y
SuperPunkNinja That looks like the best lunch ever! 8y
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LeahBergen Now I'm hungry 😀 8y
Cinfhen @McShelfington @Reviewsbylola & @saresmoore Both the company and the food was delicious 😁 8y
shawnmooney I studied this in high school a century ago. Want to re-read it one of these days. 8y
CoffeeAndABook Hmmm! Sounds like you're having a delectable day 😉 Oh both your choices look so good! Now I suddenly feel ready to make dinner - and quickly 😋🍽 8y
Cinfhen @CoffeeAndABook Lunch was yummy 😋 but dinner was pretty uneventful ☹️How's your mom feeling? 8y
Cinfhen @shawnmooney I would love to see how you reread this one...I'm not finding too many beautiful passages but I'm sure you would 😏my lunch was so satisfying @LeahBergen and my son ( the 21yr old) had me laughing non stop ! He's an excellent lunch date🍕🍟 8y
ValerieAndBooks Yum! As for The Chosen, I finished last night! I'll try to review it tomorrow but without any spoilers for your sake 😊 (or I'll tag them as spoilers in the comment section) 8y
ApoptyGina69 Arugula is one of my favorite flavors. If it's offered on a pizza, I always get it. Sounds like a pretty fun day! 8y
CoffeeAndABook @Cinfhen Aw thanks for asking!! As I'm typing I'm on my way to visit her for the weekend - I'm going by train to make use of the journey- Ha! - mostly by reading of course😉My mom's feeling better but it'll just be me, so no late Thxgvg celebration... But a nice relaxed celebration of life & family instead 💓 Which is what you had with your son, too, I'd say 🎈 8y
Cinfhen @CoffeeAndABook Enjoy weekend with your mom💕💕and yes, family time one on one is sometimes the best💝 8y
60 likes13 comments
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ValerieAndBooks
The Chosen | Chaim Potok
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Having to drive hubby home after a routine procedure, so am reading this book in the waiting room. I have chosen "The Chosen" for year 1967 of my #birthdaychallenge reading. I did try the first few pages of "100 Years of Solitude", but think this will be an easier read. Certainly Potok makes reading about a baseball game very exciting! I loved Potok's "My Name is Asher Lev" and think this one will move along quickly for me.

Cinfhen This is my 1967 #birthdaychallenge book as well! My copy is so battered, yours looks all shiny & new 😊so much more appealing! Hope your hubby feels better💙 8y
ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled Very interesting read - I tried it once when I was too young to appreciate it. But tried again in my 30s and enjoyed it a lot. 8y
ValerieAndBooks @Cinfhen thanks -- hubby is doing fine 😊. My copy is actually an used one with an edition date from 20 yrs ago -- but it does look new -- I wonder if whoever read it before actually read it! 8y
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ValerieAndBooks @ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled.com so many books that are better appreciated later on in life! and I see this has a sequel "The Promise" -- hmm! Have you read that one also? 8y
Cinfhen What year is the sequel published? We could buddy read it @ValerieAndBooks 8y
Cinfhen And glad to hear your hubby is doing well🙂 8y
ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled I had no idea there was a sequel!! Yay! Thanks! 8y
Dragon I loved it to so I really should read The Chosen 8y
ValerieAndBooks @Cinfhen I think 1969. I'd be glad to do a readalong but not as part of the #birthdaychallenge because I'm trying for as many different authors as possible (or at least not too close together) 😊. Of course you can do your challenge however you want 😊 8y
ValerieAndBooks @ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled.com I hope it's good! @dragon I loved My Name is Asher Lev but didn't like its sequel as much 8y
Cinfhen Well since I'm not loving this one just yet I may pass on the sequel...and I agree diverse authors is probably more enjoyable @ValerieAndBooks 😀 8y
ValerieAndBooks @Cinfhen I'll probably be done tonight! I'm very interested in your POV when you're done! 8y
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Cinfhen
The Chosen | Chaim Potok
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The Chosen has been chosen 😉 Thanks for the recommendations @Sydsavvy @GuiltyFeat @cathysaid @Alfoster @Kathrin (This copy is from the first print) #birthdaychallenge book two

cathysaid Yay! Let us know how you like it. 8y
Sydsavvy You won't regret it! 8y
ValerieAndBooks Good choice right 😊?! BTW i may have already said this, but I would have done Valley of the Dolls for 1966 if I hadn't already read it some time ago! 8y
Cinfhen @ValerieAndBooks I was happy with my first choice but I'm not loving the Chosen yet😳However, Im only 30 pages in. 8y
60 likes6 stack adds4 comments
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Cinfhen
The Chosen | Chaim Potok
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Trying to figure out which one of these four, I should choose to be my next #birthdaychallenge read?!? Any favorites? They were all published in the same year.... 1967 😝

LectricSheep 100 Years of Solitude is one of my favorite books. I've never read anything like it. It uses a family in a small, isolated village to take a look at the cyclical nature of the world-- as well as the way progress (social, political, technological) can change us for better/worse. Also the language is amazingly descriptive. I read a page at random and got: "Ursula could already distinguish the different colors of the saints' clothing by the texture." 8y
quirkyreader Go with Picnic At Hanging Rock. 🐸🐙 8y
Kathrin I like both 100 years of solitude and The Chosen! 8y
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cathysaid Chosen! 8y
Alfoster Chosen! 8y
Sydsavvy The Chosen changed my life! Loved it. 8y
GuiltyFeat I love The Chosen but I loved its sequel, The Promise, even harder. 8y
katelizabee One Hundred Years of Solitude is so wonderful and gorgeous. I definitely recommend that one! 8y
jmtrivera I really enjoyed One Hundred Years of Solitude! Lovely language and magical realism! 8y
ValerieAndBooks I started on 100 Years, and while it looked good, I could see that it'd require more attention than I could give it right now, especially during this holiday season! 8y
Cinfhen @ValerieAndBooks I considered 100 Years as well, but I already had a lot of books in my rotation & I thought like you, The Chosen would be a quicker read😛 8y
revenge4porgy The Chosen and The Promise 7y
55 likes6 stack adds12 comments
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missamoe
The Chosen | Chaim Potok
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"A man must fill his life with meaning, meaning is not automatically given to life." -The Chosen
One of my current rereads. I love this book! Do you agree or disagree with the quote?

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cathy6098
The Chosen | Chaim Potok
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Pickpick

This is one of my favorite books. It was assigned reading in the 8th grade years ago. The characters and the contrasts within the Jewish faith are so carefully and thoughtfully explored. The time in history, relationships between fathers and sons.. It's a great book.

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Kps15
Chosen | Chaim Potok
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Reread. I have forgotten almost all of it - feels like a different book now that I have my own teenage son. Was lucky to meet Rabbi Potok at a reading at our neighborhood bookstore in San Francisco and this is my prized signed copy.

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MacBeth
The Chosen | Chaim Potok
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Pickpick

Reread this book over the last couple days. I forgot how wonderful Danny & Reuven's friendship is & how complex their relationship is within the confines of their religion. "You can listen to silence... It talks. And I can hear it."